High Life Afloat: Superduper Yachts

By Martha Smilgis

When Johnny Carson sought to escape gawkers and paparazzi on his fourth honeymoon, he and his new bride, Alexis Maas, chose to cruise the Mediterranean by chartering the regal Parts V, a $6.5 million, 147-ft. world- class motor yacht. When renowned Manhattan Jeweler Harry Winston wanted to lay some choice diamonds before J. Paul Getty Jr. and Henry Ford II down in Palm Beach, Fla., he decided to rent the Atlantique as a 131-ft. floating showcase. And when Magazine Mogul Malcolm Forbes wants to mix celebrities like Barbara Walters and Henry Kissinger with advertising tycoons, he lures them with the offer of an evening spin around Manhattan aboard the Highlander V, his 150-ft. seagoing palace. "It's worth the cost," maintains Forbes. "It has much more appeal than an evening of dinner and the theater."

No argument there. Besides the lavish ego strokes that luxury vessels bestow, today's yachts satisfy almost every whim imaginable. The sun deck cradles a hot tub that can accommodate eight people, while commodious staterooms boast VCRs and private baths with Jacuzzis. Instead of a grungy galley, the superyacht has a gleaming kitchen replete with microwaves, commercial-size freezers and stoves, and trash compactors. The bionic boats pack every aquatic toy: water skis, snorkling gear, diving equipment, Jet Skis and sailboards. To help while away foul weather, a free-flowing bar is at the ready, and libraries are stocked with videotapes as well as books, chess and backgammon games. Many decks have saunas, and in one vessel there is a piano with built-in heating elements to guard against warp.

America's yachting heyday was in the early 20th century, when wealthy industrialists competed in creating elaborate waterborne palaces. Over the years, buying, building and chartering of yachts remained small and select, and in the late '70s, business hit bottom. Today the number of American-owned jumbos, over 100 ft. from stem to stern, is increasing from 80 in 1986 to 129, with the launch of 49 new yachts now under construction. More remarkable is that 33 of these yachts will be products of U.S. yards, rather than foreign competitors. Jumbo yachts sport a hefty price tag, ranging from $6 million to $50 million, depending on size and fittings. Annual maintenance can run up to 10% of the yacht's cost.

Broward Motor Yachts in Fort Lauderdale leads the U.S. in building big boats, with twelve taking shape in the family-owned yards. Its new production plant will add more than 50 architects, skilled fitters and welders to its staff of 250. The yard's most celebrated product is the notorious Monkey Business, which helped drive Gary Hart's presidential campaign onto the rocks. Broward's most popular boat, however, is an 80-ft. starter, or "yuppie special," that sells for $2 million. The typical buyer is a fast tracker between 35 and 40 who yens for something more than an "off the peg" Hatteras 61-footer. "I just got a personal check in the mail for $1.3 million," says Ken Denison, vice president for new boat sales and construction. "The guy said it would be O.K. We looked into it, and it was. One of the things about this business is that we don't have to talk financing."

Many of his customers return within three years to trade up to a superyacht. "Twenty-five years ago, a 120-footer was for kings and princes," says Denison. "Now the average boat we build is 90 feet." As for size, which matters greatly to yacht owners, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia owns the world's biggest yacht, the 482-ft. Abdul Aziz, which includes a mosque and a movie theater that seats 100. Because the King's yacht is currently in drydock, the unquestioned ruler of the waves is Queen Elizabeth's 412-ft. Britannia.

One factor that has contributed to the big yacht boom is satellite communications. International Broker George Nicholson, whose British family has been constructing boats for crowned heads and deep pockets since 1782, explains, "Most of the men who own large yachts are workaholics, and they get very nervous if they are out of touch with their offices. They used to plan their cruises around ports with telephones." Now, thanks to satellite linkups, clear communication with the mainland is available from telephones, usually in every stateroom. Telex and facsimile machines transmit contracts and newspapers. "We can consummate a deal anywhere," says Guy Tamboni, a New England real estate developer who enjoys long family cruises on his 108-ft. Alma. (The oceans are area coded: Atlantic 871, Pacific 872. Cost to call a yacht: $10 a minute.)

On many new ultracrafts, jet-powered engines have replaced outmoded rudders and propellers, allowing for vibration-free lightweight fiber glass or aluminum hulls and easy entry into shallow-water ports. According to London- based Designer Jon Bannenberg, who has six yachts in the works for Americans, high tech has just about revolutionized the business. "The perception of yachts was big, slow, rather old-fashioned," says Bannenberg. "Now people see something connected to the life they lead ashore. People who step out of their Porsches and Mercedes feel that they are stepping into today's technology."

Designers who favor aluminum hulls maintain they last indefinitely, hold three times as much fuel as fiber glass-hulled boats and are 15% faster. The American buyer wants a boat that looks "like it's going 20 knots when it's sitting at the dock," explains Denison. Perhaps the most stunning example is the Bannenberg-designed, 110-ft. Never Say Never, owned by Gary Blonder, a flamboyant entrepreneur who made his fortune in used auto parts. This rocket ship skims the waves at 34 knots full throttle (about 39 m.p.h.) and was used as a setting on Miami Vice.

Interiors have also been updated. Instead of the traditional dark teak, many modern designers prefer the pale look of ash and pastel fabrics to lighten below-deck cabins. They often pad walls with Ultrasuede or leather for sound control. Denison's boatyard allows customers to supervise every detail right up to the track lighting. Bannenberg even designs every spoon, every ashtray.

Naturally, behemoth yachts need outsize berths in which to moor. A big-boat marina is in the final planning stages at Manhattan's Battery Park City. The marina expects to sell 21 berths, costing $1 million each -- with a $16,000 annual maintenance fee -- to high-living investment honchos who want their own pied-a-mer within takeover distance of Wall Street.

If these luxury vessels are used primarily for business and charter, they could bring in tax deductions nudging $1 million a year. More good news for owners: the boats appreciate in value 10% to 20% each year. "I look on it as a piece of floating real estate," says Shipping Executive Joel Rahn of Springfield, Mass., owner of the Atlantique.

To offset maintenance costs further, many owners charter out their boats. Missy Harvey, managing director of Yacht Charters Unlimited in Rowayton, Conn., says, "Nothing does more for the ego than to be aboard the biggest, most beautiful yacht as it pulls into the harbor." Rates run $49,000 a week for Parts V, $30,000 for the Atlantique (which has been chartered by, among others, Sophia Loren, former Secretary of the Treasury William Simon and FORTUNE 500 executives) and $29,000 for Never Say Never. The charter party must also pay for fuel ($50 to $75 an hour), food, dockage and tips for the spiffy crew.

But the crowd with whale-size wallets prefers to buy. And if they hurry, there is a bargain on the market, the 282-ft. Nabila, complete with disco and swimming pool. Until recently the pride of financially troubled Arms Dealer Adnan Khashoggi, the yacht is up for sale at a mere $35 million.

With reporting by BONNIE ANGELO/NEW YORK