Top 5 design trends we spotted at Cannes Yachting Festival

Cannes Yachting Festival 2016 drew to a close over the weekend, following six days of the world’s biggest yards showing off their latest models. We noticed five key trends on display at Cannes, the first of which is a change in the way yards are using their foredecks.

Superyacht foredecks have always been popular for private relaxation in the Mediterranean, with stern-to berthing meaning that this is the best place to escape prying eyes.

With this in mind, many manufacturers have started moving the superyacht spa pool from the aft deck to the foredeck. The first Mangusta Oceano 42 (pictured above), Sunseeker 116 Yacht Fleur and Takara by Sanlorenzo were just three of the yachts shown embracing this trend at the 2016 Cannes show.

This has long-been a must-have item on some of the world’s largest superyachts, but fold-out balconies are now becoming more and more popular on smaller yachts as well.

Whether they are fitted to the saloon, like on the 30 metre Kohuba by Princess Yachts (pictured above), or in the owner’s suite as on 38 metre Benetti yacht Constance Joy, this is a trend that shows no sign of slowing down.

This year’s Cannes Yachting Festival had a particularly strong fleet of sailing superyachts, all of which boasted impressively bright interiors.

Key examples of this included the custom-built 28 metre Bellkara by Conrad Yachts, the 31.7 metre Southern Wind yacht Crossbow, and the 38 metre Perini Navi sloop Dahlak (pictured above). The latter is the sistership to P2 and was built with a slightly higher coachroof design, which allows plenty of natural light to flood into the spacious saloon.

Extensive glazing is very much de rigeur in yacht design, but two Italian yards are taking this a step further. At this year's Cannes Yachting Festival, both the Sanlorenzo SL78 and Baglietto 46M Fast (pictured) featured spectacular superyacht staircases with wooden steps flanked by panes of glass to give the impression that they are floating in mid air.

Bulbous bows have been a common sight on larger yachts for many years, and now this design feature is now trickling down to yachts under 40 metres.

The Dreamline 26 and Narvalo by Cantiere Delle Marche (pictured above) both feature a bulb at the base of the prow, which improves both stability and efficiency. Narvalo’s captain told Boat International that the owner was particularly keen to have this feature on his yacht and the tank-testing model of the hull is proudly displayed in the pilothouse.