Scheherazade is a yacht named after a beautiful woman who wooed her lover with 100 nights of stories. Like that beautiful enchantress from the ancient story, Scheherazade will capture your heart.
Bruce King devoted himself to building one of the most impressive yachts in the world when he made Scheherazade. Her low, sleek build and dramatic reverse transom embody the ideals of modern yacht design. Made with fiddle back sycamore and burled walnut molding, this unique yacht highlights the craft and care that experienced builders pour into their creations.
In fact, the October 2005 issue of The Yacht Report stated that " Scheherazade is not only an exceptional example of yacht building, she is probably one of the finest examples of what our industry stands for - a true labor of love for all who participate." The article even called Scheherazade "a true Siren of the Sea."
Scheherazade immediately stands out because she is made entirely of wood. That is an aesthetic and engineering challenge that few of today's designers would dare undertake. By remaining true to this traditional building material instead of relying on artificial materials, though, Bruce King found that he could create a yacht with more interior room while maintaining a soft, mellow tone. It's a wholly modern design, but it resists the urge to stray into areas of futurism.
While designing and building Scheherazade, King and his team were forced to inspect every section of wood, every joint, and every junction. This lead to a masterfully crafted vessel that functions reliably.
Scheherazade has relatively few cabins for its size. The owners wanted a vessel that would let them sail in the way that they preferred. That meant creating a yacht that required few crew members and gave them plenty of room to live while traveling quickly from one place to another. The owners requested enough sleeping space for four guests. They did not want more guests than that while traveling aboard their yacht. It was a practical and aesthetic choice that significantly adds to the design's simple beauty.
Both of the owners decided that they wanted to conduct business while aboard the yacht, so they had two independent offices installed that allowed them the privacy and concentration that they needed to work.
Scheherazade has a large day head that was designed for the owners to take family and friends out on the water for short sailing trips. They plan to use it frequently during the summer months while they stay at their shore-side home, so they wanted plenty of room for their guests to enjoy the warm, sunny days.
Scheherazade's designers always intended her to have a contemporary look with plenty of modern influences that incorporated decorative sea elements. This aesthetic applies to furnishings as well as the vessel's design. The interior features a furniture line made from hand-carved shells. Fiddleback Sycamore has been finished in a soft taupe color that brings out its natural beauty. Handrails, countertops, and the carving line is made of a natural-colored walnut. Even the air conditioning frieze has been decorated with painted carvings and delicate seahorses.
Scheherazade's main living space is in the saloon and pilothouse. An overhead pilothouse windscreen floods the lower saloon with light. The hull was designed without portholes so the exterior could exist as a continuous piece of wood. A large selection of flush deck hatches, however, supplies light to the interior.
Just because the hull is an enclosed area does not mean that you won't get wonderful views while aboard Scheherazade. The pilothouse has a dining area that offers a panoramic view. The side windows in the pilothouse have also been lowered so guests can have a clear view of the beauty around them.
The focus on aesthetics has not detracted from the technology that makes Scheherazade possible. Software controls all aspects of the boat's systems, including pumps, hydraulics, the sail handling system, the engine, and the electrical system. This makes it easy for the captain to monitor every aspect of the boat's performance. The integrated system even makes it easy to control fuel capacity and temperature. With 17 computers aboard Scheherazade, the crew has had to adjust to new technology that helps them perform their jobs without mistakes. Some workers have even traveled to Holland, where the system was developed, to learn more about operating and installing new technology.
Every detail of Scheherazade's interior and exterior has been carefully considered to create this modern masterpiece of beauty and technology. The innovative thinking that went into designing this vessel shows that a 21st Century yacht can offer more than anyone imagined by combining the very best technologies of the past and the future.