A yacht is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a yacht, as opposed to a boat, such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 19th century; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is incorrectly assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats".
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from 40 metres (130 ft) to more than 180 metres (590 ft) in length, and sometimes include yachts as small as 24 metres (79 ft).
118 WallyPower, christened Galeocerdo, is a 118-foot (36 m) luxury motor yacht with a maximum speed of 60 knots, designed by Lazzarini Pickering Architetti, produced by Wally Yachts. The yacht is narrow and angular in design with black glass housing, driven by three Vericor TF50 gas turbines generating 5,600 horsepower (4,200 kW), each driving a Rolls-Royce Kamewa water jet, two steerable outboard and a non-steering booster on the centerline. The steerable water jets also have a diesel engine input for a 370 hp (280 kW) Cummins diesel, thus making the ship a combined diesel or gas turbine (CODOG) configured vessel. The total power output is 16,800 horsepower (12,500 kW). One 118 WallyPower has been constructed. It is owned by the Kondakji family and cost £14m.
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electric motor or internal combustion engine driving a propeller, or less frequently, in pump-jets, an impeller. Marine engineering is the discipline concerned with the engineering design process of marine propulsion systems.
Phocea was a sailing yacht that was built at Toulon, France, by DCAN in 1976. She is 246 feet long and can cruise at 12 knots. Like many yachts, she has undergone a number of refits, a major one having been in 2000 in Germany. She can handle 12 guests supported by a crew of 16 sailors. Phocea is a schooner with four masts. Phocea was originally built for speed, and she crossed the Atlantic in 8 days and achieved speeds of 30 knots under sail. The yacht has also been converted more for luxury and used on the charter market.
Madiz is a 57 metre twin screw steel yacht built on the River Clyde in Scotland, in 1902. In 2006, she broke a record in the shipping industry by being the only ship in the world to be in class "+100A1" with Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 100 years after the date of its building.
Destriero was a 67-metre (220 ft) long, 13-metre (43 ft) wide, 400-ton displacement, yacht built by Fincantieri in their Muggiano yard at La Spezia in 1991. She was fitted with three GE Aviation LM1600 gas turbines totalling 60,000-horsepower (45,000 kW), providing her with a maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour. Destriero was built with the sponsorship of the Aga Khan IV and others specifically to cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time of 3 days and secure the Blue Riband.
Alysia is a luxury charter Motor yacht owned by Greek businessman Andreas Liveras. She was constructed in steel during 2006 by the Neorion ship-yard for a cost of about 116 million EUR. This made her Forbes magazine's most expensive yacht in the world for 2006.
LOMOcean Marine is a naval architecture and yacht design company based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Motor Yacht A is a superyacht designed by Philippe Starck and engineered by naval architect Martin Francis. She was built by the Blohm + Voss shipyard at the HDW deepwater facility in Kiel. She was ordered in November 2004, and delivered in 2008 at a rumoured cost of US$300 million. With a length of 119 metres (390 ft) and measuring almost 6,000 tonnes, she is one of the largest motor yachts in the world. Before 2022 she was connected with the Russian entrepreneur and industrialist Andrey Melnichenko, but according to his representatives he has no relation to her anymore. The yacht has been laid up in the United Arab Emirates since 2022.
Boat International Media is a luxury lifestyle publishing company based in Wimbledon, London. The company publishes the magazines. Boat InternationalBoat International US Edition and Dockwalk. It runs the websites boatinternational.com and dockwalk.com. It also publishes annual books including, TheSuperyachts a compendium of some of the biggest and best superyacht launches from the last year.
Heesen Yachts is a Dutch ship building company that specialises in custom built superyachts. Founded in 1978, it has launched more than 200 yachts since its inception, many of which have won awards. It is considered one of the world leaders in the design, construction and engineering of all-aluminum yachts.
Oceanco's 88.5 m (290 ft) Cloud 9 was delivered in 2015 as Infinity. Her exterior design is the work of Espen Øino and her interior is by Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design and David Kleinberg Design Associates. The Master Suite includes a private exterior deck and whirlpool. Guest accommodations consist of two VIP suites and four spacious guest staterooms. The yacht is fitted with two 4,828 hp (3,600 kW) MTU engines and is capable of reaching speeds of 18.5 knots (34 km/h).
The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is an award for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing by a surface vessel, one of several such awards that have grown out of the contest for the prestigious Blue Riband of the Atlantic. The trophy was created following Richard Branson's record-breaking Atlantic crossing in 1986 and the refusal by the American Merchant Marine Museum to surrender the Hales Trophy, the then only official award for the Atlantic crossing record. The Virgin Atlantic Challenge Trophy is currently held by the Aga Khan's vessel, Destriero.
Black Pearl is a sailing yacht launched in 2016, which is 106.7 meters (350.1 ft) in length. It has three DynaRig masts supporting a sail area of 2,900 square meters (31,215 sq ft). The yacht was known during its build process originally as Oceanco Y712 and thereafter as "Project Solar". The hull is steel, the superstructure aluminum, and the masts carbon fiber. The yacht is owned by the family of Russian billionaire Oleg Burlakov, who died in 2021.
Musashi is a motor yacht built in 2011 by Feadship and is owned by American billionaire Larry Ellison. With an overall length of 87.78 m (288.0 ft) and a beam of 13.90 m (45.6 ft) she is the 79th largest yacht in the world, tied with her sister ship Fountainhead. Musashi is named after the Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
The 68.20 m (223.8 ft) superyacht Ragnar was launched by ICON Yachts at their yard in Harlingen and delivered later that same year to Russian millionaire Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.
The 66 m (217 ft) superyacht Luna B was launched by Oceanco at their yard in Alblasserdam. The yacht's exterior design was done by the yard itself and Alberto Pinto was responsible for the interior design. She is owned by American/Canadian billionaire Robert Friedland.
