Boat International US Edition — February 2018

2015 2016 2017

(Jan-Nov)

50

100

150

200

250

100

150

200

250

300

The semi-custom superyacht market

Custom vs semi-custom yacht launches, 2015-

Custom vs semi-custom brokerage yacht sales, 2015-

Custom vs semi-custom yachts in build or on order

Nations building the most semi-custom yachts

230'+ (70m+)

164-230' (50-70m)

131-164' (40-50m)

98-131' (30-40m)

79-98' (24-30m)

Custom Semi-custom

Custom Semi-custom

Number 22,575 17,

6,1946,

1,

29 257

159 44

6,

2,

54

9, 7 93

(^685538)
10,
19,
64
5
Total LOA (ft)
Projects
Total LOA (ft)
12345 Italy UK Taiwan Netherlands US
278 52
137
255
226
212
(^201197208)
(^144161)
56
(^6466)
52 21 31
29,885 5,144 4,
ON BOARD
Themiddleground
INFOGRAPHICS Valerio Pellegrini WWW.BOATINTERNATIONAL.COM
More and more owners are choosing semi-custom yachts,
with 130ft and 160ft vessels proving increasingly popular
WORDS Chris Jefferies / RESEARCH Raphael Montigneaux
emi-custom yachts were
traditionally the preserve
of the sub-100ft market but
we are seeing a distinct
trend towards larger boats of this type.
While the graphic, right, shows the
number of superyacht launches
remaining stable, it doesn’t show their
changing size: the average length
of a semi-custom superyacht today
is 99ft 8in, but the average under
construction is significantly higher at
108ft 7in. The 98-131ft segment is a big
driver of this, with 59 projects in build,
but there are 43 semi-custom yachts on
order in the 164ft-plus segment too.
Christos Ramnialis, general
manager at Benetti, says: “Because
custom yachts are getting bigger, so the
entry level of semi-custom yachts has
increased in length as well.” For
Benetti, the growth sector has been
131-164ft – rising by 11.2 per cent over
the past four years – but Horizon’s
Elise Moffitt says 85-131ft is the most
competitive market, particularly in
Taiwan, ranked third among top
builders of semi-custom yachts.
“In our experience,” says Stefano
de Vivo, chief commercial officer at
Ferretti Group, “semi-custom clients
are mainly attracted by volume, water
toy storage spaces and outdoor living
spaces.” Sara Cipolletti, of Sanlorenzo,
believes that the boom in this sector
is largely down to clients realizing the
wealth of options now available to
them. “And you can play with many
more options if you have larger sizes at
your disposal,” she adds. When you can
have the most luxurious yacht features
faster and cheaper, semi-custom
hardly seems like a compromise at all.
S
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