Custom yachts bear the DNA of their owners, activated by designers, engineers, naval architects and builders. Some owners take a lighter touch, leaving the project more in the hands of the talent they hire to interpret their visions. Others assume greater degrees of involvement. The owner of the 246-foot (75-meter) Admiral Kenshō drove the shape of his custom project from the outset, in great detail, challenging the team to break with convention on many levels, inside and out. The result is a striking example of what a custom yacht can and should be.
“Basically, the client … while he liked boats, was always a bit disappointed with what he found,” says Sanjit Manku, co-founder of the Paris design and architecture firm Jouin Manku. “He thought that while it was a beautiful industry, it could use a bit of a push, and there are different things that we could do on boats that haven’t been done before. So he really kind of pushed to re-look at the layouts, the interior architecture and how things
