Yacht design in the 2010s

PART 7 Popular Classics 2010-PRESENT

A common complaint about the latest generation of new yachts is that they just represent ‘more big, white plastic.’ While it’s true some simply continue existing design trends without offering new ideas, there are also a number of genuinely innovative small and medium sized boats that are moving the game forward.

There are many interesting boats below 36ft, which recognise that buyers want smaller, simpler boats to maximise the enjoyment of being afloat and minimise the hassles of manoeuvring and maintenance.

For much of the early part of this decade most mainstream new yachts continued to become larger and more complex, despite the economic woes that followed the 2008 financial crisis. Arguably, the culmination of this trend was at Dusseldorf 2017 – the world’s largest boat show – which saw the launch of a legion of new 58-60ft designs, causing some observers to note that ‘60 had become the new 40’.

However, since then the trend appears to have reversed and this year’s show revealed many more new, smaller designs. These included the first model of less than 30ft in Beneteau’s Oceanis range for more than two decades (see page 26).

There are other changes afoot within the industry and boatbuilders are having to rethink the future. There’s a growing angst among those who’ve historically sold larger models to a shrinking pool of wealthy, but aging repeat customers. While this is