Feadship (First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders) is a cooperative venture between two shipyards Royal Van Lent Shipyard and Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw. Feadship designs and constructs high-end luxury yachts and is one of the leading builders of custom superyachts such as Aquarius, Symphony, Savannah and Venus. History Feadship can trace its roots back to 1849, when the Akerboom family bought a small shipyard off the coast of the Netherlands to build and repair boats. They joined with the Van Lent family in 1927, and then in 1949 they founded Feadship together with the De Vries, another family-based shipyard, to form Feadship. Feadship has four shipyards: Two owned by Koninklijke De Vries in Aalsmeer and Makkum. Two owned by Royal Van Lent in Amsterdam and one on the island of Kaag. Both share the design and engineering center, De Voogt Naval Architects. After World War II the market for the previously successful industry was left in ruins. Even after four years of peace, there remained little money or inclination in Europe for ordering pleasure yachts. Encouraged by the Dutch government's export incentives, Feadship (First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders), was founded by naval architect Henri de Voogt in 1949 as an export association with the intention of selling to American clients. Several shipyards were members in the beginning: Scheepswerf De Vlijt/Gebr. de Vries, Aalsmeer Jacht & Scheepswerf Van Lent, Kaag Naval architects H.W. de Voogt joined in 1950 Scheepswerf E.G. van de Stadt, Zaandam, left Feadship in 1953 Scheepswerven Nicolaas Witsen & Vis, Alkmaar, left Feadship in 1957 Scheepswerf Het Fort/G. de Vries Lentsch, Nieuwendam, left Feadship in 1958 Jachtwerf W.P.M. Akerboom, Lisse, left Feadship in 1968 Feadship was officially launched at the 1951 New York Boat Show of 1951, which showcased the use of steel, a yacht technology unused then in North America for yachts. With orders now flowing for both steel and aluminum, by the mid-1950s Feadship stopped building yachts in wood. This started a series of mergers, leading to just three yards within the agreement by 1966. The 1960s as a whole witnessed steady growth - both in the organization's reputation and the size of the vessels it built. 85–90 ft, 100–110 ft, 120 ft with fully raised wheelhouses, trans-Atlantic capabilities; various milestones in construction history were reached and surpassed. By the early 1970s however, Feadship's popularity had greatly increased, with several yachts being launched each year