Steve Jobs' Apple inspired super yacht revealed in Netherlands

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
"Venus," the Philippe Starck-designed super yacht commissioned by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, was officially launched in Aalsmeer by Dutch custom ship builder Feadship on Sunday, with Jobs' family on-hand for the unveiling.

Venus
Source: One More Thing


Images and video of Venus were published by Dutch Apple blog One More Thing (via The Verge) , and show a sleek, minimalistic vessel sharing an aesthetic very much on par with the products Jobs' had a hand in creating at Apple.

According to reports, the roughly 80-meter long hull of the ship is made completely of aluminum, while huge plate windows adorn the wheelhouse, saloon and main deck entrances, giving the ship a clean, open appearance. Continuing the spartan styling inside, the wheelhouse uses seven 27-inch iMacs running navigation, systems control and other seafaring software to assist in operating Venus.

Not much is known of the cabin arrangement or number of crew needed to sail, but the super yacht is expected to be freighted from Aalsmeer to her home port in the U.S.





As a gesture of gratitude, each worker involved with the ship's construction was given an iPod shuffle with a "Venus" engraving, along with a note from the Jobs family thanking them for their craftsmanship.

Thank You Note
iPod shuffle and accompanying note of thanks from the Jobs family.


Venus was first mentioned by Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson in 2011:
As expected, the planned yacht was sleek and minimalist. The teak decks were perfectly flat and unblemished by any accoutrements. As at an Apple store, the cabin windows were large panes, almost floor to ceiling, and the main living area was designed to have walls of glass that were forty feet long and ten feet high. He had gotten the chief engineer of the Apple stores to design a special glass that was able to provide structural support. By then the boat was under construction by the Dutch custom yacht builders Feadship, but Jobs was still fiddling with the design. "I know that it?s possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat," he said. "But I have to keep going on it. If I don?t, it?s an admission that I?m about to die."
Renowned French designer Philippe Starck caused a small media firestorm in April, when he announced that Apple would be releasing a "revolutionary" new product of his design within eight months. After a quick denial from Apple, Starck confirmed that the "product" was in fact the super yacht revealed today.

Venus Stern


Jobs apparently began designing Venus after returning from an Italy to Turkey cruise, which he called his "best vacation" ever. He repeatedly redesigned the boat and nearly canceled the project due to illness in 2009.

"I didn't think I would be alive when it got done," Jobs told Isaacson. "But that made me so sad, and I decided that working on the design was fun to do, and maybe I have a shot at being alive when it's done."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 129
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    "Venus," the Philippe Starck-designed super yacht commissioned by late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, was officially launched in Aalsmeer by Dutch custom ship builder Feadship on Sunday, with Jobs' family on-hand for the unveiling. ...


     


    Not my taste in boat design, but it seems very SJ.

  • Reply 2 of 129
    Does it come in both white and black?
  • Reply 3 of 129
    ifij775ifij775 Posts: 470member
    The portion above deck looks out of place to me, but I like the shape of the hull
  • Reply 4 of 129
    Holy ship!
  • Reply 5 of 129
    The roofs of the two top portion look [I]exactly [/I]like the casing of the original iPad. Crazy!
  • Reply 6 of 129


    Did you see that line of Mac monitors on the top floor?

  • Reply 7 of 129
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    It looks like a yacht designed with input from Philippe Stark.
    Interesting and maybe even cool to experience . . .
    . . . but probably not very easy to live with and not really my taste.
  • Reply 8 of 129
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    I don't like how it looks, way too squarish.


     


    I don't care how famous or whatever that French Stark guy is, but I'm not impressed.


     


    If I ever become a billionaire, I certainly won't be contacting him to design my yacht.

  • Reply 9 of 129


    All that work for a Apple Shuffle?  Apple could have just gave a nice iPad, iMac, or MacBook Pro.  Apple cheapening his hard work, gave the cheapest of the cheap device.  That's how I feel about it.  Though nice awesome yacht however.

  • Reply 10 of 129
    hodarhodar Posts: 357member
    Seems like it would be an awful sailing experience. Providing waves a flat surface means that the "Venus" will absorb nearly the complete force of each wave that hits it. The hull shape is a 'wedge' without a place to displace the upward energy of oncoming waves - which means that overall, not only will the crew and guests get to enjoy bouncing up and down, but they will also enjoy the sway of side to side - even in light to moderate seas.

    Instead of calling it the "Venus", I think a more appropriate name would be the "Vomit". Conventional hulls are shaped the way they are shaped, for a reason. That reason is not that they are easier to make - but because HUMANS use them; something that SJ apparently completely forgot to consider.
  • Reply 11 of 129


    Nice Yacht!  I feel Apple was being a bit too cheap.  Gave him the cheapest of the cheap Apple Product an iShuffle, probably didn't cost much for them at all, probably $20 bucks at the most.  I'd think he deserves an iPad, iMac, or MacBook Pro or all that.  Jobs family is quite rich and should have considered his hard work and effort putting up Steve Job's dream Yacht.  Apple being Apple, and not as generous and thoughtful.

  • Reply 12 of 129


    Originally Posted by Hodar View Post

    Conventional hulls are shaped the way they are shaped, for a reason. That reason is not that they are easier to make - but because HUMANS use them; something that SJ apparently completely forgot to consider.


     


    I really don't see how it differs from many other yachts.


     


    Specifically, interestingly, this'n.






    Thanks to its special hull form, the ship can reach speeds of 24 knots without splashing waves.



     


    Sounds like he knows exactly what he's doing, and you don't.

  • Reply 13 of 129

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    I really don't see how it differs from many other yachts.



     


    You can steer with multi-touch.

  • Reply 14 of 129
    drax7drax7 Posts: 38member
    This is no Venus, it's an android. Samsung is building it.
  • Reply 15 of 129
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member


    Beautiful!! I wonder if you can control it with your iPhone and iPad!!

  • Reply 16 of 129
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    With his private jet being called N2N, as in End to End, I would have called the ship C2C. I know the history of the name Venus but I wonder why that was chosen for this ship.

    hodar wrote: »
    Seems like it would be an awful sailing experience. Providing waves a flat surface means that the "Venus" will absorb nearly the complete force of each wave that hits it. The hull shape is a 'wedge' without a place to displace the upward energy of oncoming waves - which means that overall, not only will the crew and guests get to enjoy bouncing up and down, but they will also enjoy the sway of side to side - even in light to moderate seas.
    Instead of calling it the "Venus", I think a more appropriate name would be the "Vomit". Conventional hulls are shaped the way they are shaped, for a reason. That reason is not that they are easier to make - but because HUMANS use them; something that SJ apparently completely forgot to consider.

    I disagree with that. This is the yacht of a billionaire. They are not going to use it like fisherman in the North Sea. They will fly to where ever on their private jet, get chauffeured to the marina (I see no helipad), and use it to taxi around that area. When they are done the crew will sail the ship to the next location and will have plenty of time to wait out a storm or sail around it. There is very little chance that Lauren and the kids will be battening down the hatches.
  • Reply 17 of 129


    Not my cup of tea style-wise but I'm sure Mrs Jobs and family will enjoy it. If I had the money, I would rather have something like this http://www.wallpapersshop.net/wallpaper/sailboats-and-yachts-ship-wallpapers-17-2/

  • Reply 18 of 129
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    nasserae wrote: »
    Beautiful!! I wonder if you can control it with your iPhone and iPad!!

    I wonder when they need navigation charts if the captain is required to say "There's a map for that."

    -or-

    I hope they aren't using Apple Maps to sail the thing.
  • Reply 19 of 129


    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    I wonder when they need navigation charts if the captain is required to say "There's a map for that."

    -or-

    I hope they aren't using Apple Maps to sail the thing.


     


    *Joke about Apple Maps being used to… HEY YOU EDITED NO FAIR*

  • Reply 20 of 129
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hodar View Post



    Seems like it would be an awful sailing experience. Providing waves a flat surface means that the "Venus" will absorb nearly the complete force of each wave that hits it. The hull shape is a 'wedge' without a place to displace the upward energy of oncoming waves - which means that overall, not only will the crew and guests get to enjoy bouncing up and down, but they will also enjoy the sway of side to side - even in light to moderate seas.

    Instead of calling it the "Venus", I think a more appropriate name would be the "Vomit". Conventional hulls are shaped the way they are shaped, for a reason. That reason is not that they are easier to make - but because HUMANS use them; something that SJ apparently completely forgot to consider.


    well, maybe they designed it on a computer system and did the water tests to what type of impact they have first.  If you look at it the bottom, it's got another shape underneath.  I don't know much about boat design and I kind of see your point but I think one has to experience it first.  I'm not saying it would be my choice of a yatch design, but I'm sure the inside is probably pretty freaking cool...


     


    Some of these big ships don't actually go anywhere.  Maybe he just wanted to cruise it around the SF Bay Area and have it more as a party ship to have guests and serve meals and enjoy a slow boat ride.  Have you ridden on a barge?   Don't they have flat bottoms with no curve?  I'm just pontificating. Nothing personal.  I think we'd have to ride it to find out if it was comfortable or not.

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