Your Boats too Big ??

Some while back I posted this message:
How to Tell Your Boats too Small
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/general-yachting-discussion/7047-how-tell-your-boat-too-small.html

Now we come to the opposite end of the spectrum, How to tell when it's too big. Witness this latest report from a Wall Street Journal, the Wealth Report

Ellison’s New Yacht
Larry Ellison already owns the second-largest private yacht in the world — his 454-foot Rising Sun.

Now, he’s building another one.

According to the latest issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine, Mr. Ellison has commissioned a new yacht to be built in Europe. The mag doesn’t offer many details. Yet yacht-industry experts tell me that the new Ellison boat is slated to be about 80 meters long and is being built by Feadship. It’s scheduled for delivery sometime after 2010

Why, you might ask, does Larry Ellison need another yacht?

Because Rising Sun is too big.

As Wealth Report readers might remember, Mr. Ellison has been complaining for years that the boat he built specifically to be the longest in the world — or at least to be longer than Paul Allen’s — turned out to be rather impractical. He can’t dock at most of the world’s marinas, since his boat exceeds size limits. When he pulls into shore, he has to tie up with oil takers and container ships at industrial ports. (Not very posh.) Or he has to anchor offshore and take tenders to the dock.

Larry’s other complaint, according to friends, is the “lack of intimate spaces” on the boat. With its Zen-like, modern design, the boat feels cold and imposing both inside and out. “It’s like walking in an empty mall,” says one friend who’s been on the ship.

So Ellison sold a share in the boat to friend and fellow billionaire David Geffen. It’s unclear whether his new boat means he’ll hang on to Rising Sun, sell it to Geffen or another buyer, or keep his share.

For now, however, it looks one of America’s flashiest billionaires may actually be downsizing.

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2007/07/26/ellisons-new-yacht/trackback/