Category: General

For a baseball fanatic, only a natural disaster could be less welcome than being pulled away from the TV when the home team is playing. With the Liveboard, baseball fans can keep track of the big game regardless of distractions. The 9 Liveboard uses Bluetooth wireless technology to pull up-to-the-minute data from an Internet-connected Windows or Mac computer up to 60 feet away. An alphanumeric display shows the home cities of the teams and the current score, while lights count balls, strikes, and outs, and also indicate which bases currently host runners. The unit can be set to show scores during your home team’s games only; to show scores of other teams when yours is not playing; and to cycle through the scores of all major-league teams currently playing. No data fees are required. Fittingly, the Liveboard’s chassis is crafted from white ash—the same wood used to make baseball bats. (877.320.9649, www.myliveboard.com)

—Brent Butterworth

The Monaco-based Wally yacht company is best known for its futuristic, some would say quasi-militaristic, designs. The Wally 118, for instance, looks like a yacht out of a science fiction movie. Its new 64 Wallypower yacht shares the same ramrod-straight lines and unusual angles as its larger sister ships, but the blue-hulled boat, with its expansive teak decks, is friendlier looking.

Beyond the sci-fi exterior and minimalist interior, Wally designed the yacht with a large volume of interior space, good sea-keeping abilities in the hull, and a potential top end of 50 knots. The unique shape of the 64 creates wider deck spaces than similar-size boats but still allows for exceptional performance. The yacht offers three interior layout options, including two- and three-cabin versions, each with en suite bathrooms. Owners also have the option of customizing the 64 with specific hull colors, leather decor, and handcrafted finishes for the galley and joinery. Wally even offers different overarching themes for easy styling of the 64, for owners who don’t want to bother with a laundry list of options. (www.wally.com, 011.377.93100093)

—Michael Verdon

The Azimut 47 Fly Bridge, part of a line of yachts from 39 to 116 feet long, packs all the styling and construction benefits of the range’s larger models into a more compact size. This million vessel is by no means small, however.

The Ferretti Custom Line 97′ feels remarkably spacious, thanks partly to unusually large windows in its guest cabins. The .

The 82 Open, which reportedly is priced at about million or more, accommodates as many as 10 people in four guest cabins and has quarters for two crew. Walnut floors and cherry woodwork create a warm ambience.

Making its debut in June, the new Hatteras 56 Motor Yacht is a fresh departure for the legendary North Carolina builder of motoryachts and sportsfishermen. Priced under million, its entry-level 56 brings a new echelon of affordability to Hatteras ownership. But the yachts still provide the same Hatteras solid-fiberglass construction and elegant interiors that are built for tough offshore running. 

The 56’s 18-foot beam gives it as much interior space as yachts in the 65-foot range. The wood-clad interior, including a 130-square-foot full-beam master suite and separate VIP quarters, provides lavish comfort for cruising, while the twin 705hp Cummins diesel engines gives it a range of 300 miles at 18 knots. It reaches a very respectable end of 21 knots. “This yacht allows entrance into the Hatteras family and will appeal to boaters in waters like the Great Lakes or Northern Europe,” says Keri Theophilus, president of the Hatteras Collection. Theophilus says the 56 will remain the baby of the Hatteras fleet: “We won’t build boats smaller than this.” (252.633.3101, www.hatterasyachts.com)

 —Michael Verdon

The new 163-foot Casino Royale, unveiled in July, pushed the Christensen shipyard to its limits. “The boat’s owners have thirty-plus years of experience building different yachts,” said Joe Foggia, Christensen president. “Their requests pushed us in many new creative directions.”

Casino Royale’s 6,900 square feet of interior space is a masterpiece of interwoven wood and stone, with Sapele mahogany raised-panel joinery and custom marble and granite work defining the salon and dining areas. The master stateroom also has the beautiful woodwork with intricate marble wainscoting. The spiral staircase of the entryway features sexy Bond-girl silhouettes etched into frosted panes of glass, and an intricately carved sculpture of a roulette wheel, made of petrified wood and stone, completes the Bond motif.  The yacht, which has a transatlantic range of 4,500 miles, will be on display at this year’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida, boat show. (www.christensenyachts.com)

—Michael Verdon

Haute couture will soon become part of one of the racing world’s most famous luxury yachts:  Bespoke yacht broker Weyves Yachts has sealed a partnership with fashion and perfume designer Thierry Mugler to create a custom interior for the world’s fastest yacht. The 112-foot Gentry Eagle, built by racing legend Tom Gentry, broke the record for fastest transatlantic crossing in 1989, shattering the previous record by Virgin tycoon Richard Branson.

The Gentry Eagle design project is one of several upcoming ventures between Weyves Yachts and Agent de Luxe, a fashion-design agency run by Donald Potard, who spent 25 years as president of Jean Paul Gaultier. Enlisting a fashion designer to redesign a yacht is not a standard decorating move, but Potard believes it is the sign of a new generation. “Fashion designers are more than just clothing designers today,” says Potard, “they influence a lifestyle.”

“Yacht owners are using their vessels as places to entertain, and they want to express their personal style,” Potard said. Mugler’s redesign will stay true to the original owner’s sense of style but will incorporate Mugler’s uniquely glamorous touch. “Crystal, chandeliers, metals―the interior will have a distinctly ‘Mugler-esque’ feel,” Potard said. Mugler drew inspiration from films like Barbarella and the Star Trek series to create the futuristic interior as an homage to Gentry’s favorite films.

The million redesign is expected to be completed by October 2009, and the yacht is estimated to sell for about million. (na@weyvesyachts.com).

—Alexandra Foster

The first DeBirs 100 Sports Yacht, launched at Cannes in early September, gained instant fanfare for the shipyard based in Alexandria, Egypt. The DeBirs name is actually a highly respected Dutch yard that was reestablished by a group of European yacht designers and American executives from the aviation industry. The plan was to introduce advanced aviation engineering to the yacht-building world, while also taking advantage of Alexandria’s skilled, but relatively inexpensive pool of boatbuilders.

The yacht is an engineering and aesthetic triumph for DeBirs, which has focused on smaller, more traditional-looking motoryachts. The profile has a sleek, Eurostyle look, reminiscent of sportyachts like Azimut S103 or the Riva 90 Duchessa. The Italtecnica/Arrabito-designed hull tops out at 28 knots with twin 2000-hp MTU engines. It’s also about 30 percent lower in price than similar style boats.

The modern interior, designed by Egg and Dart of Munich, also includes a voluminous space defined by light-colored woods, fabrics, and contemporary furnishings. The first 100 have a full-beam master stateroom, with vertical hullside windows that offer tremendous light, along with four other roomy, bright guest cabins. The 100 also has a mini-flybridge that does not compromise the sleek profile but provides extra space for socializing. It’s an impressive launch for a young yard that promises to carry on DeBirs’ good name.

—Michael Verdon

The first DeBirs 100 Sports Yacht, launched at Cannes in early September, gained instant fanfare for the shipyard based in Alexandria, Egypt. The DeBirs name is actually a highly respected Dutch yard that was reestablished by a group of European yacht designers and American executives from the aviation industry. The plan was to introduce advanced aviation engineering to the yacht-building world, while also taking advantage of Alexandria’s skilled, but relatively inexpensive pool of boatbuilders.

The yacht is an engineering and aesthetic triumph for DeBirs, which has focused on smaller, more traditional-looking motoryachts. The profile has a sleek, Eurostyle look, reminiscent of sportyachts like Azimut S103 or the Riva 90 Duchessa. The Italtecnica/Arrabito-designed hull tops out at 28 knots with twin 2000-hp MTU engines. It’s also about 30 percent lower in price than similar style boats.

The modern interior, designed by Egg and Dart of Munich, also includes a voluminous space defined by light-colored woods, fabrics, and contemporary furnishings. The first 100 have a full-beam master stateroom, with vertical hullside windows that offer tremendous light, along with four other roomy, bright guest cabins. The 100 also has a mini-flybridge that does not compromise the sleek profile but provides extra space for socializing. It’s an impressive launch for a young yard that promises to carry on DeBirs’ good name.

—Michael Verdon