Have you ever seen a superyacht navigate its way out of the Netherlands’ narrow canals? It would not be wrong to describe the sight as a slow-moving queen, calm and composed, in no hurry to reach the throne, gliding past subjects she towers over with effortless grace.
That is exactly what I saw when the 270-foot Feadship superyacht Project 829 was spotted for the first time, transiting through Gouda in the Netherlands on her way to outfitting at the Feadship Royal Van Lent facility in Kaag. The gorgeous yacht is reportedly built for an American owner, who we believe is billionaire Larry Van Tuyl.
The steel-hulled giant looks almost unreal against the tiny Dutch waterside houses and neat canal-side architecture. Even the agricultural fields in the backdrop feel like a parking lot for a vessel of this scale, which is slated for delivery in 2027. Clean, sleek lines and the distinct silhouette of a 2,408 GT platform are penned by Harrison Eidsgaard, and the sparkling white profile cuts through the sepia-toned landscape like a dove against a dark night. From pitched-roof homes to a church steeple in the distance, Project 829 dwarfs everything around her, including the small tugboat patiently nudging the mammoth along to her destination.
Feadship 829 was photographed earlier this week traveling through Alphen aan den Rijn and Woubrugge, as shared by SuperYacht Times, but the most breathtaking moment is the one that makes your stomach tighten, the yacht sliding inches beneath a bridge that seems to lift solely to let this massive vessel pass. Moves like this are pure choreography, with bridge operators, pilots, and tug crews timing every meter so the yacht never loses her margin. The canals were the tightrope walk. Now she slips into outfitting, and the next time we see her, she will not be a hull in transit; she will be a finished statement.
What is outfitting?
In the coming months, Project 829 will transform from a floating shell into a fully functioning superyacht. Outfitting is the phase where everything, from machinery and major tankage to piping, wiring, engineering systems, interiors, deck hardware, glazing, paintwork, and safety equipment, is installed, integrated, tested, and ultimately signed off. It is the real “Bibity bobbity boo” moment, but not an instant one. The transformation unfolds over months, as the yacht is completed from the inside out.
Major tanks and plant equipment go in first, followed by core pipe systems, HVAC ducting, and the electrical backbone. Once the yacht is sealed with windows and shell doors, exterior deck work and finishing accelerate, and the interior fit-out shifts the project from an industrial build into livable luxury. From there, commissioning begins, with dockside testing that stress-checks power, HVAC, automation, alarms, and redundancy before harbor trials and sea trials prove the yacht performs as promised.
About the billionaire owner-
Kansas-born Larry Van Tuyl was born into an automotive business family, which he later expanded into Automotive Investment Group, Inc. He eventually merged with his father to form Van Tuyl Group, Inc., which was later acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. The secretive billionaire, believed to be worth almost $3.5 billion per SuperYacht Times, is also associated with VanTrust Real Estate, a development firm that describes the family’s long-running pattern of owning dealership real estate and expanding into broader property development. The tycoon is a repeat Feadship client and owns Feadship yachts named Vanish, including the 2021 Feadship Vanish. It is reported by YachtBuyer that Project 829 is also reported under the working name Vanish III.
