According to the quayside scuttlebutt, finding custom yachts below 60 metres has become almost impossible. Especially in motor yacht sector.
We should, however, make a comparison between old-school yachts and those built today because the description “very big” is now applied to yachts above 60 metres in length, while fifty years ago the phrase described those above 20 metres. In fact it’s the measurement parameters that have changed, not the concept, and while the line between series and custom stands at between 50 and 60 metres for motor yachts it drops to 24/30 metres for sail yachts, because in terms of units sold the sail yacht market is only one tenth the size of the motor yacht market.
We should not forget the symbolic and sentimental value of made-to-measure craft, which express their owners’ character and experience. Nor should we forget that a yacht is a status symbol, and many owners, through character or experience, do not want to surrender the opportunity to display who they are, not just what they own. There’s a lot of talk about the “bespoke” concept in the car industry these days, meaning full-on personalisation of series models. Fortunately, there are still some owners who prefer to remain very discreet about their involvement in the creation of their yacht. The real problem is that few yards can build custom craft and this has an impact on quality and price, turning the custom yacht into a modern folly.
Once again I think I can say that the sail yacht market still includes yards that can pull it off, but such yards are extremely scarce in the motor yacht world. This isn’t because the sail market is much smaller, but because sail yacht owners are true enthusiasts, so they are more skilled and seek to build a boat that meets their particular needs, in a cultural rather than a financial sense. (Here all the posts written by Luca Bassani)
Luca Bassani
