Sailing on a Rising Tide

Benjamin Maltby

What a Superyacht Costs Superyachts are those longer than 24 metres. This may sound a little arbitrary, but above this size crew must normally be employed, and the whole adventure becomes a great deal more exclusive. Superyachts range in price from USD 2,000,000 up to over USD 100,000,000. Running costs typically make up an extra 10% of this figure, per year. The good news is that charter income can contribute significantly towards running costs, with some vessels actually being chartered profitably. Should you require financial assistance – most do – many banks are now happy to finance the purchase of both newand existing vessels.

Keeping Your Helicopter On Board

Salt spray can become a maintenance nightmare. Traditionally, helicopters were only stored on deck for short periods, wrapped in bespoke covers. The trend now is for helicopters on superyachts to be stored permanently on board. Large yachts, such as the 126 metre MY Octopus, said to be owned by Microsoft’s Paul Allen, features a military-style hanger in front of the helideck, situated on the vessel’s aft deck. Smaller superyachts are now making use of below-decks hangers. MY Ilona, for example, uses a helideck with a centre section which lowers taking the Eurocopter Écureuil strapped to it to her hanger directly below. The remaining helideck sections then close over to form the hanger roof. A passion for helicopters is entirely compatible with a desire for flawless superyacht design....