Classic Yacht Santa Maria, Most Expensive Feadship of Her Era, for Sale

If Henry Ford II have been nonetheless alive, the previous Ford Motor Firm chief (for 3 a long time) certainly can be delighted. The 108-foot (33-meter) yacht Santa Maria, which he took supply of 51 years in the past, remains to be cruising. Not solely is she a rarity for her age, but additionally she’s a history-maker.

Within the early Sixties, Ford was contemplating constructing a yacht with Feadship. In 1961, Frits de Voogt, Feadship’s “grand grasp” naval architect, flew to the USA to satisfy with him. De Voogt was in his early 30s, three years into operating the naval-architecture studio. Ford, in the meantime, was only a decade older, however had already circled his household’s famed automotive model. In Ford’s Fifth Avenue residence in New York Metropolis, overlooking Central Park, the 2 males got here to a gathering of the minds. Inside two weeks, the contract to construct the yacht Santa Maria was completed.

the aft deck of the classic Feadship Santa Maria

That’s not all. Her metal keel was the primary one laid in a brand-new shed on the then-named Van Lent shipyard. Moreover, throughout building, Ford made an unannounced go to, eager to see the work accomplished to this point. The media response to the famend businessman—and his apparel, a sweater—was, in a phrase, epic. To high all of it off, Feadship confirms that the yacht Santa Maria was the costliest undertaking to take form in its sheds within the early Sixties. (The contract value, although, stays confidential, nonetheless to this present day.)

the Feadship yacht Santa Maria stateroom

Passing by way of a number of homeowners’ fingers since supply in 1963, the yacht Santa Maria has moreover retained her basic attractiveness. Fortunately, every set of homeowners resisted temptation to tear out her basic wooden wheel and knock down non-structural partitions. However, they’ve had her endure common upkeep in addition to a number of upgrades. As an illustration, the unique diesel engines are not aboard. The present Baudouin engines went into place in 2019. She additional gained electrical zero-speed stabilizers three years in the past. Attributable to age, important components of her metal hull required changing, with a lot of that work happening over the previous 12 months.

Due to the care given to her all these a long time, the yacht Santa Maria is a member of the Feadship Heritage Fleet. Apart from benefitting from the status and camaraderie of the Fleet, consumers have a number of benefits aboard. The basic superyacht has a sleek canoe stern with a seating space nestled instantly towards it, as an example, excellent for shore-gazing. Plentiful shores are in attain because of a 2,100-nautical-mile cruising vary at 11 knots, too. All 10 passengers can collect on the sundeck, which has loads of room for unfastened sunlounges apart from the built-in sizzling tub. Eating up right here is feasible as nicely. In fact, although the yacht Santa Maria is a grand previous woman, she nonetheless can carry loads of watertoys. The truth is, she’s on the market through Edmiston’s central company with a 20-foot (6.2-meter) Ribeye tender, a wakeboard, a SeaBob, waterskis, and extra.

Santa Maria at the moment is in Spain, on the STP shipyard present process routine repairs. Among the many duties for completion this winter are repainting her hull and changing teak decking. Her asking value is €4.495 million (about $4.68 million), VAT paid.

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