Your Choice; 47-50m builder?

Here's a link to a yacht that fits nicely; probably saw it already, but still.
p.s. never mind the interiour....

http://www.***************/yacht_triton.html#

Nereids Yacht

I think Ladies Choice needs to look at everything available, there are many different materials for the structure that will fit the bill but in the end its the facilities that will decide which to choose.
I have worked on many large yachts and although steel seems the heavy way to go there is not much difference when you take into account the increase in structural size required to compensate for reduction in strength
Mirabella is glass @ 75m and weighs 800 tonne, Athena is Aluminium @ 90m and weighs 1100 tonnes and Maltese Falcon is Steel @ 88m and weighs 1250 tonnes.
These all end up very similar weights for a similar length and therefore seem to negate the material discussion
As for corrosion/finish, if your getting paint problems that early in a yachts life then it was not applied correctly in the first place.And a decent yacht will have anti-corrosion methods inbuilt (try a Cathelco)
If Ladies choice is interested I am in Turkey and have access to Nereids staff, and a number of yards here that would be interested in talking about new builds at a fraction of the cost of the US and Europe and at very similar quality (its true)

I have taken delivery of a new composite yacht in the 157' range. It is one of five yachts I currently own. I have been intimately involved in understanding the production methods the builder applies. I am a developer, and, decided to send in my structural engineers to verify the strength the builder represents with regard to their product. A steel yacht, one in which I own of about the same size, has a tensile strength longitudinally of about 35,000 PSI. This composite yacht, which is completely infused, achieved a tensile strength of 75,000 PSI longitudinally. They prove it by putting the yacht on a "two-point" pick. I have yet to see another yacht manufacturer do that.

Cathelco came standard on my composite yacht even though it doesn't corrode and all piping is cuper-nickel or stainless steel.

perfect

Thats amazing, then you should be able to tell us the difference in price and weight to add to the comparison.

Couple of quick thoughts.
I've spent a fair amount of time on other people's yachts. I've only recently seriously considered purchasing one of my own. My thought pattern on this now is to purchase something acceptable and use it until my own is built. Part of this reasoning is based on my having a list of all the things that I don't want that has become fairly long over the past year. Defining exactly what the requirements will be can only be done by going and trying to use a vessel for a while for my specfic purposes and finding out exactly what the strengths and deficiencies turn out to be.
As to dogs on board.... I've travelled with my daughter and she has insisted on bringing her pet along on a number of trips. Private aircraft and all but the issues in certain places can make things difficult. I believe in the US that the state dept will have a good lot of information on where dogs are acceptable and where not. Also the quarantine requirements can go out to 5 months in some countries. I wouldn't even consider trying to take the animal off the vessel in many ports. Forget it in any Islamic country.

I grew up on a cruising yacht, only 40 feet but by the age of 20 I had circumnavigated the globe. It was an experiance that I will cherish for the rest of my life, but it has made me a bit of a renagade. I detest bureaucracy and revenue raising bull****. But quarantine does have it's place especially in a country that does not have "paticular" diseases.

Having made that comment, according to the oxford dictonary a yacht is a vessel used for pleasure, therefore it should be designed to suit the owners desires. Regardless of popular perception, it is without doubt a reflection of the individuals personality and ideas. I can only applaud those who educate themselves on what is suitable, possible and worthy of their application rather than rely on a second or third party to advise them, and end up with a production or semi production unit.

Ladies choice : Sorry, I'm not as dense as I may appear but Canada has a different cultural mindset from the US as to whose business one's personal life involves so it's more a "each to his own" and we generally don't notice unless it's specifically brought up.
As to my long list of things that I don't want many are very specfic technical issues.
I have certain communication requirements and in one instance the data throughput was rather glitchy. I went digging around and found that the installation which was supposed to be state of the art was using RG6 dual shield copper plated steel cable.
Yes, the owner is an acquaintance and rather enjoyed me being myself and crawling though the vessel finding all sorts of little things that could have been done better. So my own specification will include RG6 Quad shield, pure copper 95% coverage bonded shield.
There are some points that are just my general taste and unfortunate level of knowledge when it comes to things made of steel. If I know that there is something not done properly hidden under what is referred to in this industry as "fairing" their term for "boat makeup" it would bother me. These are things that most people that live in an "inches" world would have absolutely no concern about. I live in a world of 4 ten thousandth of an inch as being borderline scrap.
This list goes on and on but most would probably not be germaine to this conversation without more specific statements about where and what exactly you plan to do with this vessel. Will you have a schedule, etc. etc.......
My plan is to be able to run my business from the vessel and do my travelling by sea rather than by air. I feel very much at peace at sea and have no issues about being there for months at a time. Things are getting more relaxed for me and I can set my own pace more and more and for some odd reason people seem to be willing to come and see me rather than my having to go and see them.
In another thread I had come to the conclusion with the help of other members on this forum that I need a vessel that can cruise at 20 knots and that the actual underway time will be about 3300 hours a years. I got some good information about the downtime of the powerplants and maintenance scheds in another thread.
Ask specific questions and my experience is that there are many here that will help you arrive at a final definition of your requirements. I know that it is surprising but you'll actually get free advice that is actually worth something. Water people are a different breed.

Delta doesn't build to any classification society an a general rule. They don't build to American Bureau of Shipping Society standards nor do they build to MCA European Maritime and Coast Guard Agency standards unless contracted that way which has been rare. In doing research on them I have found out they have had three boats sink. All instances would have been prevented if they built to the standards I mention. The first, was the 80' Zopilote which hit a rock with the stabilizer fin and knocked the fin off. There wasn't a secondary bottom like the Christensen, and the hull was breached, and the boat rolled over. The second instance was the 125' Taurus which Delta proceeded to secondary bond (laminate) a shaft cooler shroud onto the hull. This is something ABS or MCA would never let happen. While the yacht was in Indonesia, the laminated attachment delaminated and took the shaft and the running gear with it thereby letting water in. Furthermore, a portlight was open in the engine room. Again, ABS and MCA would never let a portlight be installed in the engine room. As the boat took in water, it rolled to one side and the opened portlight completed the fate. The third instance, was with the 165 Gallant Lady, moored by the owner's home in Florida. The HVAC raw water supply broke loose in the engine room, while the yacht was un-attended for a few hours. The undersized bilge pumps couldn't handle the incoming water and the boat sank at dock. The only area that really suffered was the engine room equipment. The most expensive part!

Therefore, my point is, whatever Ladies Choice picks out, consider the attention to details, like safety. In my opinion the Christensen far exceeds the expectations of every owner they have had. I can call Joe Foggia the President anytime day or night. But I haven't had to. They are safer and more reliable. End of story...

OK, Five-Boat-Owner

You are not biased you say, still you are bringing up Delta as a less good builder and saying "Christensen is safer, end of story."

Just to balance your story a little, I can tell you that the same thing that happened to Gallant Lady, which by the way has an aluminium hull, has happened to me as well on a first class dutch steel/alu yacht with all classifications. I was lucky to be back in time and learned that never leave the HVAC on when nobody is onboard to hear the alarm...

If a custom built private yacht is classified or not, is part of the buyers decision. Some don´t like to maintain the classification, but are still building to class if the next owner would like to have such registration.

Any new Delta can be built to class and the first North American built composite megayacht to achieve Lloyd's Register classification, was according to Delta, the 2003 Delta yacht Andrea, with Lloyd's Register Maltese Cross 100 A1 SSC G 6 Yacht LMC & MCA.

And as a proof that classification doesn't make yachts unsinkable is the Christensen built composite yacht Picante that sank after hitting some rocks. She was ABS Maltese Cross A1 - AMS.

Maybe she should have survived if she has had a steel hull? I don´t know, but my conclusion is that s - - t happens and that any shipyard can and will have it´s share of it. End of my story.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I think we have answered, without any reservation, that Christensen is one of the finest and most seaworthy yachts in the world. There was NEVER any doubt about this.

At this time, we feel it is best to close this thread. If you would like to continue discussing this individually, please use the Private Message system.

Thank you.