Grand designs

The boatbuilding business is a funny sort of world with more than a modicum of charm and intrigue. For every big manufacturer churning out hundreds of hulls each year, there is a smaller company, often dominated by the dreams and vision of a single individual with a very clear mission; to create his or her perfect yacht. These are the dreamers of the day and generally their aim is not to make their fortune but simply to make the best boat possible. Those dreams tend to snowball – sometimes into a nightmare but more often into a line of yachts that, although in some ways bear relation to – for example – a Bavaria, have taken a route from the builder’s yard to the pontoons that is so wildly different that it’s