Bruce Brakenhoff, President of Perini Navi USA and all-round sailing yacht ambassador, gives us his thoughts on the state of the sailing yacht brokerage market through these quick-fire questions.
What are the key differences, if any, in the approach towards the sale of motor and sailing yachts?
I don’t have enough experience with motor yachts to fairly comment on this, but if I had to guess, I would say that in the new build motor yacht market it appears that a big percentage of the sales in the 40 to 60-meter range are spec-builds with short delivery times. We sailboat builders are not in the position to do this.
Would encouraging motor yacht designers to become more involved in the design/styling of sailing yachts increase the popularity of these vessels?
I do not believe so.
Can you identify a certain size range which has seen a growing amount of interest from potential buyers over the past few years?
In the new build market it seems that 32 to 35 meters is a popular and busy size range (see Baltic, Swan, Green Marine, etc.). However, over the last three years or so, the brokerage market sales have been steady and spread out through all sizes – with numerous transactions from 35 to 64 meters taking place.
We see an increasing amount of high-performance strictly functional super sailing yachts being designed and delivered. Do you feel there is perhaps a need for builders to return to focusing more on sturdy, comfortable blue water cruisers in order to appeal to a larger field of clients?
It’s not the builders driving the marketplace in the sailing industry. Recently, the buyers appear to have made a choice to fund the builds of smaller and speed-centric type sailboats. At Perini Navi we have continued to celebrate and honour our Blue Water cruising family members. This summer, for instance, we have two of our vessels (a 56-metre and a 55-metre) cruising the Northwest Passage (they actually passed each other in a fjord!). Another of our yachts is up in Finland (a 50-metre) and two others out in the South Pacific (56-metre and a 60-metre).
Have you experienced a great deal of clients who once owned a sailing yacht and now have moved on to the motor yacht scene?
Not yet.