“There’s no question that a good designer’s name on a yacht increases its value,” says William Smith of Trinity Yachts in New Orleans. “That’s why we have worked with Dee Robinson over the past 10 years.”

Robinson, a 25-year veteran based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has designed the interiors of virtually every Trinity to come off the line—including its first yacht, the 150-foot Victory Lane, launched in 1993, and most recently the 142-foot Chevy Toy. “Everyone thinks we’re tied into Dee,” says Smith. “But we’re not. She’s hired by the owners. She gets tremendous repeat business because she’s very good about figuring out and delivering what they want.”
Robinson’s first yacht project, in the 1970s, was for Evel Knievel, on his Feadship, Evel Eye. Robinson marvels at how far technical yacht design has become since designing Evel Eye. “I don’t tell my clients this when I’m starting a design,” she says, “but I couldn’t care less what colors they like. I’m dealing with massive space, lighting and structural problems. You should see the amount of technical drawings to enclose, hide and disguise the yacht’s systems. It takes a lot of forethought to get that ‘tah-dah!’ look.”

Robinson works with numerous builders other than Trinity, and besides Chevy Toy, designed the interior of a 170-foot yacht recently completed in Hong Kong. She does not believe being a woman is a handicap in a design world dominated by men. “After 25 years, I think my work speaks for itself,” she says. “I’m even breaking the glass ceiling in the Persian Gulf, with two Arab clients.”