Good things come to those who wait, but that doesn't apply to the one-percenters. With the right kind of money, good things come to those who can afford them – and who also think outside of the box.
Why start from scratch when you can use an existing base and turn it into your dream-whatever? When said conversion is a superyacht with the latest in features and capabilities, this means drastically reducing wait times, so it's a win-win for both the owner and the shipyard.
The world is in crisis right now, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the world's richest. Over the past few years, despite some drastic shakeups in the private luxury maritime sector, worldwide sanctions that impacted more than the targeted oligarchs, and a sweeping financial crisis, demand for custom superyachts has boomed.
As you must know, getting a superyacht is a much more complicated and extended process than buying other luxury assets. If the vessel is a custom one, this means an average waiting time of about five years, and let's be real: what multi-millionaire has that much time to kill before he gets to show off to his equally wealthy friends?
Photo: Bassan & Benedetti
Jokes aside, the extended delivery timeline can become a drag, especially with such high demand for new ships, which inevitably translates into even longer timelines. One solution to completely sidestep the issue would be to skip the building process altogether and go instead for a conversion. All you need is a ship with good bones and a yard that can handle such a conversion.
Designers from Bassan & Benedetti know a lot about ships with good bones that serve as the perfect base for a future superyacht. Given the recent spike in demand for explorer superyachts, an explorer is the kind of vessel that helps a time-pressed owner get the absolute best of both worlds. Explorer superyachts are hybrid vessels that offer the features of an explorer with the amenities you normally find on a superyacht, so they're perfect for a wide range of purposes and clients.
Back in 2021, Bassan & Benedetti introduced the Lontano concept, an explorer superyacht based on the Ulstein X-BOW commercial shipping platform – a mighty beast for the most discerning and well-heeled owner.
Photo: Bassan & Benedetti
At this year's Monaco Yacht Show, the studio showcased a new concept, part of a series of proposed conversions in collaboration with McFarlane ShipDesign. It's called Kestrel, and it's an old explorer turned into a luxury yacht, with all the trappings of modern life but packed inside the mighty, badass package of an explorer.
Kestrel retains the overall styling and basic functionality of the donor vessel but adds a touch of sophistication, in keeping with the saying "form follows function." It's the Cinderella story of a rugged explorer in the hands of a skilled shipyard, with backing from a generous owner.
"There is a growing demand for conversions, due to the costs and times saved compared to new builds, and to the great availability of supply vessels on the market," the design studio says in a statement.
Photo: Bassan & Benedetti
Kestrel is 80 meters (263 feet) long and retains the 1C ice-class hull of the donor, so it can sail practically everywhere. The silhouette is unmistakably explorer, with the tapered stern with exposed decks, the huge helipad, cranes, and on-deck storage. At the same time, though, you can tell Kestrel is a superyacht because it's packed with open lounge areas, an oversize pool, an elegant beach club, and the living areas grouped towards the bow.
Accommodation onboard would be for 14 guests and 25 crew, including specialists to handle all the exploring gear and professionals in wellness.
Amenities range from two large pools, two cinemas (one indoors, one on the open deck), a 100 square-meter (1,076 square-foot) wellness area with a spa and fully-equipped gym, and an even larger 125 square-meter (1,345 square-foot) garage carrying two 12-meter (39-foot) tenders, four Jetskis, diving equipment, and a sub. A variety of open-air entertainment spaces would also be available, from lounge areas to bars, but the number and layout of these would be dependent on the preferences of the owner, so the design studio doesn't dwell too much on them.
Photo: Bassan & Benedetti
Nevertheless, what was shown at the Monaco Yacht Show was enough to drive the message home: why wait to get the perfect luxury superyacht with explorer capabilities and extended range if you can afford something different when you could have it done in half the time and at a much lower cost? Kestrel aims to show one way in which this could be done, and we have to say, it's a pretty neat proposal.
On the same note of being a neat proposal, Bassan & Benedetti imagines Kestrel with a maximum speed of 18 knots (20.7 mph/33.3 kph) and a cruising speed of 16 knots (18.4 mph/29.6 kph) and extended range. Anything less, and it would no longer be worthy of the superyacht label.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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