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A boat owner thought that his 60-meter yacht could not be improved anymore—until he saw the 80-meter yacht at the 2015 Fort Lauderdale Show. Four years later, as Sam Fortescue discovered, the owner received his award for excellence.

What do you do when you think you have built the perfect 60-meter yacht? Well, naturally, you will start with bigger things. Or at least this is what the American owners of the six yachts of the Excellence series chose to do. "The 60-meter yacht Zhuoyue V that I own is the most beautiful, the largest, and the best-performing yacht I know," he told me. “Building a better 60 meters, I think it’s impossible. I decided to move to 80 meters and a more modern design. At one of the yacht shows, I saw the design renderings of the winch/Abeking joint venture. I am in love."

This begins the sixth remarkable quick story, which may be the most eye-catching yacht ever to leave the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard in Bremen, northern Germany. When I stared at her from across the Weser River, the remarkable bow of the ship turned over, and acres of clear glass windows reflected back to my sight like a pair of aviator sunglasses. In fact, in the years before the owner decided he wanted a new yacht, work on the ship was in progress, and long before she became the sixth outstanding yacht. Andrew Winch's design office collaborated with Abeking to come up with a radical concept. “The owner saw a preliminary model at the 2015 Fort Lauderdale Yacht Show and said,'I want that boat,'” Winch recalled when I saw him visiting the yacht in Bremen. "He came to us because we helped him out of the middle market and out of his comfort zone. He must be very brave and question whether he will like it in the end."

At this point, the design has some obvious key features-the bow, a huge glass area, and flying saucer-shaped pods at the front and rear of each deck. But in other respects, it has undergone tremendous changes. As the bow curve is pulled further back, it becomes shorter and shorter and loses its intended helipad. This process is surprisingly fast. "After so much construction, the owner is a very experienced designator," Winch said. "He processed a checklist and thought about it methodically."

A bit counterintuitive, the best place to truly understand the eye-catching appearance of this yacht is the interior—to be precise, the mezzanine on the owner’s deck. Here, two decks have been cut away, so when you stare at the railing, your eyes will fall on the main deck 10 meters below. The five-meter-high glass panel forms the mirror skin of the yacht, showing its glory. Two slender steel frames are the only supports for the edges of these huge panes. This is the core view of the engineering problem that Abeking & Rasmussen initially considered too difficult to solve. "This is a nightmare," Senior Project Manager Jens Bottke said before recalling himself. "What a challenge."

Despite the expansion and contraction of the aluminum superstructure and the obvious movement caused by the yachting, the biggest problem is not the fixation of these 1.3-ton glass panels. In fact, they need to be completely sturdy on the outside, so as not to distort the mirror surface, and provide excellent insulation to save on the air conditioning of the yacht. "Glass packaging is actually four to six panes with insulation and finishes," Bottke said. They are 8 cm thick at their thickest. Coupled with the need to create 3D curves in certain places, you will face a huge challenge that can only be overcome by using German technology and Italian engineering.

Heading to the side deck, I marveled at the perfectly smooth 25-meter-long glass line. The industrial river view of Bremen is perfectly reflected from top to bottom. This flawless appearance also hides other design and engineering techniques. The life raft is hidden in the bulwark cabinet so as not to damage the majestic lines of the yacht. And you won’t find any signs of ventilation shutters on the outside. They are all camouflaged behind the mirror stainless steel, blending perfectly with the windows. Abeking must also design some smart exterior doors to adapt to the slope and curvature of the superstructure. Each group uses a slightly different mechanism, spreading quietly on arms of different sizes or sliding out on a single curved support. "I think there is only one standard exterior door on the entire yacht," Bottke said. "In terms of structure and design, this is our most challenging project."

There are also many challenges inside: from the details, such as how to make electric blinds for windows, as the windows rise, they will become thinner and thinner, and precious silver wires are woven into composite materials similar to metal carbon fibers. The unified theme of the interior is luxury cars, which is a tribute to the origin of the owner's wealth. "This ship has car details everywhere," Wen Qi said. "You may recognize a lot of things." From the black and white concentric circles on the floor and ceiling of cars that are reminiscent of classic car tires, to the double-stitched leather details in the cabin. The ventilation shutters in the cabin are designed to resemble the grille of the hood, and tire track patterns are engraved on the wooden panel of the sun.

The interior has a balance between bright colors and dignified coffee tones-in fact, a bit like one of the owner's favorite sports cars. In addition to noble wood and fine Italian leather, marble is also an outstanding material on board. "Excellence has more than 30 different marbles," said Winch interior designer Lizzy Hart. "About 30% is gold onyx." This honey-colored stone is mined in Chile and can be seen everywhere-from the main guest hallway to his and her master's bathroom. Here, the effect is particularly remarkable: the entire space is glowing, as if there is a lot of gold hidden inside.

Each cabin has a unique personality, with its own characteristic headboard, and each public space has a selection of marble, precious wood and leather. There are woods that I have never heard of-tamo grey, blue gradient corrugated sycamore, amboyna burrs-and novel leather finishes. The subtleties can be seen everywhere. In the master suite, ebony panelling, Oliver Treutlein's wool rug with a crocodile pattern and woven silver thread make the window frames look like precious carbon fiber. However, practicality has never been far from the surface. For example, all high tread areas are made of lime oak instead of fragile carpets.

The clever use of mirrors throughout the room can expand the line of sight and broaden the field of vision. For example, in the main salon, the mirror behind the shutters makes the enclosure around the ventilation shaft disappear. There are also thin mirror strips on the top of the walls of the cabin, allowing the eyes to see more space. This means that the use of indirect lighting is equally cunning. Although the owner of the ship provided allowances to the guests for operating an excellent charter business, he insisted that the ship was built entirely to his own taste. "Excellence is a sporty, modern, and comfortable yacht that can become a classic," he told me. "The interior space is not designed for chartering-it is luxurious, has a huge space, beautiful fabrics, and is comfortable to spend time."

Nevertheless, he knew that some of his guests needed work, so he built a library/office in the library/office, and the former outstanding people put a table in the corner. There are tobacco leaves on the walls here, pressed into rich patterns and decorated with laser-cut silver leather. Bird's eye maple is the characteristic wood, cappuccino marble and tan leather tiles at the foot. This is a very peaceful space. He designated the six cabins as 25 square meters with very similar comfort levels to avoid any "large cabin" competition. The gym on the main deck must be larger than the previous ship. The spa area is one of the brightest areas I have ever seen. The sauna room can be enjoyed through the huge windows. There is also a dedicated nine-seat cinema.

Although the finishes are very rich, the atmosphere on board is comfortable and convenient. Entering the main salon, you will be greeted by a dark cream sofa and a 1.8-meter diameter coffee table. When we sit down, I must check the natural urge to stand up. The owner anticipated this and asked for the precise use of golden onyx on the edges of the wooden table to prevent fraying. Of course, the guests here will feel able to stand up. On the bridge deck, behind the 14 outdoor tables, there is a relaxing bar. So it will not block the view, it sinks into the deck, allowing guests to overlook the top. The swimming pool on the main deck below has movable bar seats, and there are more bar stools on the other side of the bar. The same swimming pool also spreads the dappled light through the glass floor to the beach club below. Most guests will approach in this way, so the owner insists on a space that welcomes them and showcases all the fun the yacht offers. He eliminated the usual folding beam doors leading into the ship: Excellence replaced it with two curved sliding doors that allowed access to the small garage from the large beach club.

Before you sneeze, please realize that this is not an ordinary garage. It is designed and equipped with a bar, comfortable seats and the best toys on the yacht. When you board the boat, you will see diving equipment and wetsuits, Seabobs and RS200 sailboats. You are already excited about the upcoming experience. "I spent a lot of time on the yacht, which is really my passion," the owner said. "I like to spend time on the boat."

The ship departs from the Mediterranean and will cross the Atlantic to participate in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show at press time-she is easily capable of doing this. Through this project, the owner has completed a different journey and built a yacht that will look avant-garde in the coming decades. Although he was obviously very proud of the result, there was one thing he was not completely right: "I think the design will be very polarized, but I was wrong," he told me. "It seems that more than 90% of the comments are very positive."

Photography: Guillaume Plisson (external scene); winch media (indoor)

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