The Firmship is a classic boat in the type that was still being built fifty years ago; an honest boat exuding confidence that will still be admired fifty years from now. What makes the boat even more striking is that all of the elements are grey, from the railing and bollards to the sundeck and even the throttle. Yet the Firmship is anything but drab or boring. Bold and solid: a real Firmship.

The boat has been finished with the craftsman’s precision, reinforcing its timelessness. Teak has been used for the doors, the outdoor pieces and the interior finish. The wood used for the cabin’s interior has been finished in such a way that the grain of the individual planks is seamlessly joined. Even the captain’s seat has been custom-made for the Firmship. Comfort is luxurious but not obtrusive; warm, rather, and welcoming.

The boat’s forceful and bold exterior, designed by nautical architect Willem Nieland, contrasts with its refined interior designed by Studio Job, the design studio whose artistic ornaments have earned them a worldwide reputation. With great subtlety, icons of our seafaring past have been worked into the interior, but given an unexpected twist. The sofa is upholstered in prints showing anchors, Moby Dick and a skull and crossbones. A stained glass window between the cabin and the pilothouse displays the same ‘iconography’. At Studio Job, dream and reality become one. The interior can be added to as desired, with items selected from Studio Job’s custom-made designs – a bronze ship’s bell, for instance, or a marquetry cabinet. Even people who do not normally like boats are attracted to the Firmship. It is more than just a boat: it is a home.

Currently, the Firmship is only available as a 42-foot boat. The next step will be the launch of a Firmship 60. But regardless of length and design, each Firmship is a boat that, though completely grey, also has a stained glass window in the cabin and a helm with a skull and crossbones. It is a boat that radiates both the toughness of the archetypal sailor and the timeless beauty of a sculpture. The Firmship creates a new nautical tradition: the floating work of art.

– Jeroen Junte, design and art critic, October 2010