[Kzin]

Thank god!

April 11, 2007
A New Fractional: Owning a Piece of a Yacht
By SHELLEY EMLING



An eighth of a yacht is better than none. Or so reasons Han Verstraete, chief executive of YachtPlus.

A London-based operation that is building a fleet of 10 yachts, YachtPlus is the latest company to jump into fractionals, a shared-ownership structure that allows people to buy only part of a costly item. “Wealthy people today do not invest in only assets but in experiences,” Mr. Verstraete said. “My typical customer will have three real estate assets and perhaps also do some sharing of jets. The yacht experience is the experience these people are seeking next.”

James Lawson, senior research director at Ledbury Research, a consulting firm in London, agreed with this assessment. “Many wealthy people are looking for driving lessons organized by Ferrari, cooking lessons by celebrity chefs, and exclusive travel and holiday experiences,” he said. “Experience is becoming more important than ownership.”

Fractional ownership is cousin to the timeshare, a sales arrangement born in the 1960s that usually involves the right to stay in an accommodation for a specific period of time but, because of abuses by some developers, can sometimes conjure up images of high-pressure salesmen who gloss over the fine print.

Today there are many ways to have a fractional lifestyle. One such service, bagborroworsteal.com, sells the use of a revolving array of designer handbags and jewelry that can cost thousands to own but $20 to $175 a month to use. Buyavineyard.co.uk sells partial titles to some French vineyards; and several luxury hotel companies, including Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons, offer fractional ownership of some properties they own or manage around the world.

As for Mr. Verstraete, he hopes YachtPlus, at yachtplus.co.uk, will do for boats what NetJets did for private jets. Founded in 1986, NetJets is the world leader in fractional jet ownership, with a fleet of more than 650 jets worldwide and thousands of shareholders.

Mr. Verstraete said eight shares would be sold for $2 million each in each of the company’s 40-meter, or 132 foot, yachts, covering five weeks of use per year. Charters to others will be offered during any unused weeks, with the owners receiving the revenue.

So far, YachtPlus has sold the 32 fractions for the first four boats, he said. Mr. Verstraete said that, generally, the buyers were what he calls the “emancipated wealthy” — hedge fund managers and private equity fund managers who can take more time away from the office. He said most were Europeans, with a sprinkling of Americans.

Two of the boats, which are being built in the Cantieri Navali Rodriquez shipyard in La Spezia, Italy, are expected to be ready next summer, with another one finished every four months after that.

Mr. Verstraete said the fleet of 10 yachts would be parked in the Caribbean in the winter and the Mediterranean in the summer. All crew members will be YachtPlus employees, which means, Mr. Verstraete said, that owners and their guests will be ensured excellent service.

“My vision is to make this the contemporary yachting brand,” he said. “The similarity is with a fashion label that everyone wants.” The boats are being designed by Norman Foster, the renowned architect whose firm, Foster + Partners of London, is responsible for such projects as the new Beijing airport and 30 Saint Mary Axe, the iconic London building commonly called the Gherkin.

With the capacity to sleep 18, the yachts will have floor-to-ceiling windows on the main and upper decks, as well as in the owner’s suite, and a glass spiral staircase linking all four decks. “The philosophy is that this won’t be just another white boat,” Mr. Verstraete said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/re...GH-yachts.html

[Blitz]

That's a pretty kickass yacht.

[Kzin]

Sleeps 18 ... I promise a GAT party when I get mine.

[Nevets]

Hmmm, kind of ugly if you ask me, not the kind of yacht I would get if I got one.

If I got one it would look more like this:



Call me old fashion.

[Kzin]

Originally Posted by Fair Dinkum

Hmmm, kind of ugly if you ask me, not the kind of yacht I would get if I got one.

Not hard to believe it's from the same design firm that did this London building, that's for sure:

[Arzen]

is that a building or the world's largest buttplug?

[Kzin]

Originally Posted by Arzen

is that a building or the world's largest buttplug?

It's London, it could be both.