The Dutch yard Van der Valk describes its latest launch as a “pocket explorer.” At 77 feet, Felis is smaller than the builder’s typical displacement designs, but it has all the bona fides of a long-range cruising yacht: a steel hull and aluminum superstructure; a full-displacement, round-bilge, bulbous-bow hull design; and substantial fuel and water capacity.
With commercially rated 500-hp MAN diesels, Felis has transatlantic capability at 8 knots. For regular cruising, any speed up to 11 knots will be economical on this waterline length. At 10 knots, she burns 15.8 gallons of fuel an hour for a range of around 2,000 nautical miles. She maxes out at 13 knots.
She is built to go places somewhat less hospitable than Cannes, France, where I got on board during the autumn 2023 boat show. There is under-sole heating throughout the accommodations, and a “winter tent” that encloses the cockpit. Overhead infrared heaters extend the season when the nights start drawing in.
Felis owes her upright, no-nonsense looks to the Dutch studio of Guido de Groot. Naval architecture is by Diana Yacht Design. It is not just her profile, but also her layouts and interior spaces that are refreshingly businesslike. The cockpit doors open completely, and from the transom to the wheelhouse steps, the main deck proceeds on one level, past salon seating and a spacious, open-plan island galley that appears to have been borrowed from a larger yacht.
The wheelhouse is a professional sanctuary with a four-screen helm console, ensuring plenty of redundancy. Felis’ German owner is hands-on, but also employs a full-time captain and mate who live aboard. They assisted with the yacht’s five-week delivery from Holland to the Mediterranean for the summer season. According to the captain, they experienced 12-foot seas on the leg between Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, Belgium, where the CE Class A ocean-rated vessel acquitted herself well.
Her onboard spaces are generously sized. Headroom throughout the lower deck is 6 feet, 8 inches, except in the VIP stateroom in the bows, where it soars upward by another foot. Berths are all full size, and all staterooms are en suite. The amidships master stateroom spans the full beam of the hull, and there are flanking twin-berth staterooms (the one to port has a Pullman berth). The linked sliding doors to the master head compartment are cool. Slide one, and the other slides too. I confess that I did this several times.
Having the volume of a full-displacement design like Felis feels like a holiday. I had to keep reminding myself that she’s only 77 feet long. The two crew cabins in the stern are quite roomy, and there is a particularly noteworthy locker in the master stateroom, under the steps. It’s big enough to swallow everyone’s bags and suitcases, no matter how much stuff guests insist on bringing along.
Even with all the creature comforts down below, the area I kept coming back to was the upper deck. Felis has a substantial RIB (and a sailing dinghy) installed on chocks aft, but this deck remains a remarkably comfortable setting sheltered by a hardtop. The upper deck will probably prove to be a magnet for everyone on board, whether at anchor or underway. Back-to-back sofas, a dining table and a padded lounge occupy the port side, while the two-seat helm station and wet bar are to starboard.
There’s another small seating area on the foredeck, with a table and an awning that can be rigged between carbon poles. It looked like a good spot to have breakfast. I would have been happy to wait.
SEA WOLF
LOA: 77ft. 3in.Beam: 20ft. 8in.Draft: 5ft. 3in.Construction: steel and aluminumDisplacement: 218,258 lbs.Fuel: 3,408 gal.Water: 713 gal.Engine: 2x 500-hp MAN D2676 LE474Info: vandervalkshipyard.com
This article was originally published in the February 2024 issue.
