Top 10 superyacht design features found on the world’s largest yacht (II)
6. SPORTS COURTS:
Feadship superyacht Musashi has a permanently mounted basketball hoop on the aft deck
Who needs to watch Wimbledon on a large-screen TV when there’s an al fresco deck area suitable for sports? Feadship megayachts Madame Gu, Musashi and Hampshire II each have terrific setups. The 87.78m Musashi even has a permanently mounted basketball hoop on her aft deck, modeled after the one on Rising Sun. (Both were commissioned by Larry Ellison, so it makes sense.) Not to be left out, also at 87.78m Fountainhead, has an al fresco basketball court, as do superyachts Tatoosh and Octopus. The 78.5m Feadship Hampshire II’s guests can play basketball, too, but also badminton, tennis and even soccer on the expansive foredeck, once the crew ring the area with specially designed nets to prevent balls from going overboard. It also has a zipline and a squash court.
7. INDOOR GARDENS:
On board indoor gardens bring greenery to superyachts no matter the season
Fresh flowers are ordered by many owners once in port, but the 72.1m VSY superyacht Stella Marisoffers her owner and guests visions of greenery at all times thanks to glass-enclosed, vertical gardens that rise from the main deck to the level above. The goal was to treat the owner and guests to green landscapes while at sea regardless of season; no need to venture to the Caribbean or other warm climes come wintertime. Even smaller yachts are incorporating gardens of all types; witness the 55m Zen-inspired Benetti superyacht Ocean Paradise, with a Zen garden in the main-deck foyer that changes every day.
8. SPAS:
Ultimate relaxation can be found on board superyachts in spas, such as J’ade‘s, decked out with massage rooms and hammams
What better way to relax on board a superyacht than to have massage rooms and saunas/hammams at your disposal. The 99.14m Christina O’s Turkish bath, outfitted with 60 tons of marble, delights the eyes as much as the spirit, but that’s just one area in the multi-room onboard spa. It further includes two massage rooms and a hairdressing salon. The 70m Rossi Navi Numptia has a spa that includes a sauna, steam room and gym. Even many of the yachts ‘too small’ to rank on the Top 200 largest yachts in the world have these features. For instance, bright-green mosaic tiles used in the Turkish bath aboard the 60m CRN J’ade leave no doubt as to how she got her name.
9. INFINITY POOLS:
The infinity pool aboard superyacht Axioma
Ever since the day she was delivered in 2007, the 81.27m iconic Oceanco yacht Alfa Nero has turned heads as much for her aft-deck infinity pool as she has for her overall looks. The 86m Oceanco Seven Seas and the 72.5m Dunya Yachts superyacht Axioma (launched as Red Square) have infinity pools, too. When Axioma is at anchor, lounge chairs can be set up on her swim platform, directly beneath the pool’s front, for an extra-striking effect.
10. FLOOR-TO-CEILING GLASS:
Photo of 78m yacht Venus | courtesy of Tom van Oossanen
When the 70.7m Lürssen superyacht Skat was delivered in 2002, even those who didn’t like her styling had to admit the expanses of glass made the largest traditional yacht windows look tiny. Since then, yachts like the 257-foot Feadship Venus have incorporated the design. Indeed, there’s a whole host of yachts of all sizes under construction with full-height glass. As with many of these Top 10 must-have superyacht design features, they may first have debuted on a yacht where size posed few limits to one’s imagination, but these features proved too good to integrate in the rest of the fleet – this is perhaps most recently seen on the groundbreaking 78m Feadship superyacht Venus, built for none other than innovator Steve Jobs. See more photos superyacht Venus.
This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of ShowBoats International magazine.
