Just a fun category to have a look at what is new, fun and cool in the yachting industry, waters-ports and marine world.

Our team has been on both buy side (pre-purchase surveyors and advisors) and sell side of numerous vessels bough and sold through auctions. Yachts and commercial vessels of various size and conditions have gone through our desk. We have been able to observe, evaluate and appreciate all the advantages and disadvantages of buying and selling through auctions. Our final conclusion, after weighting pros and cons, is that it is probably the very best way to sell or buy a vessel. Regardless, if you are a broker or professional or if you are the principal (buyer or seller). In this post we would like to give you the details and reasons why we came to such conclusion.

Why are yacht auctions great if you are a seller:

  1. TIME:

    Some data published by large yacht broker house suggest that over a certain size ( 30mt ) the average time to sell a yacht is 18 months from its first listing now this likely to be 50%-60% less at about 6 – 9 months for vessels between 13-25 meters but this is an even more price sensitive segment. The sale average time an auction is 1 – 1.5 months as published by YachtBid.com who in the last 5 years managed to sell 85% of the vessels auctioned.

  2. THE COST OF TIME FOR ON THE SELLER

    It goes without saying that yachts/vessels have running costs every month even at the dock. To simplify let’s assume 10% a year of the value of the yacht is the burning rate of the vessel X valued at 1 million euros. (without taking into account weather-induced damage that may occur when a yacht is idle and/or unattended and is not always covered by insurance) So €100k in running cost per year means that if the sale process takes 6 months the seller has an added cost of €50’000 + the risk and potential cost of weather-induced damages. This means that an offer of 950k in one month from the auction start is as valuable (if not more) than €1 million 6 months later.

  3. THE COST OF TIME FOR THE BROKER (viewings):

    Auctions have set viewing dates and a limited amount of time to schedule extra viewings or inspections by definition therefore the people that are interested in viewing a vessel (and eventually do a sea trial, inspection survey) have a limited amount of time to schedule it so they are forced to be decisive and efficient about it. Such process also proves how serious a buyer is about the vessel.  A limited viewing and inspection time frame saves hundreds of hours and thousands of euros (especially if the vessel is far from the broker/seller) in travel costs for each individual that expresses some interest in the vessel and may also be just day-dreaming that one day he/she may buy it and truly just using the Yacht viewing as an excuse to take a holiday in some lovely yachting destination where the vessel is located.

  4. PRICE AND PAYMENTS:

    The general notion is that at auction you buy at a lower price. In most cases this may as well be true, however because of; 1) the running cost and added depreciation and decay a vessel can quickly generate costing a lot to the owner and 2) the negative effect that it can have on value to see a boat listed for sale for a year or more. At auction you may just end up getting a much more fair treatment by the market. There is also the issue of payment terms.

    A lot of buyer and sellers agree on some instalments with a lump sum at the beginning. In the case of auction the buyer has to have already arranged to have the full amount. He/she will need to wire the full amount by auction end. This amount is invoiced by the auction house and received in full. The auction house acts as an escrow account. The seller at this point signs a document, whereby he/she/they take delivery of the vessel and full charge of all associated costs and liabilities. Once that is signed the auction house immediately wires the full amount to the seller, without any further hassle or delays and usually within 48hours the full amount is available in the seller bank account.

  5. RESERVE PRICE AND OFFERS TOO LOW: 

    Auctions can run in two ways either with a low base price and a hidden reserve price above which the seller implicitly accepts the offers exceeding such reserve price or with a slightly higher base price and no reserve price at all whereby the seller reserves the right to accept or refuse the highest offer. Auctions have a setup cost just like on ebay. However, on such high ticket items it is very minor. It barely even compares to the cost of showing a boat to 15 different people in the course of 6 months even if that means fuel cost only to the boat and back.


Why are yacht auctions great if you are a buyer:

Let us tell you a real story: once we were instructed as surveyors from an English buyer to do a pre-purchase survey on a 1991 Italian-built 87 feet fly bridge yacht laying in the port of Ibiza, the asking price was €400k it had some work to do but it was sea worthy nonetheless, furthermore, it had 77 days of day charter fees to showcase for at an average price of 6,000 euros/day so the numbers showed it was quite a good deal. We conducted a full pre-purchase survey we delivered the report to the client and the client instructed us as buyer representatives to complete the transaction with the selling broker offering the full asking price to be paid in one payment only. In other words, the ideal situation for a seller.

The asking price paid in full nearly no negotiations, other than the mooring, the buyer wanted to take too. We did as instructed and we were fully paid for our surveyor services + the travel costs of course. We offered the full amount to the seller and the seller almost literally disappeared for 2 months after. So to sum-up the buyer had spent money with us + taken days to come and see the boat. He sustained the cost of sea trial. However, the buyer could not complete the sale for reasons that were completely  unexpected. Later on the seller re-appeared proposing a Spanish-only vessel sale agreement. The seller wanted the full payment before signing a change of ownership commitment. Clearly that was not conceivable for an English client even if one assumes good faith.

  1. BUYER HAS SAFETY OF SMOOTH TRANSACTION:

    At auction the process is clear. Agreements are standardised to international legal standards. The process is explained clearly from the very beginning. There can be no surprises or changes of mind. Once the highest bidder offer has been officially accepted (within max 48 hour from auction closing). The buyer money is safely kept in escrow in a dedicated account until the buyer is signing the delivery. Once the seller has verified that the specification and pre-purchase inspection match the condition at delivery and inventory that constitutes part of the sale. The boat changes hands.

  2. PRICE: 

    Some auctions are done because sellers wants out fast. He/she is willing to take a little less money  than the market value, but faster. Some other auction require a fast sale because of a bankruptcy of a company. Some other maybe because of a divorce case, that imposes turning assets into liquidity. In some other cases boats require work. So the new owner must be someone who has the knowledge, time or simply willingness to carry on such works. In the majority of auction there is a price advantage as a buyer. The ability to act fast and buy quickly always brings a price advantage to the buyer. Furthermore, the YachtBid.com team for instance has careful consideration that the description of the vessel matches the most recent status of the vessel if a vessel is listed for sale for 9 months the pictures and videos you see may not match reality anymore so price becomes an issue of lengthy and tiring negotiations.

  3. VIEWINGS AND INSPECTIONS: 

    At auction the buyer can simply book one of the viewing dates. Otherwise he can schedule make an appointment to view the boat. The vessel and professional personnel is ready and available to show the vessel. In private sales, without a nearby broker fully appointed with keys to the vessel. It is often difficult to schedule a viewing. Futhermore most likely the seller doesn’t have much time to use the vessel. Therefore, he/she is quite busy and hard to reach.

The value of rarity in Yacht Auction: Yachts have History with Celebrities

When it comes to yachts oftentimes they are unique and not part of production series. Some of them have the added value of some very special owners or guests in their history. For instance on YachtBid.com very recently former Frank Sinatra and Virna Lisi’s yacht was sold (see image below)

Frank Sinatra YACHT

NORDIC STAR FORMERLY OWNED BY FRANK SINATRA AND COMMISSIONED NEW BY VIRNA LISI

If you are the owner of a vessel interested to sell through auction contact us directly Auctions@RodriquezConsulting.com or phone +44(0)7445308622


If you are an established broker or a marine professional and you would to establish a working relationship for multiple auctions where you are the presenting broker email Malta@yachtbid.com or phone  +31 (0) 20 8945579 

 

On 30th of July 2018 we received an order for our Yacht Charter Business Plan + Consultation package, and we immediately scheduled a consultation with Maya Gabeira, a pretty exceptional client.

Maya told us about her Social Media following and her life in the Big Wave surfing but also about her accident that could have costed her life and from which she was luckily recovering.

We admit we do not have that many clients who happen to be ladies, yachts and ships seem to be a mostly male-oriented business. However, there are some exceptional people that break the routine of our business, and we are very glad of that. Yacht charter is welcoming more and more women in the business and with great success stories. 

The Biggest Wave Record

Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

On February 11 in the 2020 Nazare Challenge in Portugal

 

Maya Gabeira Surf VIDEO

 

Maya Gabeira Surfing 

Maya started surfing when she was 14y/old in Brazil and much like most of us, marine industry professionals, she has kept her passion alive and dedicated her life to it. 

We are very glad to be able to call her a client of ours and we are all pleased with her achievements on which we congratulate her.  Go Maya! 

Maya Gabeira Bikini

The yacht charter business is growing at an unprecedented level. Some sources report over 25% more sales this very season, it’s too early to say but we believe a 20% increase will be very realistic when we crunch the numbers at the end of the season. Surely there is an after effect of the COVID pandemic, after all being at sea is the ultimate luxurious isolation practice but there is more to it in our opinion.

Unless you live in a cave or haven’t been on land for months now, you may have heard about the TV series called Below Deck available on Amazon Prime. 

The show was developed by Mark Cronin, Rebecca Taylor Henning & Doug Henning who we publicly thank for the great idea and effort.

Are we fans? Of course we are. Not to mention we appreciate that the show does highlight for most viewers that running charter operations is a serious business and to do it right it takes effort and dedication like any other business. If you put aside for a moment the glamorous aspect of yachting, crewing and gathering to guests’ needs is a serious business and the crew has a key role in it.

Below Deck is now at Season 7

Yes there are 7 seasons already, we not experts in entertainment, but it seems clear to us that it’s a a successful series.

Let’s take at the yachts involved and shed some clarity to these vessels actual value in charter fees in case you are wondering, but also what would it take to purchase one of these vessels. 

Season Yacht Real Name Length Charter Rate
1 Honor Lumiere 163.8’ From $175,000/week
2 Ohana Rhino 154’ From $140,000/week
3 Eros Mustang Sally 161’ From €175,000/week
4 Valor BG 153.9’ Not Available
5 Valor BG 153.9’ Not Available
Mediterranean 1 Ionian Princess Ionian Princess 150’ From €145,000/week
Mediterranean 2 Sirocco Sirocco 154.2′ From €180,000/week
Mediterranean 3 Talisman Maiton Talisman Maiton 177.1′ From €231,000/week

All these fees usually come with a 20-30% APA which is a deposit to cover fuel and provisions and charter guests actually get reimbursed (if anything is left) of any amount of these funds that is not spent during their holiday aboard the yacht. This fund usually also covers mooring fees in destinations that are different from the home port where the vessel actually is based and will return to at the end of the charter period.

M/Y Luimiere (Honor in Below Deck) 50m Benetti 1999 – $175k/Week + Expenses

Motor Yacht Honor (Lumiere) from Below Deck

Motor Yacht Honor (Lumiere) from Below Deck

This vessel was built by Benetti 1999 – It seems that the vessel sold right after the show aired for an amount close to $15M USD. The new owner also has taken the yacht for a full refit. The Yacht is almost 50 meters in length and as a reference cost of a similar built in Italy (where Benetti is based) a new built would be costing in the area of USD 35-45 million depending on the specifications – As a reference project B.NOW due for launch in 2022 is priced at €32M (approx 38M USD)

In the second season the M/Y Ohana is actually a vessel called M/Y RHINO

M/Y RHINO (Ohana in Below Deck) 46.9m Admiral 1998 – $140k/Week + Expenses

M/Y Ohana (Rhino) from Below Deck

M/Y Ohana (Rhino) from Below Deck – Admiral built

Italian built M/Y Rhino from the second season of Below Deck is an Admiral yacht construction.

with some beautiful decks typical of Italian-built yachts and a horseshoe outdoor bar,  after the show aired in 2014, M/Y Rhino (Ohana in the Tv series)  underwent an extensive retrofit.

She now has an updated interior with a modern to it, as well as new hardware, including a state-of-the-art stabilisation system.

If we were to give an approximate value to this vessel (used) we would place it below the €20 milion mark.

M/Y MUSTANG SALLY (EROS in Below Deck) 49.07m Trinity Yacht 2008 -€175k per week

Trinity Yachts built Mustang Sally, is motor yacht EROS

Built in U.S. by Trinity Yachts despite its very European exterior lines, this nearly 50m yacht was not available for charter recently however, it is now at a published price of €175,000k per week. Originally built in 2008 it underwent a significant refit in 2015. With this yacht we are already in the $30M plus category in terms of new built .

M/Y VALOR (Real name M/Y BG CHARADE) Season 4,5 46.9m Feadship Yacht 1990


M/Y VALOR

This Feadship built yacht is what we consider a classic. Built originally in 1990 it carries its age beautifully. It’s part of Bobby Genovese’s group which also includes a Lazzara LSX75.  This is a very smart investment because its classic lines and its very roomy interior is the type of motor-yacht that you can acquire for a relatively low price and refit in a smart way so not to spend more than one should. The result is a a very sizeable yacht that charters well and delivers a charter experience that is not second to much more expensive and recent yachts.

The Yachts of Below Deck mediterranean:

 

M/Y Ionian Princess 45.72 Christensen/Palmer Johnson 45.72m  2005 – €145,000/week

If you ask us this Christensen/Palmer and Johnson is much older than 2005 as most resources seem to suggest. Its classic lines suggest a vessel that was designed in the early 1990 or so. However, U.S. built yachts tend to have a more classic look than European ones, therefore we are not surprised. As the name suggests this vessel is has Greece and Croatia as their main cruising grounds.

M/Y Scirocco 47m  Hessen 45.72m  2006 – €180,000/week

Currently for sale with a price tag of 17M euros this 2006 Hessen Yacht is a bit of a special one being entirely built in Aluminium. We highly appreciate Hessen yachts built quality their dutch based shipyard is as experienced as the others but with a special focus on more difficult materials such as aluminium.

M/Y Talisman 54.2m  Proteksan   2006 – €231,000/week

 

Below deck yacht talisman

Built in 2006 in Turkey by the well known Proteksan shipyard, then refitted in 2012 this Yacht is offered for charter and it is indeed the most expensive of the above mentioned and also the largest. Well above the 50 meters mark this is the biggest Yacth of the lot and seems to have a very reasonable fuel efficiency with  230liters/hour despite being not too young any more.

The Yacht of Below Deck – Sailing Yacht :

S/Y Parsifal III 54.2m  Perini Navi   2005 – $195,000/week

Parsifal 3 is the classic example of the lines that made Perini Navi (its builder) a world class builder of what we call super sailers. Superyacht that are NOT motor yacht are also a current trend, and a very smart choice for charter guests thanks to a much reduced fuel cost for longer cruises with speeds that are not that much below the Motor yacht ones.  A very similar Yacth in good condition would be between € 14-18m and a more recent one like the 58 meters 2015 built Perseus 3 has an asking price above €27 millions.

What other costs are paid by the Charter Guests other than the tips ?

Yachts of this size usually require an APA between 15 and 30% (of the overall charter cost) – this is a fund that the charter guests (client) pays upfront as a fund for mooring fees, food and drinks, fuel, and other ancillary costs that the crew will pay without disturbing the guests during the holiday. Whatever amounts are left are usually returned to the guests.

How long is a charter on Below Deck ?

Charters are mostly sold by week but may sometimes be as short as 1 day or a few days.

Is a yacht charter a profitable business ?

We have a full article on on this topic please click here 

 

 

The Story

I could hardly say a hydrofoil superyacht is ‘nothing personal’ it is instead very personal. My name is Leopoldo Rodriquez and I feel privileged to say I grew up on Hydrofoils, or ‘Aliscafi’ as we call them in Italian, as my grandfather Carlo Rodriquez (see History) was and still is to date the one who built and employed most of the large hydrofoils (over 50 feet) that were ever built.

About 6 years ago I started toying with the idea that the world of Superyachts could have used a breath of fresh air and as America’s cup was deploying foil technology the general public was getting more and more familiar with this still amazing concept of hydrodynamic and its deliverables.

The People

Architect Daniele Natoli standing next to the bow foil of the Built Prototype

It was only after I met the designer and engineer Lorenzo Lucchini Gilera whose great-grandfather could surely be considered as daring as mine (Giuseppe Gilera founder of Gilera Motociclette) that it became clear to me we had to start something radical. It became clear to me that a hydrofoil superyacht would have been a good start. Lorenzo had learned by masters of Yacht Designs such as Zuccon and Lazzarini and Pickering, however, very much like me, he was looking for something more intriguing and that wasn’t only about design.

My initial idea was that of a modern Yacht Version of the Pt20 just like the one in the James Bond movie “Thunderball” (See Video Above). However, we went to visit Rodriquez Cantieri Navali in Messina now Intermarine SPA, to see the latest prototype with fully submerged foils instead of semi-submerged foils. The FSH37 (or FSH 38).

“Thunderball” – James Bond Movie scene Featuring a Pt20 Hydrofoil designed, patented, and built by Rodriquez Cantieri Navali

With a preliminary agreement with Intermarine SPA, we started developing a design based on this tested vessel that was being tested and tuned with 2 different drive configurations: z drives and regular shafts.

After some initial designs of the exterior lines, I received a phone call from a young designer who I had known through common friends who called me saying I would love to design a hydrofoil yacht. Architect Daniele Natoli told me, it’s would be a dream for me because I was born on a hydrofoil. Daniele is indeed originally from Lipari (Aeolian Islands, Sicily) and I thought his speech was figurative due to the frequent use of ‘Aliscafi’ that connects those islands. Instead, Daniele Natoli birth certificate actually testify that he was physically born aboard of a 1963 Rodriquez build Hydrofoil model PT50 and his umbilical cord was indeed cut by Capt Francesco Romeo on the hydrofoil named ‘ Freccia Del Mediterraneo’ (see image below)


From a Commercial Vessel to..

So we started to work on yacht design

Designing an innovative yacht is a very difficult job even with clients that know exactly what they want. Designing one were we had to imagine who the clients could be and where every kilo makes the difference because of the complex weight distribution is even harder.

The Hyperyacht 3-seater Cockpit inspired from the legendary Mclaren F1

Hyper Goals for the HyperYacht


1) Lower Fuel Consumption at High Speed

2) Unprecedented Comfort

3) Unprecedented Stability at anchor

4) Smarter not bigger

5) Simple and timeless lines


We loved the challenge and we wanted a new name for the type of yacht

Someone once said it’s not the size that matters it’s how you use it. So maybe instead of going bigger and bigger, it was time to see something smarter.

The Name: The Hyper Yacht

The word ‘super’ was originally associated with superpowers (see Superman) but in truth, in the yachting industry ‘Super’, ‘Mega’ and more recently the word ‘Giga’ still refers to size – the latter- for the 80m+ gigantic yachts.

We have been busy trying to innovate the technology as well as the nomenclature of what we would like to be the new generation of yachts. As we did not believe this “project HSY38” truly belonged to any of the known categories Super or Giga or Mega, we thought it needed to have a class of its own: HYPER was the right one.

What is The Hyper Yacht and why is it unique?

It all started from “projects FSH37” (See Video Below) already built and tested in two 1-1 scale prototypes (38m in lenght) from Intermarine Spa (formerly Rodriquez Cantieri Navali). Differently, form ‘traditional’ commercial hydrofoils with semi-submerged foil the FSH37 is equipped with fully submerged foils that do not need to follow the wave reacting with the usual rolling and ducking of the hull. Historically speaking, fully submerged foils are a less sophisticated design, however, pre 1950s when the first commercial Hydrofoils where built and deployed by Rodriquez Cantieri Navali.

THE FSH37 passenger version prototype upon which the HSY Yacht Version is based.

Now we are ready to disclose some of the early images of the Yacht version based on such project, which thanks to a good ‘diet’ will be able to carry much more fuel and therefore a much longer range compared to the original FSH37.

We called it The Hyper Yacht

The HyperYacht HSY38

Advantages of the technology

  1. Lower fuel consumption of an expected 50% at cruise speed compared to a similar size vessel at the same speed
  2. Unprecedented comfort while on the foils the vessel goes up and down on the vertical axis with virtually no rolling and no ducking
  3. The foils act as natural stabilisers while at anchor
  4. The vessel thanks to the foils is also particularly stable at slow speed before ‘take off‘ or island hopping at slow speed
The Aft and beach club of The HyperYacht
the closed aft of the Hyperyacht
The Skylounge features a glass ceiling and a lot of natural light
The master cabin at midship with ensuite bathroom
The Hyperyacht sits 1.5 meters on the edge of the wave on fully submerged foils with computer controlled pitch of the flaps

Why is this the only credible Hydrofoil superyacht soon available to order ?

  1. Nobody except for Rodriquez/Intermarine has an history of over 300 hydrofoils built and maintained to date.
  2. No other shipyards in the world as working 1-1 scale (38m long) prototype ready to test for serious buyers
  3. The shipyard is reliable and publicly listed and will honour the delivery dates and the spec sheet performance and quality of materials 100% made in Italy.
The Flying bridge is hidden and features wind breakers at 360 degrees to enjoy the space at 40 knots cruise speed.

For Brokers and Clients

If you are a broker or a prospective buyer and you would like to receive more detailed information or book a visit to the prototype please contact Mr Leopoldo Rodriquez at +44 7445 30 8622 or use the contact us form

3 cabin layouts

The team behind the project

In brief this might be the tech that peer 2 peer boat rental was waiting for in order to truly to take off. Imagine if you(as a boat owner) could control the usage of your vessel in real time.

Having a boat tracker such as this BoatTrax Box on a vessel might as well become the crew worst nightmare especially for the crew member who are particularly into joy riding or to those unlucky enough to have boat owners who are not very reasonable in their demands and guidelines.

If you have not read our article on the Airbnb of Yachting and how these will (in our opinion) improve and increase boat ownership you might want to have a skim through it (Read Article)

We stumbled upon their kickstarter campaign and it seemed very interesting to read the following features of this boat tracker:

  • Directly connect the device to your NMEA 2000 Network.
  • Securely transmit and store the boat’s data to the cloud.
  • Automatically log you engine stats and other electronics information
  • Follow your boat’s stats in real-time
  • Go back in history and review the historical usage data of your boat.
  • Receive important alerts for potential malfunction and position of your boat.

This Boattrax Box device could also become an incredibly useful device for insurance companies to monitor the use of such expensive toys to insure with the advantage to the user of potentially decreasing insurance premiums by means of verifying a reasonable use of the insured vessel.

We always like to contribute to startup and new innovation in the industry so we decided to make a small contribution to their crowd funding campaign just to show our support.

IF you want to know more about the people behind Boatrax box boat tracker here is their start up crunch base listing https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/boatrax

Are you operate a charter boat or a fleet check out our business plan templates

We always get quite excited about a new foiling boat being presented for the first time.

We all know how successful the Moths have been in introducing a relatively large number of sailors to foil-sailing (or foiling). What it was missing was a vessel that made it easier to start your foiling career because the flying months aren’t exactly the easiest boats to start with.

So here it is a new foiling boat called the Flying Mantis built entirely in the UK. In our opinion a great learning boat for novice foilers.  (Watch the video Below)

As a matter of fact, if we were to imagine a foiling school for those who want to learn foiling/foil-sailing, it would be hard to imagine a more suitable boat than this new foiling boat.  It is also important to mention that the Flying Mantis can actually be used as a trimaran without the foils for a slower sailing session (maybe with your 5-year old child onboard). It is indeed somewhat of a dual purpose vessel. You could say the same about a foiling catamaran by taking the foils off of it, however, I would personally find a foiling catamaran as safe as the flying mantis if I were to bring 5 year old nephews aboard for a slower sailing session.

We had a long chat with the owner and founder of the company that designed and built this new foiling boat. While chatting with Simon, not surprisingly, we did notice the enthusiasm and accuracy needed to build and sell these types of vessels.

Variable Pitch Foiling boat

The Foil variable pitch (flaps) mechanism is very similar to those you’ll find on a moth

 

The central foil has flaps that dynamically regulate the pitch of the foil itself using a sensor stick at bow, that is very similar to those use on flying moths.

Foiling Boat - The Flying Mantis

The central foil of The Flying Mantis

The shape of the foils is particularly interesting from an hydrodynamic point of view and seems to be very well designed and solidly built with a masterful use of carbon fibre. We did particularly like the water piercing edge to it which would serve the foil well to reduce the load and increasing the foil lifespan.

Flying Mantis at London Boat Show 2018

A smart small feature to keep the till in place and avoid sudden movements for increased safety while foiling

It might look like a trivial little detail but it is a very very crucial one. The elastic the keeps the tiller centred is crucial to avoid sudden movements at high speed while foiling which could cause harmful unwanted capsizing of the boat. Very well thought. We have no doubt this comes from several tests that were carried out with the boat before presenting it at London Boat Show 2018. 

 

The Royal Yachting Association has already tried the boat do have a look at the video they have produced.

The price and opportunity

Currently priced slightly below £40,000 we believe it is very well worth looking at.  We also see potential for a Foiling/Sailing School with this new foiling boat, maybe the first of its kind. If you would like to build a fast business plan go ahead and download our excel business plan model tailored for boat rentals.

If you would like to know more or explore the a business opportunities with new foiling boats like the flying mantis in your area don’t hesitate to contact us  

The Flying Mantis will also be showcased on the 10th – 12th May at the  https://londononwater.com/

 

 

There are quite a few hybrid boats out there that are aiming towards a more eco-friendly way to propel a vessel forward. However, pairing an electric engine with a diesel engine is old-tech building a true hybrid requires more than just an electric engine.

What should hybrid boats really be?

In our professional opinion, the concept of “hybrid boats” should be paired with the concept of versatility of a vessel or even a boat building platform that is adaptable to multiple types of users.  Water taxi, diving schools, touristic or scientific marine tours, research and marine life orientated navigation, sports fishing tours etc… It is not by chance that out of 13 units produced of the Ethos Ec 30 hybrid boat series, the majority are employed in one or more of the above mentioned activities.

Hybrid Boats - Ethos EC 30

Where is the opportunity?

The grey vessel portrayed in the picture below is for sale at a significant discount. The vessel is equipped with e new generation 270hp Hyundai engine. Should you wish to receive more information please contact us through the contact us page making sure your full contact information are available or call +44 744 530 86 22

Ethos Hybrid Boats

Flexible Layout and Modular Panels

All panels in the cockpit allow the owner and/or operator to re-purpose the vessel moving all the seating modules and storage units, on the sides (port and starboard) each of those square units can serve all utilities such as water or electricity or be used as storage.

ETHOS EC 30 allow the owner to choose among Open, Cabin and the Lounge Cabin version. Through an innovative fixing system the side bulwarks can be installed by the ship owner in any moment and without any difficulty. Therefore the boat can be converted either from open to closed cockpit. Have you ever experienced a nine meters boat, whose main deck can be transformed by moving the furnishings (sundeck, benches, table, icebox, mobile fridge / cooker, etc.).

We believe this vessel is truly one-of-a-kind.


 Hybrid Boats

Some Technical Highlights


Who are the perfect users for these hybrid boats for ?

This vessel is particularly suitable for professional daily use within diving schools, eco-tours, water taxi between islands as it seats up to 20 people. (depending on the type of registration and cost guard regulations).  It is also useful for those owners who want to also operate the vessel for water sports or simply as a pleasure boat with a lot of efficiency with a broader market for resale. 

Ethos Ec 30 Hybrid Boat

The technical specifications of these hybrid boats

Lenght over all 31’3” (9,53 m)
Beam 9’8” (2,98 m)
Draft 2’8” (0,87 m)
Dry weight 8,818 lbs (4,0 ton)
Berths 2+2
Persons capacity 12
Endothermic engine standard Hyundai 250 hp
Endothermic engine optional Hyundai s270 (270 hp)
Electric engine (Optional) 13Kw
Solar Panel (Optional) 3×350 watt
Max speed with 250 hp engine 25 knots
Cruise speed 20 knots
Max speed with electric engine 7 knots
Cruise speed with electric engine 4 knots
Fuel capacity 153 US gal (580 lt)
Electric battery capacity (LiFePo4 72 cell ) 9,2 kw/h
Freshwater capacity 31 US gal (117 lt)
Waste capacity 15 US gal (56 lt)
Endothermic autonomy at cruise speed 360 n/m
Endothermic autonomy at low speed 1440 n/m
Hybrid autonomy (with solar panel) at low speed 7200 n/m
Electric autonomy (with solar panel) at low speed 32 n/m
Construction Materials VTR/GRP
Hull V-shape with 13° deadrise at transom
Project “CE”category B

For more information on Ethos EC 30 Hybrid boat series go to EthosBoats.com

A new wave of technology in the financial industry (fintech) could truly bring a breath of fresh air to the yachting industry in segment under the £50.000 price mark.

It sounds like a small price tag for a boat purchase but it’s not if you take into account the number of transactions or look at the yacht charter market and in yacht supplies/components. On the contrary it is a very large segment of the yachting industry in terms of number of transactions and many traditional Marine finance companies barely look at anything below £25.000-50.000 not to mention oftentimes they don’t look at vessels that are older than 30 years.

What does £50K buys these days in the boating and yachting industry ?

  1. Jet skies and personal water-crafts
  2. Ribs with outboards up to 6-7 meters
  3. Sailing Dinghies
  4. Sport Catamarans
  5. Yacht Charter Holidays with vessels up to 25-35 meters (depending on the vessels sail or motor)
  6. Outboard engines
  7. Superyacht toys (Sea Bobs, Jetsurf)
  8. Sails and rigging
  9. Small-medium inboard engines
  10. Generators
  11. Electronics (Radars, Chart plotters, SSBs , Sat phones etc..)

What is it and how does it work ?

It’s a fintech solution called DIVIDO we have partnered with that operates on websites that have enabled ecommerce modules. It allows a prospective client (user) that is –  for example –  interested in buying a dinghy or a yacht charter holiday costing £5000 to finance that payment and pay instalments instead of the full amount on their credit card right from the website. This process is enabled by multiple lenders competing for that client in real time and right through the website of the seller itself (the Dinghy seller or the Yacht Charter company in our example).

What are the benefits ?

Web users can spread the costs of for example yacht charter holiday through the year, or a high ticket purchase, get better offers booking in advance or during sales even if they don’t have the full amount in cash available. Ultimately, it is also a great way to attract new generations who are accustomed to use online tools to complete the purchases instead of going through a lengthy financing process which in most cases would actually contribute to a lost sale.

It also goes without saying that a Yacht charter holiday or any other a small boat becomes much more affordable if the client is able to spread that cost in time and yet have an immediate response on whether he can get that very purchase financed or not and at what rate.

What companies (sellers ) qualify for this solution ?

Sellers (Companies) that can benefit from this solution will need to meet some basic requirements.

  • At least £250.000 or other currency equivalent in yearly turnover
  • At least 1 year of trading/business history
  • A minimum online cart/purchase value of £250

Geographic Reach

This solutions is available currently in

  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom

It will be soon available in the following countries so please sign-up and get notified when it will be available in your country.

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • France
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Spain
  • United States

How much does it cost ?

The set-up fee to install and test the multi-lender financed payment solution provided by DIVIDO can vary from merchant to merchant. However, plug-ins are available for the most common Content Management Systems such as WordPress, Shopify, Magento and Open Cart. Please Enquire and let us know your website set-up so that an accurate quote can be proposed.

Divido charges a small transaction fee for every purchase made with their finance solution

furthermore a monthly maintenance fee is required for their technical support and to make sure that your website Trust Pilot rating keeps as high as possible with smooth transactions and outstanding customer service.

How much more business can I expect to generate ?

A survey carried out by DIVIDO itself on a variety of industries shows that 39% of prospective clients would have NOT gone through with a purchase if a financed payment option was not available and they had to pay in one single transaction for the full amount. Although it is hard to estimate how much more business you can generate, many of Divido‘s merchants have seen a sales increase of 30% to 40% since offering Divido to their customers.

We really look forward to see what this solution could do in the industry of yachting as we believe it has truly great potential.


What companies are already using it?

Nobody in the yachting industry yet. We are the first to propose it to the industry. However brands like BMW, HTC and BNP Paribas have already adopted this technology.



Who are the investors behind this fintech company?

The same investors of Skype, TrasferWise and WordlPay. Their last round of financing was £2.9M. It is one of the ‘hottest’ tech companies in Europe.

How do I get a quote and check if my company qualifies for Divido payment solution?

click this botton below or get in touch with us.


UPDATE: Auctions dates have been extended!

Another great off-market opportunity to acquire a state of the art full aluminium vessel with an incredible spec sheet and really modern design. The vessel is a great example of the well-known Dutch yacht building quality we all know and love. Only two of these were ever made for very discerning super yacht owners. This vessel was designed by Vripack. We very much feel the designer name speaks for itself.

Full survey available (End of November 2017)  valued the yacht at over €1M and the auction will start at €200k on February the 7th thru the 21st. 

Finance can be arranged through our company of choice Lombard Marine Finance for UK customers.

The Infinity 501 is currently in Honk Kong however delivery to the client desired destination can and will be arranged by our team if needed.

The Infinity 501 is built by Holterman Shipyard in The Netherlands and designed by Vripack. There are absolute no compromises made regarding the areas of safety, reliability and comfort. This manifests itself in her sailing behaviour at high speed, but also in her perfect manoeuvring capacities. Equipped with 2 Glass bridge Raymarine panels, AIS, Generator, Radar, Autopilot, tender garage and even an Williams 285 Tender. Let yourself be convinced by a viewing on the yacht. 2017 full survey report available.

Original asking price previous to auction: € 985.000 (ex VAT)
Starting BID at € 200.000 (12.5% needs to be added to winning bid)


 

Please use this form to register your interest

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Technical Specifications and most recent usage figures: 
Model: Infinity 501
LOA (m) 14,98
Beam (m) 4,75
Draft (m) 1,3
Year built 2012
Builder Holterman Yachting
Country The Netherlands
Designer Vripack, The Netherlands
Displacement (t) 24
CE norm B
Hull material aluminium
Hull colour orange Metallic paint
Hull thickness (mm) 11
Hull shape round-bilged
Superstructure material aluminium
No of engines 2
Make Yanmar Type 6S Y-720 – HP 720 – kW 529,2
Fuel: diesel
Maximum speed (kn) 24
Cruising speed (kn) 18 @ 1800 RPM
Engine hours: 550
Engine cooling system freshwater heat exchanger
Drive V-drive
Engine controls electrical
Gearbox ZF Marine 325-IV
Bowthruster hydraulic Vetus BOW310HM, 20kWatt hydromotor, 310kgf
Sternthruster hydraulic Hundested FT1R retractable
N of Cabins: 2
N of Berths:  6

Have you heard of Bitcoins and the cryptocurrencies hype?

If you haven’t, you have been sailing solo with no means of communication for too long, so we are happy you are back (if you are reading this that is).

Markets go up and down just like waves, then it comes a storm, then maybe rain and back to calm seas. Ultimately, most sailors do experience the same at sea and those that don’t get hurt are those that don’t panic and pay the oceans some due respect.  When it comes to market data in the yachting industry these are mostly driven by  motor yachts with roughly a 1 – 7 ratio vs sail yachts globally. 

We enjoy looking at the world as a whole as all good sailors do and a fact, we should not forget, is that the world is mostly made by oceans. While discussing some crucial points of our recent Yacht Market Analysis forecasts we pushed macro-economic scenarios to extremes. In doing so, we have elaborated a scenario (admittedly somewhat catastrophic) whereby sail yachts could actually play a vital role in the survival of humanity as they did in ancient times.

What is “real tangible value” for human beings? Can it be destroyed or created?

It’s not necessarily a scene from the movie Waterworld with Kevin Kostner we inspired ourselves to but a brief logical dissertation and some macro economic considerations on what is real value on how it can be destroyed or created.Waterworld Kevin Kostner

When we say value we mean satisfying real human needs like those for shelter, food and transport where boats are very well placed.

Let’s make it clear: In our opinion, Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins, Litecoins, Ethereum and all of the others that are by nature de-centralised and NOT controlled or backed by any government are just symptoms of the state in which the world populations really is. 

Symptoms for what you may ask?

The focal point of Bitcoins as with many other non-government backed crypto currencies is that the owner of such currency is the ultimate and only custodian of its value. Even though the concept of value here is less “primitive” and refers to currency-based economies. Cryptocurrencies value is theoretically non inflationary as the number of Bitcoin is supposed to be finite in 2040 and is entirely based on confidence and trust. However, the confidence and trust is somewhat peer-to-peer rather than state-to-citizens (banks to account holders) or state-to-state central banks and treasury bonds).

As result we believe that the Bitcoin phenomenon is actually a symptom of the mistrust and lack of confidence the world has started to breed towards banks and central governments and if you were raised in Greece or Argentina or many other countries that have experienced serious financial meltdowns, it’s hard to blame you for such growing mistrust.

The major banks are calling it a bubble and governments are starting to ban crypto currencies, especially those governments that have the security of gold such as China that stands in pole position as the U.S. biggest foreign creditor. (See: https://www.thebalance.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124).

Bitcoin and Sailboats


How will the banks and governments react to crypto currencies in the mid-long term and in the short term?

Scenario a) They’ll let them run, trying not to interfere and potentially risk to have a sizeable amount of their current accounts moved outside of the traditional banking system

Scenario b)They’ll try to fight back, buy as much as they can and engage in a massive pump and dump action/plan which would initially increase the value of all of these (or all the major cryptocurrencies) to harm the confidence in the market, cause panic and destroy any residual credibility of cryptocurrency in the attenpt to force people to take a complete loss and abandon the non-government-backed currency in favour of centralised government-backed currency.

Scenario c) The crypto currencies don’t gain enough traction to subtract significant value from the traditional banking system and therefore do not constitute a threat per-se but only in the potential illegal implication of the anonymity they provide, thus governments built exchanges in an attempt to regulate cryptocurrencies and exercise sufficient control to be able to ‘handle them’ via banks.

What other scenarios do you see?

(it’s not a rhetorical question au contrarie we are very interested to hear your opinion.)


When a bank gets in trouble as happened in Greece in 2015, it may resort to drastic action to deter the population from ‘assaulting’ their ATMs/cash machines and bank branches and withdraw the whole or most of their liquidity.

Why is that ?

Because over 90% of the circulating currencies at the global level never physcially existed in the first place, in other words, bills/notes, or coins have never been physically created. It is indeed estimated that only between 3%-8% of currencies actually has a ‘touchableform (note/bill or coin).

To make the long story short and simplify the matter at hand if 10% of the world currency holders (or even only the 1% Ultra High Net worth individuals) were to ask for all of their money (assuming 10% of the total circulating)  in cash these could not be possible and it probably would cause the crash of several major banks or alternatively it would call for several major bailouts financed by governments which ultimately (again) would reflect on inflation and national debt once again.

How does bitcoin fit in the picture and how do sailboats fit in this catastrophic scenario ?

A bank can try to reduce or make it more difficult for their clients to withdraw all of their cash and also make it very inconvenient to do so, but it cannot prevent people in the digital age to transfer (BUY) a valuable that is outside the banking system (in our case Bitcoin). Effectively, banks can’t prevent people from moving their money outside their accounts and into NO other bank through the use of a cryptocurrency. Thus, a bank would effectively lose its main role if the owner of the valuable becomes de-facto the custodian as in the case of Bitcoin (the modern version of the cash in the mattress).

Banks Shut DOWN in Greece

People assaulting a bank in Greece during the recent financial crisis.

When entire national economies have a liquidity problems the housing market has a problem too.

Think of the subprime mortgage crisis that sent Lehman Brothers belly up, which was the natural explosion of a bubble created by excessive/predatory lending, insanely leveraged debts and a typical (READ: post gold standard) thin-air money creation process perpetrated by several banks and ultimately (willingly or unwillingly) backed by the Federal Reserve.

Bottom line: People lost their homes, their wealth, and some unfortunately took their lives too.

What if a sailboat could actually be the ultimate safety net ?

Boats are typically considered a depreciating asset as opposed to real estate BUT they have a few very major advantages even compared with those that are considered the most secure forms of investment such as gold, houses and land.

Sail boats can be moved and thanks to the winds and the generosity of the oceans they are not much dependent on fuel (if at all) and are themselves means to provide humans with food (through fishing).

Ergo: in a slightly primitive sense of value, sailboats represent a safer value than homes, cash or even gold in terms of being instrumental to humans’ survival (think independent shelter, fishing, transport).

Lastly, boat ownership in some jurisdictions ( SEE: https://nomadcapitalist.com/2017/07/17/ultimate-guide-yacht-registration/)  is not even taxed.

Please take into account that this article is merely a dissertation and we are not suggesting that a financial doomsday of global proportion is actually going to manifests soon. We are using such hypothetical scenario to prove a point and incentive critical thinking in these interesting times of change.

Budget Sailboat

A long range 37 feet classic sailboat sold recently for less than £2800

How does bitcoin and crypto fit in the picture and how do sailboats fit in this catastrophic scenario ?

Our point is that sailboats if bought at a reasonable price, well maintained and used properly can actually represent a valid way to keep a certain “value” safe from world’s events and, theoretically safe from any government or tax authority. A sailing yacht can, indeed, be re-registered under a different flag much more easily than you can sell some property and land and buy it somewhere else. A sailing yacht travels on its own hull almost limitlessly and unlike gold or other precious materials or stones is not subject to regulatory limits on planes (E.g.: Declaring valuables in excess of €10K to travel outside the EU).

In the unlikely financial doomsday event where the peoples of the world would have lost all trust in their currencies and their governments, the ability to move, fish and have shelter that is not directly controlled and directly at the mercy of any given ‘rule maker’ would actually be the ultimate safety net.

Interesting Yachting Industry Insight: 

When Greece experienced the financial problems and turmoil,we were conducting a research on yacht paints. While speaking with several marina managers and operators we were told they were oddly receiving more frequent calls from their yacht owners asking about the ‘well being’ of their vessels. 

Are we biased and would like to see more happy sailors around the world than stressed Cryptocurrency traders ? Oh YES !

We are 100% biased! We surely are not hiding our passion for boats and we’ll keep dealing with boats till will have to use them to survive. Maybe in those days we’ll get bored of sailing and try to invent something new to move around the world over water. We are always up for a technical challenge.

1950s Hydrofoil with Carlo Rodriquez

Carlo Rodriquez and Baron Von Shertel 1950s trying a prototype of hydrofoil

Share this article and let’s see how wild can your friends’ imagination run!