Reader’s choice: The most popular yacht reports of 2024
BOAT International's yacht reports are the ultimate source of yachting paraphernalia. Both superyacht fanatics and those dipping their toes into the wonderful world of boats will find themselves in the most novel of places and spaces; our trusty cohort of editors will take you across continents, on board decks teeming with the latest innovations and inside cabins that make your insides fizz with excitement. Heck, the writers will even guide you down cinematically lit corridors given the inimitable title "the TRON experience".
Our world exclusives grant you access not just to the yachts themselves, but to the owners who set the briefs, the shipyards that initially scratched their heads, and the designers who took pen to paper and said, "Let's do something different". Here, BOAT gives you 2024 wrapped, as chosen by our readers. Step on board to read our most-read yacht features of the year...
To ensure you get all our hot off-the-press content, subscribe to our magazine. Keep in the know by signing up to our daily newsletters – covering everything from news to in-depth features and our top picks from the week – the perfect bluffer's guide for your next boat show.
2. This Is It: The radical 43m catamaran that emerged from a daring brief
What do you get if you cross a design carte blanche, a young client who recognised the growing market appeal of catamarans and a shipyard willing to take on a brief for something completely ‘special’ and ‘different’? The answer: a mind-bending 43.5-metre catamaran. During her arrival in Port Hercules for the 2023 Monaco Yacht Show, This Is It was a hot talking point as the newest cat in town – stealing the boat show spotlight with her mind-bending geometric shapes. It's no wonder the yacht feature also caused a stir.
A sneak peek...
I’ve taken in the enveloping sides in glass, the stylish Minotti furniture and stepped into the main saloon without really realising it – there is no threshold or visual barrier of any kind. The disappearing door offers great height clearance, and the designer has made sure to use a floor treatment that conveys the idea of unity...
3. Pink Shadow: On board Damen Yachting's newest 58m SeaXplorer
A custom evolution of Damen Yachting’s SeaXplorer 55 model, Pink Shadow was destined for "globetrotting exploration". Of course, the explorer lives and breathes these adventurous qualities with a rugged exterior and faceted shapes (not forgetting her long-range credentials). But, as the writer captures, it's her unlikely interior that truly sets her apart, inspired by the 1982 epic adventure film Fitzcarraldo. Step inside and expect your senses to be stimulated.
A sneak peek...
"You get that whole mood of walking from underwater," Mark Tucker, the founder of Design Unlimited, later explains, progressing up "through the mangroves, into the trees where the monkeys are, and then into the canopy where the birds are. That staircase is a piece of art, which we did here in the studio, and that [the builder] created in the metal paint finish."...
4. King Benji: On board Dunya Yachts' second new build
Delivered in January 2024, King Benji certainly had its share of the limelight this year – including at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, where the owner adopted a disruptive marketing approach by flying a banner over the beach welcoming all on board. As the writer of this article discovers, a big focus on the yacht is the way guests and crew can interact, adding to the fun of chartering. This, along with the vibrant, artful interior, all makes sense when you learn about owner Josh Golder's approach to yacht ownership, moving away from "old white men in stuffy old white boats".
A sneak peek...
Very quickly the team at Design Unlimited learned a few things about their client: he has an aversion to white, which reminds him of hospitals, eschews the trend for subdued greyish and neutral interiors and makes quick decisions. "I told them every wall has to be so crazy that if someone were to come on this boat, they would want to take a photo in every single room,”"Golder says...
5. Renaissance: On board the 112m yacht that’s both highly personal and tailored for charter
Every BOAT International cover boat works hard for its spot, but there was a special place held for the largest yacht ever built in Spain. Unsurprisingly, our readers loved the Renaissance yacht report, where writer Risa Merl proved the 111.9-metre is the sum of all parts: 35 years of charter experience, four decades of design and two generations of brilliant Bannenberg brains brought Renaissance to reality. The Freire yacht was built to Passenger Yacht Code and, as such, can take up to 36 guests on charter.
A sneak peek...
"We had a long list of non-negotiables," says the owner. "A large gym, lots of cabins, high ceilings, lots of places to eat, a very large beach club, lots of entertainment spaces, an outdoor commercial pizza oven, waterproof wristbands that open the cabin doors and have a call button for service, indoor and outdoor cinemas, an ice-classed hull, a business centre, big spa and a private owner’s deck for me and my wife."...
6. Raven takes flight: On board the world's largest foiling superyacht
Writer James Boyd took us on board the world's largest foiling superyacht – Baltic Yachts’ 33.8-metre Raven – in the September 2024 issue of BOAT International's Life Under Sail. Don't let her carbon fibre-Nomex construction and top gear from North Sails and Harken deceive you – Raven is a cruiser, and her owner has no plans to race. It's only natural, then, that her interior balances the aesthetics of a fast boat with superyacht comforts and liveability. The result? A modern, minimalist feel that showcases the interior structure, rather than concealing it. Allow our writer to talk you through the technicalities and capabilities of this high-speed superyacht.
A sneak peek...
Fortunately, one hand is firmly on the brakes (or in this case the mainsheet) by Raven’s crew of top-level pros (ultimately she will sail with around 16) led by Swedish round-the-world and ORMA 60 trimaran sailor Nylöf and her experienced French captain, Damien Durchon. Durchon has previously been captain on record-holder Comanche and a regular hand on both Mari Cha III and IV and another Baltic masterpiece, Hetairos...
7. Seriously fun: On board the 75m globe-trotter Infinite Jest
Coming in hot at number seven is Kate Lardy's feature on Turquoise Yachts' Infinite Jest – the 75-metre global travelling yacht with the capabilities and redundancies to go anywhere. To this end, comfort on board was key – and it's thanks to masterminds Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design and New York designer Julie Hillman that this marriage of residential and maritime functionalities was possible. Follow Kate as she takes you to the very heart of the yacht, where a striking three-deck circular staircase – fashioned from hand-applied stucco – spans three decks.
A sneak peek...
"We did 20,000 nautical miles in just over six months. Nobody does that," said Captain Tom Shipton, one of Infinite Jest’s two rotational captains, when the yacht arrived in West Palm Beach in March, following some Caribbean cruising. The distance is nearly the equivalent of a circumnavigation...
8. One drummer's dream of chasing the moon and sun on board New Journey
A born entertainer, the Nordhavn N96 yacht New Journey is a melting pot of influences and party delights. Writer Kevin Koenig trains our eye in looking for these details – from the specially made leather-upholstered ottoman which stores the owner's guitar amp and electronic drum kit, to the recessed LED light strips overhead which frame an impromptu dance floor. Witness the show first-hand with Kevin, whose yacht report starred in our January US Edition.
A sneak peak...
Another consequence of the generous beam is that it gave the owner room to play. Aside from the guitar amp plug, New Journey has customisations that reflect how husband and wife enjoy spending their time at sea. They worked closely with Scott Cole of Seattle’s Ardeo Design to come up with something that fit their laid-back collective spirit. One of the more remarkable of these design choices is seen on the main deck, devoid of a formal dining room...
9. Exclusive: Inside the refitted 97m Lürssen superyacht Carinthia VII
Two things are sure to pique our reader's interest when it comes to our most popular yacht features: size (big) and refits (transformational). Naturally, this 97.2-metre Lürssen made for an indulgent long-read, where writer Risa Merl walked us through the refit of Carinthia VII and the owner's journey of transforming the renowned private yacht into a commercial vessel. Risa explains much of the work, although complex, is not immediately apparent to the eye. Luckily for us, she points out these specifics in addition to the new charter amenities (think bars, cinema, state-of-the-art gym and beauty salon). Find out how the original features were preserved while the yacht was given a new spirit.
A sneak peek...
The owner’s two main non-negotiables for the project were a short refit time and retaining the yacht’s high standards. It was an easy decision to choose the original builder as the refit yard, or more specifically, Blohm + Voss, which now sits under Lürssen’s yacht refit division. "If you buy a Porsche, which garage would you take it to for service? Porsche, of course. That was our philosophy," de Joode says...
10. How the world's largest sailing catamaran developed a double use as a floating art gallery
Making the cut as BOAT's tenth most-read yacht feature is Lucy Dunn's look inside the 46.5-metre Perini Navi catamaran ArtExplorer. She sits down with French tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Frédéric Jousset to understand his mission of "[bringing] art to the people" – and why it was a project naval architects Axel de Beaufort and Guillaume Verdier couldn't refuse. Read on to discover the construction challenges and the compromises the team had to make along the way to satisfy the complex jigsaw of a general arrangement.
A sneak peek...
It’s a trailblazing project, and the same can be said of the yacht, because ArtExplorer is not just a floating museum. When she shuts up shop every autumn, she will transform into a luxury charter yacht and head off to warmer climes for the winter. This headline-grabbing dual design has made her one of the most-talked-about yachts of the decade – not least because she is also breaking records as the world’s largest sailing catamaran...