The Feadship yard in Makkum has completed the refit of the 57.3m Amara (ex. Cacique) fully on schedule. The owners took the Lloyd’s 35-year survey as a foundation for a wide range of alterations and upgrades to suit their way of life at sea. Committed to retaining the original lines and preserving pedigree Feadship character, they chose to send Amara ‘home’ to the Netherlands to have the refit carried out at Feadship.
Amara was originally launched as Cacique in 1986 and is one of a fleet of Feadships, classic, modern and all styles and ages in-between.
The yacht was bought in 2020 and spent her first season in Alaska. After that the owners decide to reinforce Amara’s helideck for the type of craft they intend to land in future. The new helideck was engineered by Francis Gumbs at Feadship Refit & Services, built by Feadship’s in-house aluminium department, and neatly finished with the Amara logo instead of the standard H.
“Although it was a complex operation the results have been more than worth the effort,” says Captain Tim Rowland. “Our new deck is state of the art, designed in the same shape as the previous one while being strong enough to accommodate twin engine helicopters.”
The sun deck got a new layout which necessitated the removal of a bulwark to create an open plan deck and add aluminium lockers. New teak was laid throughout this area as well as on the foredeck and parts of the bridge deck.
Below decks, the original main engines were given an extensive overhaul with all turbos, pumps and heat exchangers fully revised. The rudder shafts were replaced and new bronze rudder shaft bearings fitted. Other significant work that will go largely unseen but add significant value to the yacht included replacing the black/grey water holding tank in the engine room.
Feadship was formed as a group in 1949 as a marketing partnership between six Dutch shipyards, de Vries Lentch, Van de Stadt, Witsen & Vis, Akerboom, De Vries Scheepsbouw and Van Lent Shipyard, and De Voogt Naval Architects. Feadship is well-known as one of Netherlands’ most elite yacht builders and delivers superyachts from 50–100+ meters in length.
Credits: Feadship