# Bizarre superyachts proposed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873 "2009-07-31T15:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/21 "2009-08-01T14:30:23Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > Looks like a $300 basketball shoe to me. Yeah, but the Infinite Improbability Drive makes up for it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/22 "2009-08-01T16:15:46Z")
I like it, and I think the design could also be used for a starship. I was in Monaco recently, and there are some damn impressive yachts there; this would fit right in. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/23 "2009-08-01T19:24:23Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > James Bond could have a great showdown with a supervillain on one of those things. Of course, I immediately thought of [Strong Bad’s “deep-sea fangly fishes”](http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail119.html). ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/24 "2009-08-01T20:35:16Z")
If I were gonna spend an ass-ton of money on a boat, I would hire someone to build a hundred-foot long dragon ship. I could take it and sail across the Northern Atlantic, from Norway to Canada. The sail would be black, with my symbol in red, striking fear into the hearts of all those who see it, as I sail towards their rich, undefended villages and monasteries. > [@Sunspace](#): > > Of course, I immediately thought of [Strong Bad’s “deep-sea fangly fishes”](http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail119.html). One of his better emails, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/25 "2009-08-02T00:54:36Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Nope, more of [this](http://ads.boatboss.com/215_Portland/14344_45_Lake_Union_quot_Dreamboat_quot_Antique_Wooden_Bridgedeck_Cruiser_Portland_Yacht_Sales.html) Though the specific one I am thinking of was the conspicuous consumption luxury motor yacht of its day … the one I want specifically was built by John Alden in the 1920s and was strictly a motor yacht [most of the yards other stuff was sail, my grandfather had them build him a 39 foot yawl in 1936 that I learned to sail on called the Sea Gypsey.] Oh, very handsome! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/26 "2009-08-02T01:24:27Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Oh, very handsome! Arent they? Serious style … I toured one when I lived in Norfolk VA that had [original erte fabrics and prints](http://www.erte.com/suites.html) and amazing woodwork, stained glass … I have seen crappier hotels at several hundred $$ a night :eek: There was a movie The Cat’s Meow about the murder that took place on William Randolph Hurst’s yacht the Oneida that shows how opulent those vessels were. Ever since seeing them in movies and touring one, I have always wanted to own one … ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/27 "2009-08-02T01:44:22Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/28 "2009-08-02T01:47:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The cost of the boat is one thing, you don’t want to go broke paying the crew. It takes a lot of people to brace the yards if they’re doing it by hand. I crewed on a real one for two years. Not only can it take far fewer hands than you might think, but many skilled sailors are willing to be paid very little for the experience of working on a “rare” ship. Not that money is much of a concern for the superyacht crowd anyway. If you were going for modernized-square, which could be pretty cool, motorized windlass and capstains would be my choice of compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/29 "2009-08-02T01:59:30Z")
Makes me recall this movie line: “Hey Judge, your dinghy scratched my anchor!” ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/30 "2009-08-02T04:39:40Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > To be completely honest, if i had the 95 million to burn, I sure as hell would buy that crap … > > I can remember seeing a 1920s vintage John Alden pilot house motor launch IIRC it was some 30 meters or so that had been used as the private launch of some admiral in WW2 that had just been restored and was on the market for something like $300KUS … I would much rather have a work of wooden art, with grace, beauty and a history than some fibreglass piece of shit. > > I have been rummaging around online looking for it, and have not been able to find it or anything like it yet =( This one of Pres. Trumam’s? [http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/special-features/1978-famous-yachts-2.html](http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/special-features/1978-famous-yachts-2.html) There is another, smaller, one of the Kennedy’s or Eisenhower?? ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/31 "2009-08-02T04:45:01Z")
[http://home.mchsi.com/~cbretvet/Yachts/Yachts3.html](http://home.mchsi.com/~cbretvet/Yachts/Yachts3.html) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/32 "2009-08-02T04:45:29Z")
> [@Sebastienne](#): > > I crewed on a real one for two years. Not only can it take far fewer hands than you might think, but many skilled sailors are willing to be paid very little for the experience of working on a “rare” ship. I crewed on a 180’ barque for six weeks and I paid them to let me do it. There were usually 12-14 to brace the yards; 10 in a pinch. > [@](#): > > Not that money is much of a concern for the superyacht crowd anyway. If you were going for modernized-square, which could be pretty cool, motorized windlass and capstains would be my choice of compromise. Motors? Bah! Our capstan and windlass were hand-operated. ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/33 "2009-08-02T05:54:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I crewed on a 180’ barque for six weeks and I paid them to let me do it. There were usually 12-14 to brace the yards; 10 in a pinch. Yeah, we could usually do it with eight. That’s the thing about tallshippers; with fare-paying crew being so often the norm, I can’t imagine a privately owned tall-yacht not being able to get away with paying well below the usual norm for qualified deck crew. Heck, have a knowledgeable officer set and a couple good hands, and then the cooks and cocktail girl can be dragged on deck to provide brute strength. 😃 > [@](#): > > Motors? Bah! Our capstan and windlass were hand-operated. Ours were hand-operated and the big ol’ OAK trunk that made up our windlass cracked lengthwise while we were trying to escape a gale. 😃 Why, oh why, did I give up that life. But if I wanted a personal pleasure square-rigged luxury yacht and wanted to cut down on the number of crew needed for her, I’d motorize the line-hauling long before I got rid of so much of the rigging, as is the case with the Falcon. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/34 "2009-08-02T09:38:06Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > This one of Pres. Trumam’s? > > [http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/special-features/1978-famous-yachts-2.html](http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/special-features/1978-famous-yachts-2.html) > > There is another, smaller, one of the Kennedy’s or Eisenhower?? No it is closer to [El Presidente](http://www.el-presidente.com/presidente01.html) Now _that_ would be a great venue for a dopefest! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/35 "2011-01-06T14:03:14Z")
Here’s where P. Diddy is chillin’ these days: [http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/01/06/ipad.superyacht.diddy/index.html?hpt=C2](http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/01/06/ipad.superyacht.diddy/index.html?hpt=C2) ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/36 "2011-01-06T14:25:00Z")
Meh. Mostly conventional, if very high-end, yacht. The iPad controler is a gimmic - It does exactly what other, older gadgets do, but has a trendy name to go with it. Now, if the captain and crew were actually _sailing_ it via iPad controlers, I’d be a bit more impressed. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/37 "2011-01-06T15:30:05Z")
I’d want my own submarine. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/38 "2011-01-06T22:38:11Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I’d want my own submarine. Meh, Paul Allen’s Octopus yacht has TWO submarines. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/39 "2011-01-07T05:07:51Z")
I think it’s the world’s largest [stapler](http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/photofiles/list/543/932stapler.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873/40 "2011-01-07T06:06:50Z")
What’s the point of a megayacht? What can one person so with all that space? If I bought a ship as big as some of those, I would expect it to come with a 5-inch gun, an AEGIS system, and at least a few Tomahawks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-superyachts-proposed/504873.md?page=3)