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I began my career as an independent yacht designer in 1973 when I
left Jon Bannenberg’s design studio to start on my own. My first project was a
36-foot motorboat, and therein lies an indication of how times have changed.
In the seventies, a yacht was considered big if it was 30
meters. Nowadays, 50 to 60 meters is "good size" and 70 to 80 meters is "big."
If one of my designers left to begin his own career today, I expect his first
job would be at least 50 meters—a far cry from 36 feet.
 Terence Disdale. Photograph by Richard Seaton. (Click image to enlarge)
Quite simply, yachting has become seriously popular. This is
driven by many factors including a rise in expendable wealth and, equally
important, an ease of worldwide communication, which means that someone can keep
on top of his business while topping up his tan.
Client requirements have grown along with the size of yachts.
Of course, it goes without saying, the larger the yacht, the more facilities she
is able to provide. Not all yacht owners want a larger yacht to cater to larger
groups of guests. More often than not, the requirement for a larger vessel is
brought about by the need for spacious facilities such as a gymnasium, a hair
and beauty salon, a spa area, a massage room, a swimming pool, indoor garaging
for large tenders, plus a desire for a degree of privacy whereby the owner might
designate a whole deck for his private quarters. Such full-deck arrangements
might include his-and-hers dressing areas/bathrooms, a personal gym, a massage
room and an office/study with a separate lounge and secluded outside Jacuzzi
deck zone. We also have had requirements where owners wanted to incorporate
their own cooking space so they could occasionally prepare their own evening
meal in private, without being pampered by crew.
 The dining room on Pelorus exemplifies the interplay between indoor and outdoor
decks. Photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click image to enlarge)
Other advantages of a larger yacht include the capacity to
carry larger tenders, which are often Venetian water taxi types, so that guests
can be ferried back and forth to shore in air-conditioned comfort. The larger
yachts can also offer the advantage of incorporating a helicopter hangar and
possibly two helipads, which enable flexibility in aircraft operations and the
bonus of being able to receive guests that arrive in their own helicopters.
Some owners might consider having a large yacht a burden
because it limits the harbors and ports they can visit. However, the upside is
that a large-yacht owner can anchor safely and rely on his vessel’s tonnage and
stabilizers to afford him and his guests with a nice stable platform from which
to visit the most intimate ports on the 12-meter air-conditioned tender. We have
a 160-meter yacht under construction that carries 10 different tenders for
ultimate guest flexibility.
Top: The 56-meter La Masquerade. Bottom: The 49.5-meter Sussurro. These vessels show the elegant and timeless superstructure design preferred by
Disdale. Top photograph by Flying Focus. Bottom photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click images to enlarge)
For one of our projects, the client required a 15-meter
cabin-cruiser tender with below-deck accommodations for his wife and children,
so he could self-pilot his family on expeditions up river estuaries and be able
to fish, picnic, cook, shower and spend the night on board, away from the mother
ship. No one would have dreamed about this kind of flexibility 30 years ago,
particularly because of safety concerns. Now with satellite GPS systems as
backup, this type of trip can be undertaken without risk.
With regard to the changes in owner requirements, recent years
have seen a lot of design development with the interplay between indoor and
outdoor decks. Large windows are becoming the norm, which most owners find
appealing. Access to the sea and to the tenders is now a major feature, and
almost every yacht built today has a substantial built-in swim platform at the
stern with grand stairs leading up to the deck. Twenty or 30 years ago, such a
stern was unheard of, and a large percentage of yachts favored a canoe-style
stern for aesthetic reasons and comfort in a following sea. The larger vessels
can also provide sufficient structure to incorporate fold-down "beach terrace"
doors that open up the hull side for bathing or alfresco dining.
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