Jul 10 2008
General Information
Basically speaking, a yacht is a boat. The term “yacht” is mostly referring to recreational boats in two categories. Namely, power yachts and sailing yachts. Today most people are speaking of cruising yachts and high-luxury motor yachts when talking about “yachts”. That is because yachts have become a common symbol for luxury and they’re owned by many rich and famous people for leisure.
There are, however, yachts of very different types and sizes. Accordingly, they differ in price, performance and utility. For instance, small yachts are about 30-35 feet in length nowadays while so-called mega yachts can be longer than 100 feet, but more on that later.
In the beginning, yachts were made of wood or steel, but the use of materials has changed significantly throughout the last 50 years. Most yachts and power boats are built of fiberglass, aluminium and carbon fibre. There has also been a progression when it comes to a boat’s interior; the inside of modern yachts often looks more like an expensive home than a boat.
As mentioned above, small yachts usually start at 30 feet in length. We’re referring to mega yachts when talking about yachts longer than 100 feet, and to super yachts when speaking of boats that are longer than 200 feet. Although this might seem huge, a super yacht is still way smaller than many commercial ships such as oil tankers, of course. But one can observe that yachts have grown in size and every year there is a new super yacht ordered by a super-rich person looking for a nice watercraft that sets new records in length, price and amenities. Take a look at our list of motor yachts by length or browse our extensive yacht database for more information on some of these extraordinary private ships.
Today yachts are mostly built for daily use by individuals. Most smaller yachts have one or two cabins and basic amenities. They can be used for a few days of traveling, but they’re not very comfortable for longer periods of non-stop seafaring. Then there are cruising yachts, which are bigger and have very good amenities for long-time living aboard. Luxury yachts are basically the same as cruising yachts - they only differ in size and might have more luxurious interior and amenities.