Hard decision to choose a new yacht...

I did not buy a LSX. I wish. A little bit over the budget. I bought a 35 foot Cruiser that has them.

In the 90-100' range, have a look at San Lorenzo or Custom Line if you like the motoryacht style. I have looked closely at both and they are very well built and designed. I like the finish better on the San Lorenzo but I like the amenities such as the stern beach better on the Custom Line.

Regarding the express cruiser style, by far, the Warren has the nicest build quality. All the others you mentioned pale in comparison. Before I decided to go with a motoryacht, I was close to deciding on a Warren. I was that excited about the layout but that probably has to do more with the limitations on the express cruiser.

I've looked at a lot of boats and visited a number of factories so feel free to private mail me.

Most of them are configured as 4 staterooms. They are narrow but not bad at all. If I remember correctly she did mid 30's. Not positive though.

One criticism I have heard regarding IPS drives is that they have smaller props than would be the case with conventional shaft drives. The smaller props don't provide as much "traction" as would larger props and this would be more of an issue with larger, heavier boats.

I don't have an opinion nor experience with IPS drives to comment on this criticism. From a technology perspective it seems to make a lot of sense to me and you get the benefit of much more useable space. I would *love* to see a solution for large boats. My understanding is that Volvo has had a problem mating the appropriately designed drives to higher horsepower motors and a large boat solution (80'+) is at least 2-3 years out.

The size of the props on the current IPS drives are suitable to the horsepower output of their mated engines. These systems were designed - optimally - for boats in the 40 foot (+/-) range.

Certainly the wheels look small on a 75' yacht such as the LSX, but because this is a duo-prop system, they can effectively produce comparable thrust to a larger, single-prop configuration. Additionally, there are other benefits to a smaller wheel, such as draft & drag reduction.

That said... the larger IPS drives are already on the way. They are mated to an entirely new, larger displacement engine designed for yachts up to 120 feet. The first installation of the new "IPS900" system will debut on YF just prior to FLIBS '08 on an entirely new, never seen before yacht... if all goes well.

Yes I have heard that a larger horsepower IPS is in the works. From my understanding working with a builder who was very interested in building me a boat over 85' with these next generation IPS drives, Volvo couldn't commit to have the drives available within the next 12-18 months. This was as of the Miami show this year. Might have changed or Volvo couldn't commit to this particular builder (although they are a "Top 10" builder).

Hi,

As someone who is reasonably familiar with the yacht business and as this is a term I have not heard in relation to this industry before I have to ask- What is and or who are the Top 10 Builders?

I was referring to total lengths of yachts built in a year, as reported by a number of publications. I think they start counting the lengths for yachts of at least 25m.

Thus the metric doesn't refer to quality just sheer volume of production of larger yachts.

Glad you asked K1W1 .... as I still carry the scars from many brand name wars I was too timid

Kelly

Hi ohelbling.
I agree with Yachtbrokerguy. Come to Palma or go to France and have a look what is about. I assume you are looking for a new boat. Also the other option is to buy a boat in the US as the Euro is very strong against the Dollar. The main question as well is, are you just going to use it around the Balearics or are you going to venture to the rest of the Med. Then the other question is when you are on your boat are you going to stay on it full time and be in a marina at night or will you be anchoring out at night. Many owners here only use their boats in the day time and at night they are back in the marina. Generally the boat owners here in Mallorca have a house or an apartment here as well
The only problems I find with Sunseekers and the similar boats are some of them are very top heavy and when at anchor is not comfortable and at the slightest swell the boat is rolling like mad and it won’t be comfortable to you and your guests. When I sit on my balcony and watch these boats anchor out in the bay then I feel sorry for the people on board as the boat is rolling like crazy.
The best boat show to go to for me is the Fort Lauderdale show. Cannes is also good and there are many boats in the 30 meter range there.
If I can help in anyway, and if you come to Palma please feel free to e-mail me.
Good luck in your search.

Other builders with semi-displacement hulls (fast round-bilge) as described by Nilo are Mulder Shipyard and Cyrus Yachts.
But of course any custom builder can build you a new one.

Hi,

I was not aware there was Top 10 list of yacht builders by length when added in multiples that small

Here is an interesting list of a lot of boat builders from all over the world.

http://www.yachting-life.com/shipyards/list.htm#A

K1W1,
For years people would ask me " what kind of boat is that?" and with the exception of maybe 40 or 50 makers I'd reply 'some kind of SF or express or whatever' feeling a bit dumb. Same went for motors as I'd hear people spout stats on this or that make and model. Then I pulled up the models for Cat and a few others (hundreds) and realized that there are a lot of people who learn a lot about a little so they can spout off sounding smart. The smart ones just know where to find the info they need. Your list really exemplified that. I'll bet even you couldn't id all of them on sight. Me, I'm still a dumby, but I don't feel bad about it. Thanks for imparting some wisdom today.

Hi,

I tend to agree I bet I couldn't name more than 2 or 3% on sight on a good day.

Not to make a meal out of this... my point of describing that particular builder as being on the Top 10 Largest Boat Builders List (by accumulated length) was to highlight that he should have some credibility with Volvo since he is a large, by volume, builder. The long list of worldwide builders underscores that point since Volvo can't and won't give the same forward looking information to every builder.

Wasn't trying to start a thread on "who has a better list of yacht builders" and "who knows the yacht industry better"!

Agreed. Let's get the thread back on track.