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All Posts Tagged With: "Boats"

Porsche Design Inks Exclusive Design Deal with Yacht Build

Seen above, a design sketch of a motor catamaran over 40 meters (135ft) in length represents the first collaborative project to be sold under the Royal Falcon Fleet brand. Porsche Design will design both the hull exterior and the interior of the mega yacht. Royal Falcon Fleet has engaged Kockums and Incat Crowther for the engineering and the naval architect of the project. Kockums is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp and is based in Sweden; it is renowned for its cutting-edge technology in the field of marine engineering. Incat Crowther is a naval architect based in Australia with decades of experience in the construction of large motor catamarans.

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Yacht Prices Sinking Fast

 

Yacht shoppers, according the show’s producer, “are not worried about the payments on their house.” The show organizers also touted the record number and selection of boats for sale. Yet later in the article, we learn that boat prices are slipping, making it more of a buyer’s market. It mentions one megayacht whose price had been slashed by $7 million.

There’s other evidence of a boat slowdown. A chart in Fortune titled “The Luxury Recession” quotes Fort Lauderdale-based broker Anchor Yachts saying sales of yachts in the $200,000 to $800,000 range have declined 50%, and prices have fallen by as much as 20%. (Not that $200,000 gets you to Monaco.)

Granted, there are plenty of people with money who still want yachts. The L.A. Times article mentions Gerald Vickers, an Oregon wood-product tycoon, who has decided to fork over close to $4 million for a boat. While his business is hurting from the housing crunch, Mr. Vickers’ wife Susan said he’d worked hard for their new toy. More importantly, she said, he suffers from “4-foot-itis” — the constant need to buy an even bigger boat. (This ailment, it seems, is not treatable by recession.)

Yacht prices have gone up so far so fast that they’re bound to settle down. Last year, it cost more to buy a used yacht than it did to build a new one, because of buyers’ need for instant gratification. Yacht flipping became the new house flipping, with buyers selling boats for millions in profits before the vessels were even built.

This year, yacht flippers may face the same fate as Florida condo flippers. The good news for boat buyers: that 150-footer of your dreams may come down to a reasonable $20 million.

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