# What is a yachts good for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 6, 2020, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534 "2020-02-06T10:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/81 "2020-02-09T22:04:17Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > its mostly a way to show other people and to show yourself that you are doing well financially from what I can tell. > > But I can understand the desire for a lot of bedrooms. If you have a 6 bedroom house and 3 kids, then you have one bedroom for each kid, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom and the sixth bedroom is used a a den or office. For any large expenditure (relative to whoever is commenting) you can always say ‘it’s mostly a way to show off’. But if you have money the only three choices aren’t to refuse to spend it, give it away, or ‘show off’. There’s a fourth possibility: you really enjoy the things it buys. There are more aspects to house values mainly because unlike yachts or cars they don’t move. So you can have an expensive modest size house in a very expensive location or an expensive big house in a less expensive location. I favor the former, but how much less will you be accused of ‘showing off’ because an observer has to be interested enough to spend 2 minutes looking up the house on Zillow, ‘that little house costs WHAT!?!’ v seeing an equal price McMansion in a cheaper area? Anyway I see it the same for the original topic of yacht or over mobile thing like car or plane. It’s perfectly possible the person gets enjoyment out of an expensive thing besides what other people think. And if other people think they are ‘showing off’, why should they GAS anyway? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/82 "2020-02-09T23:10:18Z")
Oh. Yachts. I thought the OP was asking what a _yutz_ was good for. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/83 "2020-02-09T23:22:49Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > its mostly a way to show other people and to show yourself that you are doing well financially from what I can tell. > > But I can understand the desire for a lot of bedrooms. If you have a 6 bedroom house and 3 kids, then you have one bedroom for each kid, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom and the sixth bedroom is used a a den or office. that was a failed miniature whoosh. It’s like Tevye sings, “I’d have one long staircase just going up, and one even longer going down, and one more going nowhere, just for show.” I always have loved that one even longer going down. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/84 "2020-02-10T00:52:25Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I have learned that sailing is so important for some that merely asking what the pleasure of it is irks them. I will not do it again. **Pardel-Lux** , Here’s an article on a forthcoming book about superyachts and their owners. Basically, they have them to project their wealth status among other super rich people: > **[Superyachts and bragging rights: why the super-rich love their ‘floating homes’](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/09/superyachts-and-bragging-rights-why-the-super-rich-love-their-floating-homes)** > > An academic spent six years studying the lavish boats of multimillionaires. Her conclusion: showing off the owners’ wealth and status matters more than travel Interestingly, Bill Gates has just ordered a hydrogen powered superyacht. [Removed: article | Information | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/09/bill-gates-orders-500m-hydrogen-powered-superyacht) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/85 "2020-02-10T01:33:13Z")
I saw an interview with Pete Townshend a while back on PBS. He confessed that one of the reasons he still goes out on tour is to finance his yachting habit. Said it cost him around $200K a year to sail and maintain his racing yacht. ---
**Author:** ![Thuringwethil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@Thuringwethil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thuringwethil)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/86 "2020-02-10T19:41:58Z")
Bill Gates just placed an order for the world’s first hydrogen-powered yacht, valued at $644 million. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/87 "2020-02-11T04:56:19Z")
My father-in-law, owner of a big-enough cabin cruiser, was Commodore at a big-enough yacht club. He told his wife that he wanted to retire on the boat to Baja California when he shuttered his practice. Go ahead, she said. SPOILER: Didn’t happen. What’s a yacht club good for? Nice place for a fancy fest to celebrate a daughter graduating med school. What’s a yacht good for? Good question. I’d rather drive a dirigible. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/88 "2020-02-11T05:10:08Z")
A couple of years ago we had a thread about what you’d choose if a billionaire offered to buy you one tangible object. After pondering a bit, surprisingly, I said a yacht—even though I care nothing about sailing or nautical stuff. Why, then? I enjoy traveling to cities; many of the world’s nicest cities can be reached by water; I’d have a place to sleep at night. To pay for the crew, I could rent it out part of the year to others, or as an Airbnb. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/89 "2020-02-17T10:49:44Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > "To duplicate the experience of ocean-going yachting, stand under a cold shower tearing up hundred-dollar bills. " Technically, a ‘yacht’ is a pleasure craft of any size or type. The type that resembles a cold shower is an ocean sailing yacht. The kind I enjoy is a sailing dingy. The kind that is furthest from my enjoyment would be a small motor yacht. If I was rich enough for a large motor yacht, I’d probably spend the money on something else. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534/90 "2020-02-17T11:29:52Z")
I think it depends entirely on where you live. A lot of boat owners live in coastal areas which may or may not offer interesting travel opportunities but many coastal areas are just boring. I owned a sailboat for a time that was big enough for a week or two of cruising, and it was terrific because I was (and still am) within driving distance of the Georgian Bay and North Channel areas of the Great Lakes, one of the most beautiful areas for boating in the world. Buying my first sailboat and sailing it across Georgian Bay and down Lake Huron over the course of a week was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. The fact that I had limited sailing experience and my companion had none at all just added to the sheer adventure of it all. There is no experience on earth like anchoring in a quiet bay [like this](https://imgur.com/a/33tfNPu) as the sun sets, listening to the loons, having a few drinks, and preparing a few steaks on an outboard marine barbeque. It’s like being on another planet, truly getting away from the world. That aside, sailing can be one of the most exciting experiences you can imagine. Boring as hell when there’s little wind, but piloting a big boat against a strong wind, heeling over at a seemingly precarious angle, and feeling the sheer power of nature driving you through crashing waves, the boat seeming to have a life and will of its own, is just breathtaking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-yachts-good-for/847534.md?page=4)