Feadship: Catch and Release
After a lengthy winter renovation at the Feadship shipyard in Amsterdam, the 26.60-metre sportfisher Catch was just relaunched.
The legendary vessel, originally named Gallant Lady, was first delivered to her original owner in 1984. In 2005, she underwent a 15-month renovation in Florida, during which time she was fully dismantled down to the metal hull. While her most recent refit was smaller in scale, her new owner spared no expense by transporting the yacht across the Atlantic to the shipyard where she was originally constructed nearly four decades ago.
“Acquired by a serial Feadship owner last year, the yacht was in excellent condition at the time of sale, but he determined to bring her back to the Netherlands to ensure his Feadship remains a Feadship,” says Pier Posthuma de Boer, director of Feadship Refit and Services. “We were actually full when the owner contacted us, but we’re always proud when long-term clients bring their yachts back to us for refit work, so we adjusted our schedules, and Catch is now back in the water.”
In July of 2022, the yacht finally showed up, but nobody had made a final to-do list. The owner, who has extensive experience refitting his previous Feadships, visited the shipyard in person, and under the guidance of his representative, Peter Wilson of MCM, and designer Adam Voorhees, a plan was established so that construction could begin immediately after the summer holidays.
“It was amazing working with Peter, Adam, and the owner,” adds Patrick Dekker, Project Manager Refit. “The relationship worked so well because we already knew the owner’s team, and they were able to take decisions on the spot. It was a pleasurable experience all round.”
The list of tasks included painting the entire boat, installing new teak decking on the foredeck, replacing the teak caprail at the stern, refinishing all of the exterior teak, replacing the veneer at the stern of the main deck, constructing a sun awning to shade the foredeck, performing technical maintenance, installing new LED lights, and many other things. Furthermore, a new crew cabin was built, providing enough space for a total of four crew members (previously, there was only space for two crew members before the refit). The crane was relocated, and the owner's old wardrobe was moved to make room for the new equipment.
The catch will travel to Eemshaven and be loaded onto a transport ship to the US before the end of the month.
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