Megayachts: How big is too big?

Both Location and Itinerary. Mostly Draft. Once you get over 150' your choices in many places becomes very slim.

And as to the general how big is too big, it's all about intended use and personal preference. We were initially setting 100' as a tentative limit but with research and chartering we decided for us now 125-140' is the absolute maximum depending on design. Maybe one day it will be greater. I can't imagine ever wanting a 400' but then I can't imagine ever being able to afford one either. And that does come into play. If you can afford a 400' yacht then you'll have huge tenders and other yachts to get into the places it can't and to enjoy.

Depends where you go. In many places slips and berth for boats over 150 are limited. In some areas there are draft issues which greatly limit how close you get to the good anchorages. In the Bahamas for instance you usually see the bigger boats (over 150') anchored further out with no view and long tender rides to the beaches and good spots.

For inland and ICW cruising we ended up thinking 60' was the absolute biggest we wanted to go as well. And personally I'd never increase size just to add more staterooms beyond a basic two or three. We just don't have that many people on overnight trips. We did do a long weekend to Key West on a 63' with a bunch of our friends but these were close friends who are all close to each other and for a short time. As for sleeping, there were a total of ten of us but it was like one big fun pajama party. Sofa's, air mattresses, sharing. For owner operated then two staterooms work out well for the vast majority of the time.

So true. I can't speak for other areas but we did a rather comprehensive study of transient slip availability and marinas along the East Coast, the Gulf, the Great Loop Route and the Bahamas to help us decide. Rather than size becoming a gradually limiting factor, we saw it having steps. The first of those was 40'. Then we saw limitations next at 60'. Still at 60 the vast majority of marinas could handle you. Going to 80' eliminated a few marinas but eliminated virtually no coastal ports. It did create Inland issues. Then the surprise to me at least. We found very few marinas that could go beyond 80 and couldn't go up to 140'. We thought there would be more breaks between those ranges. However, beyond 80 they were mostly using side ties and T slips and fewer single slips, so total footage they could handle on a given day was a limiting factor but from 80 to 140 feet they generally didn't care one way or the other. Beyond 140 it started to become very limited.

Draft, of course, was the other issue. Inland and some areas off the ICW we saw 5' as a cutoff. For instance, would see anything more as a difficulty on the Great Loop. ICW, Coastal, and Bahamas, we found 6' ideal and up to 7' ok. You could probably use timing and carefully select and be ok at 8' but for us that was cutting it too close in too many places. Beyond 8' draft then it seemed to us in this area you were going to be focusing all your cruise planning and trips around draft. It becomes not "Where do I want to go" but "Where can I go."

This was just our personal gathering of information for our own use, much of it coming from other sources. Not exacting but indicative enough to us to help in our decisions of what boats to consider.

I think too big is when you own it just to show off because you can, and don't use it. If you want to entertain 300 people rent a cruise ship or dinner yacht. I think around 140' is about as big as can really be appreciated. For a personal yacht I think around 50'-60' is about max. Beyond that it's a (someone's) full time job managing it, and the owner is just along for the ride and to pay the bills. Now if you're really into using a boat 45' is about max and about 20' is ideal; no muss no fuss. Take it out on a whim with no plan. To me one of the saddest things is to see a beautiful boat not getting used. Often when I see these megayachts I actually feel sorry for their owners. Dollar bills (and the people they attract) make very poor company.

All that said though, there's another reason for owning a yacht. It creates jobs, although I think that money could be spent in a more productive way. One thing that concerns me with all the megayachts on the water today is that eventually they will die and have to be disposed of. It'd be one thing if plans were made to create real jobs in the breaking, but I fear that most will end up in places where the breakers earn $0.34 an hour and have a lifespan of about 40 due to the work conditions.

I did the entire Great Loop on a 75' Hatteras MY in 2008. You would've thought that was a megayacht on that trip. I ended up staying in a marina about 1 out of every 4 nights both on the Hudson River/Erie Canal and the Tenn Tomm. Even finding a place out of the way to anchor once I got to the Tenn-Tomm was very difficult. There were accomodating marina's that would hold us about 2 out of 4 nights, but you ended up passing the one marina at 11am and there was no sense in pulling in that early.

Yes, we intend to do it in a 60' and that is at the upper end of advisable size. Something in the 40-50' range is probably ideal. Also, don't know about the 75 you were on, but the Hatteras' I've seen generally have less draft than other boats their size. So, many 75's would have had more problems than just marinas.

I know nothing about motorcycles but use to hear that no motorcycle you couldn't get up off of you and off the ground yourself. Well, makes sense. For us it was no boat we couldn't see ourselves enjoying "driving" ourselves. Now we'll do this with Captains but much of the time, with training, we intend to be at the controls ourselves. Also, we intend to become capable of docking ourselves. It's different for everyone but if we didn't feel we could actually get behind the wheel and enjoy then not our style. And to be sure we did charter boats in several ranges including some of the same boats we were considering new. If we were only going to own one boat however, it would be smaller.

We chartered a 150' boat and it was just too much for us. We didn't feel like boaters. Suddenly the joy of the journey lost too much and it was just waiting for the destination. We have never taken a cruise as it doesn't appeal to us, nor do the larger boats. We also don't entertain huge groups. And sure don't care about impressing someone.

I think this would be a bit too big as a yacht.

600,000 tons of fun.

BBC News - Shell's record-breaking Prelude takes to the water

I disagree.... Whether a boat is 35' 45' 55 or 70' you will have the same numbers of lines, the same machinery to check and start so it really makes no difference, except maybe a second shore power cord over 50/60'

It takes me just as little time and effort to take my 53 out of the slip for a quick ride, than it did my previous boat (37'). And it takes the same amount of time to get the 70' I run underway, under 10 minutes from the moment I open the ER do do the preflight.

Layout and how the boat is rigged, as well as the slip has a much greater impact on ease of use than size. I ve seen 30 footer which took 15 minutes to get going

We'll have to agree to disagree. Over 45' you need to reserve a lunch spot. Under you can make the decision as you pass the dock with almost any marina. It takes 2 to 3 times as long to fuel a 70' as it does a 35', and you may have to wait longer for a suitable space to open up to even get onto the fuel dock. Line handling in adverse conditions can still be done easily by one person on a 35'. At 55' or 70' it's a lot like work to handle that and the helm. Dragging a 30 amp cord in and out is simple. For 50 amp it's real nice to have a cablemaster. Backing into a slip or stern to another boat with your Hatt (just like what I run) is a lot more comfortable with a spotter on the stern to count down when your swim platform is close since you can't see it or the floating dock or another boat's transom from the helm. That brings me to the fact that it's fun to run around the bay on a 20' or even a 30' alone, but rarely will you see a guy going for a joy ride alone on a 50'. It's just too much work and too much fuel to bother.

Well, at least we know what is too big for you.

You know what's too big for a guy who's been running boats for 57 years, 25 professionally, specializes in segment under 80 and has run up to 140'. Don't brush it off too casually.

You have forgotten the original post.

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...63-megayachts-how-big-too-big.html#post185882

This Thread is not about who has the best qualifications, best abilities, biggest Johnson, or the most time in grade.

Keep It Simple, Sailor!

That's not true, you're forgetting 1 thing. I have had several owners not want to go above 55-60' because of the WEIGHT of all of those things. Their wives couldn't handle larger fenders, couldn't carry 3/4"x40 or 50' lines down the deck. Couldn't help with the shorepower cable......etc etc.....Also just pulling the boat foward a little to get a spring line off. I have seen many husband/wife teams where the wives cannot physically handle it.

Surely you must be kidding. Have you ever been on a boat that size? Actually spent more than a few minutes on it? That size boat with a crew gets pretty small in a hurry.

The rest of the stuff reads like social engineering or some kind of distaste for the rich so is not worth comment.

Fun to read.