112' Westport Emilia | Destry Darr Designs

112′ Westport Emilia

I have had the opportunity to become intimately familiar with Westport-built yachts, having overseen the complete overhaul or new-build design of eight Westport models in recent years. Of these, the 112 has had a particular following as a yacht that retains its value, hence its popularity on the brokerage market and the resulting frequency of refit requests.

The M/Y Emilia is the fifth Westport 112 that I have worked on, but as an older generation model, this boat necessitated not only a complete interior gut job but also a significant amount of planning and design to bring the yacht up to date with the design evolutions the 112 model has experienced over the last 20 years. I had known of Emilia long before Guido Costantini purchased her, and knew that in order to be refit properly, she would need a significant amount of work. The passion, attention to detail and aesthetic that Guido and his wife brought to this one-and-a-half-year, $7M refit project allowed this 2002 build to be gracefully and beautifully transformed into a modern-day yacht with style backed by efficiency and functionality.

The overall aesthetic would be to make the interior as environmentally-sensible as possible, while addressing sound attenuation, crew living and natural lighting, and paying homage to the owners’ Italian and Japanese heritage through furnishings, decor and accessories. We took the yacht down to its bare bones in order to raise the ceiling in the main saloon and re-route the entire A/C and air intake and exhaust systems for efficiency as well as sound mitigation. Everything was replaced, from plumbing to lighting, electrical and appliances. Sound was addressed throughout, from the lower deck to the flybridge, and a custom baffling system was designed by the owner to influence the A/C air flow both for efficiency and noise attenuation.

Crew living was another area of focus for this project. In addition to opening up the aft crew quarters from a two-man to a three-man berth, we implemented a convertible bed in the forward VIP to allow this cabin to convert between crew and guest space as necessary. The country kitchen was built out as a commercial galley and serves primarily as a crew space. Adding a soundproofed sliding door between the saloon and the foyer to the pilothouse and country kitchen creates separation between owner and crew areas.

The implementation of the Japanese/Italian/Mid Century Modern aesthetic allowed us to source or commission authentic pieces from the best creative minds of the period, which we carefully wove into each space. Within the master stateroom we also created a workstation, a built-in settee, and implemented a personal washer/dryer unit in the closet for the owners. Other custom creations included a bespoke ceiling treatment, bed soffit and headboard in the master to the custom headboards and wall treatments in the staterooms to the backlit art installation in the stairwell. We relocated the A/C return in the original stairwell overhead and also removed the portside entry to the pilothouse to allow for a coffee station. In the forward bulkhead of the salon we installed a hidden pull-out liquor cabinet.

Also taken down to the studs and rebuilt, the pilothouse design follows the owner’s military background as well as the Mid Century Modern space-age aesthetic. The flybridge was enclosed with new A/C and air handlers and a new bar with lift-up tv and new seating was built into the space. The aft Jacuzzi shell was maintained with all of the necessary hook ups for re-sale, but used for storage for this owner.

The transformation of the M/Y Emilia is an exceptional demonstration of a passionate owner willing to go above and beyond to purposefully preserve and update an iconic yacht build.