Luxury Motor Yacht Or Superyacht? What's The Difference?

When you own a luxury motor yacht or superyacht (and what's the difference? I hear you ask: answer in a minute) you really do live in the lap of luxury. With a top deck swimming pool, state of the art kitchen, private cinema, and toys that you can play with such as jet skis and a small motor boat to explore the coves inshore, there is not a lot to beat it. Not only that, you can up-anchor and travel to anywhere in the world that you want to go, safe in the knowledge that your skipper and crew will take care of you wherever that may be.

To answer your question, luxury motor yachts become superyachts at a length of 79 feet, and some of them go up to 200 or 300 feet. Mind you, even at 78 feet that is a fair-sized boat and you can incorporate a lot of things aboard it. About the only thing you won't be able to do is to accommodate as many guests as a larger boat, so you will probably be restricted to six or eight on luxury motor yachts of that size or smaller, whereas with a superyacht you might be able to accommodate 30 or 40. That is really a floating palace.

 

The average value of a superyacht is $10 million and according to one figure there are 4,476 people around the world who own one, with the top country for owners being the US with 33% of them (who would have guessed?) and the UK is actually in second place with 11%, believe it or not. Those are followed by Italy (5%), Australia (4%) and Russia (3%). Typically, it can take anywhere from 12 months to 3 years to build a superyacht, so the sooner you place your order the better.

Whether you are at the level where you can afford to look at superyachts or "only" luxury motor yachts, the challenge in the used market is finding the right one. Unless you really know what you are doing, you will need someone who is highly knowledgeable to help you, so you need to enlist the services of a reputable agent.

The Many Different Types Of Motor Boats

There are many, many different types of motor cruiser boats ranging from small day cruisers to motor superyachts some hundreds of feet long which are the realm of the ultra-wealthy.

A motor boat is a power-driven vessel which has an internal combustion engine driving a propeller, or more than one propeller, or a jet pump. Even a sailing yacht is a power-driven vessel when it has a motor running.

There are small motor boats which can go very fast and these are called speedboats which can be used for racing or for towing a water-skier. They can also be used simply for fun or for getting from one place to another quickly: you might want to run down the coast to have lunch in another town, and then return to base again. Inflatable dinghies with a motor attached are also technically power boats, and some of those can go very fast as well.

 

There are basically two types of motor cruiser boats and they are the ones with an internal engine fitted which is known as the power plant, and those with an outboard motor which is affixed to the stern.

Motor cruiser boats can be relatively small for day cruising with just the basic essentials, or they can be of a medium size or larger for holidays and equipped with cooker, fridge, sleeping accommodation, and the heads, which is the toilet and shower. (It is called the heads from the days of sailing ships when the toilet for the sailors was at the head, or bow, of the boat).

If you are going to buy a motor cruiser you will need some training, and basically the larger the boat and the further you plan to go the more training you will need. The RYA has three types of course that it provides, ranging from a two day Helmsman course which teaches the basic handling, helmsmanship, and engine maintenance, up to a five day Coastal Skipper course.

A very good way to start boating is to take a holiday on somewhere like the River Thames or the Norfolk Broads, where you can get used to boat handling and never be far from help if needed.