Yachting May 2022

THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS have given me even more appreciation of the all-too-limited time I get to spend on the water. I am among those who live for those stolen moments from the routine, those cherished days, hours and minutes floating along an idyllic white-sand coastline or cruising over a cobalt 1,000-fathom curve to renew the psyche. The spirit. The soul. ¶ Last summer—while slow-trolling for billfish 100 miles from nowhere on a light-and-variable, endless-visibility day—I could feel all the knots in my shoulder disappear as a pod of pilot whales cruised around our vessel. The impressive squid- and fish-chasing mammals lazily lobbed around the surface with their telltale dorsal fins gently rising and falling beneath the mirrorlike sea. The whales’ graceful movements belie their size, which can range…

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, designer Patrick Knowles says, refits have often been considered less exciting than other projects. Yacht owners and designers alike dreamed of new builds—of starting with a blank sheet and letting creativity take them anywhere they wanted to go. ¶ That thinking changed with the pandemic, which caused such a run on boats that some builders are now taking orders for deliveries well into 2026. Buyers who don’t want to wait are turning to the brokerage market, which also has been bought up. They’re finding boats with good bones that need major makeovers—and make doing refits far more interesting for leading designers. ¶ “The market has shifted,” says Knowles, who has changed the business model at Patrick Knowles Designs to meet current conditions. ¶ The adjustment is necessary because…

SURE, FEATURES LIKE teak-covered cockpits and sole-to-ceiling windows are the stuff that sell boats, but far less attention is paid to practical necessities such as good boarding stairs. ¶ Enter New Jersey-based Quickstep Marine, founded by a boatbuilding veteran who thought the appendage could be improved. ¶ The company’s Yacht-Master series is made of marine-grade 316 stainless steel, has a noticeably large 19.5-inch-wide and 11.25-inch-deep tread design, and can be ordered with teak or custom color treads to match the mothership (custom hardware colors are an option too). Shorter one-, two- and three-step versions are available, along with second handrails for yachts whose owners or guests want an extra handhold for safety. For owner-operators and crew, easy storage and handling are built into each model’s design. Take the next step:…

TURKEY’S VICEM YACHTS has a new Classic-series flagship: the 82 Flybridge. Hull No. 1 was delivered in late January, with the 82 as the fourth flybridge model in the Classic lineup. Construction is in cold-molded, strip-planked mahogany with epoxy. ¶ Vicem says the 82 is designed for socializing and entertaining. This intent is seen on the main deck, which has no galley. Instead, the main deck has seating for the family, friends and their friends from the cockpit to the salon. That seating is in addition to sun pads for four on the bow and forward-facing seating for two far forward at the bow. ¶ The cockpit is set up with two face-to-face L-shaped settees. The one to port has a wooden table that’s longer than the one to starboard,…

YACHTS COME ON AND OFF the charter market all the time, all around the world. Every year, no matter the season, there are new builds that generate buzz, along with refits that bring new life to older options. ¶ Heading into this summer’s charter season, though, quite a few yachts taking bookings are worthy of note. There are models in the mix that charter clients don’t usually see, along with experiences and destinations that are unusual. ¶ For instance, the 162-foot Picchiotti Falco Moscata is back, now part of the Fraser fleet and with a new name from its days in charter as Exuma. This yacht won numerous awards after it launched in 2010 as the first motoryacht in a Picchiotti Vitruvius series from builder Perini Navi and designer Philippe…

ANY TIME A COMPANY DEVIATES FROM “the norm,” eyebrows raise. This is especially true in yachting, which remains a fairly conservative industry in terms of design. Traditional looks still sell, so many builders play it pretty safe, as is evident at any boat show where attendees are incredulous upon seeing a radically different yacht. ¶ Massimo Perotti, the chairman and CEO of Sanlorenzo, knows the feeling. When the shipyard announced the addition of Asymmetric models to its SL series, the news was met with “a bit of skepticism,” he says. These Asymmetric models push usable interior space out to the full beam on one side—and only one side, where there’s no traditional side deck. ¶ Captains and crew accustomed to having two side decks to handle lines and get around…