The distinction between owners and crew is as stark as night and day. One lives the dream, the other facilitates it. When tech entrepreneur Aaron Fidler bought his 136-foot (41.4-meter) Palmer Johnson AK Royalty in 2022, he bridged the gap, going fro

OCTOBER 11, 1913 There was something in the water. Crew members of the Dutch pilot steamer Coertzen approached the object that had caught their attention. There, near the mouth of the Scheldt River along the eastern edge of the English Channel, in th

Virtuosity means great skill or talent in an artistic pursuit. It’s an entirely appropriate name for the second hull in Sanlorenzo’s 185-foot 57Steel series. The yacht is a virtuoso performance by the Italian builder in collaboration with Zuccon Inte

Some people manage their affairs by gut and instinct. Others rely on hard data to inform their decisions. Rich Kracum falls very much into the latter camp. The spreadsheet is his friend. It’s a tool that undoubtedly served him well in his years in th

A yacht’s blend of spaces is always crucial to onboard comfort, particularly the way indoor and outdoor spaces interact. In the Infynito 90, Ferretti Yachts incorporates bluff-bow styling in a way that creates an interesting interpretation of the mix

Aptly nicknamed “the red bullet” thanks to a striking red and white exterior and a sharp, steeply raked bow, Leona, the second hull in Bilgin’s 263-foot (80-meter) series, is the largest private yacht to come out of Turkey yet. Just as eye-catching i

In medieval times, alchemy referred to the transformation of one matter to another, such as converting base metal to gold. Today, alchemy describes the transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary. With Rossinavi’s 216-foot (66-meter) Alchem

Time was, wags tossed around the line, “If you want an eco-friendly yacht, buy a sailboat.” The thing is, most of the big ones have diesel engines and generators, and they use many of the same construction materials as motoryachts. They’re markedly e

Grey, the fifth hull in Tankoa’s 164-foot (50-meter) S501 series, centers around the first-time owner’s fondness for sun, the silver screen and soirees. He’s a seasoned charterer who drew up a long wish list of amenities for the shipyard to add. At t

When the Westport 164 Legacy launched in 2012, the build team gave the owner exactly what he requested: an interior that was conservative, monochromatic and dark. The beauty of a customized interior is that it really can be finished in any style a ya

I was lying in bed early one Saturday morning last summer watching Formula 1 practice on TV when my phone rang with a video call. It was an old pal who’s done lots of time in the superyacht-building business. It had been a while since we’d spoken. Gi

Istanbul-based Turquoise Yachts initially conceived the 174-foot (53-meter) Jewels as Project Tala for a client who wanted as much volume as possible within the length overall. Twenty months into the custom build, with only 18 months left on the sche

Picture stepping into a superyacht foyer and seeing a beautiful arrangement of flowers with vibrant, variegated blooms. You might be tempted to reach out and feel the softness of the petals. Like the rest of the guests who pass through the doors, you

Hunt James has been a lot of things over the course of his 55 years—an investment banker, a marketing strategist, a financial adviser, a serial entrepreneur, a philanthropist and an investor—but he’s never not been a boat guy. “Oh, man, I have owned

It’s been nearly 20 years since I was on a Pershing this size. It was the shipyard’s first 115. On a gray, choppy day in October 2004, it carried me along Italy’s Ligurian coast from La Spezia to Genoa, about 45 nautical miles, in not much more than

After completing culinary school in the Netherlands, Freek (pronounced “Frake”) Van Den Brenk went backpacking and adventuring for several years throughout Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Canada, the United States and South America. He got a taste

Big by name and big by nature, Azimut’s Grande 26M looks and feels more substantial than its overall length of 85 feet, 7 inches. A raised pilothouse design imparts the suggestion of a superyacht profile, while the main-deck master stateroom’s side w

Jonny Horsfield is a self-proclaimed workaholic. He also admits to being a bit of a control freak. Since he founded H2 Yacht Design in 1994, the London-based company has designed about 60 yachts. “It is an ideal situation when we get to do both the e

Kim Vibe-Petersen has a head for business and a heart for sailing. The CEO of coffee firm Scanomat has carved out an unusual yachting dream that sees work and play rolled into one. With a sundowner in hand relaxing on the aft deck of one of his two p

Mangusta’s Maxi Open 165 REV is an evolution of the Italian builder’s classic 165, which has seen a dozen hulls delivered since 2007. The updated model adds living space, moves the owner’s stateroom from the lower level to the main deck, and maintain

It sounds corny for a Maldivian resort to be built in the shape of a turtle, but about 20 yachts visit Velaa Private Island each year. They’re drawn by the coral reefs and marine biodiversity found in the Noonu Atoll, and the fact that the place is d

kwooton@aimmedia.com What’s that sweet, salty fragrance wafting through the build sheds of Europe? It’s not the fake new-car smell that automotive engineers and chemists expend so much time and energy tweaking to massage our senses and help us valida

Come Together, the first hull of Amels’ Limited Editions 60, was built for a repeat client who likes to name his yachts after Beatles tunes. His two previous yachts were the 212-foot (64.6-meter) Imagine and the 292-foot (89-meter) Here Comes The Sun

When Sanlorenzo announced that Tilli Antonelli, founder of the Pershing brand of fast planing yachts, was heading up a new project, it was pretty obvious that raw speed would figure in the equation. That project‚ the SP110, does not disappoint. Sanlo

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 gr

kwooton@aimmedia.com Most of us discovered the sublime pleasures of boats and the sea early in life, either on our own or through friends or family. I come from a line of inland mariners who, I assume, passed a love of boating down to me by way of DN

A new flagship is always a cause for celebration, and Italy’s Ferretti Group did exactly that with its Custom Line 140'. Taking over the top slot in the brand’s semicustom range at just under 400 gross tons, she increases interior volume by more than