MOTOR YACHTS FOR SALE

More About Used Motor Yachts

While trawlers are sometime included in this category, which is loosely accurate, motoryachts are more normally considered powerboats that emphasize comfort, luxury, and style over self-sufficient capability far away from land services. Motoryachts are most at home in luxury marinas and resort settings, where motoryachts that fit the trawler description, such as those from Endurance, Northwest Yachts, and Fleming, are more capable of extended cruising.

There is no style that defines a motoryacht. Many of these boats, such as those from Outer Reef, Grand Alaskan, Grand Banks Aleutian, Offshore, Alaskan Yachts, Northwest Yachts, Fleming Yachts, Regency, Ocean Alexander, Hampton, and Endurance, have a decidedly traditional profile. They cruise along without drama at 10 to 15 knots. They are competent, comfortable, and graceful under way. The appeal of these cruising motoryachts is that they are ideal for a winter season in the Islands, summers in Alaska and Maine, and most every popular cruising destination. These semi-displacement hulls are perfect as they have a range of performance, offering speed when necessary, or great fuel economy the rest of the time at displacement speed.

The other style of motoryacht, with a decided European influence, is sleek, sexy, and fast. Powered by huge engines that show the owners aren’t concerned with saving fuel, these yachts, most in the 60 to 80-foot range, cruise at 20 to 30 knots, and get wherever they are going fast and arrive with a statement. These yachts include those from Benetti, Sunseeker, Riviera, Horizon, Viking, Meridian, Sea Ray, and Princess. 

The larger motoryachts continue up in size until they reach Superyacht status, all with professional captain and crew, to fulfill anyone’s dream of living the ultimate yachting lifestyle.

On owner-operated motoryachts, between 50 and 80 feet in length, the goal is to provide luxury accommodations for owners and guests in three or more stateroom. Every conceivable amenity is there for enjoyment, from flat screen televisions in every living space to a complete bar on the flybridge boat deck. This category sets the bar for luxury on the water, and overstuffed couches often replace traditional settees. Artwork and mirrors are more likely on bulkheads than a ship’s clock and barometer.

Motoryachts are generally all-electric yachts, meaning that under way they run generators to power their systems, keep their domestic full-size refrigerators and freezers cold, and so are more suited to dockside living than at anchor. That is how most motoryachts are used by their owners, who prefer shoreside living, with full connection to shoreside facilities, rather than being self-sufficient for extended periods. That is not their mission. 

Many of the traditional motoryachts, however, such as those from Fleming, Outer Reef, and Endurance, are very competent cruising boats, and allow owners to see the world in comfort and with modern conveniences. These yachts are perhaps the most versatile of all cruising platforms. They enjoy the flexibility and all the benefits of a semi-displacement hull shape. And they handle their constant and heavy electrical demands when they are set up with multiple generators, sized to allow for extended cruising away from the dock. And most have large fuel capacities, so they enjoy good range if the speed is kept to trawler speed. 

Motoryachts have large engine rooms with complex machinery and systems that require regular attention and care. There are often multiple HVAC systems to provide each stateroom with its own temperature control. Engines in owner-operated motoryachts can range from a pair of 500hp Deere diesels up to a pair of MAN V-12s, each putting out 1,900hp. These are the big boys when it comes to diesel engine technology. 

Motoryacht interiors, especially those with European influence, can be pure glitz, with chrome and glass and mirrors, for the sophisticated upscale look of a New York penthouse. The more traditional motoryachts tend to favor hardwood interior treatments that make an older yachtsman feel right at home. It is common to find granite and marble countertops and flooring that rivals that of a luxury home on shore. And on the larger motoryachts expect to find tables and chairs for alfresco dining on the boat deck and in the aft cockpit area. And don’t be surprised if you see a hot tub.

Motoryachts appeal to those who want to live aboard, and spend quality time on the water, enjoying one resort marina after another. They can get where they need to go quickly, or they can take their time. This flexibility allows the owners to move as they desire, and most carry enough water toys to keep the family and guests busy when they do anchor in a blue lagoon. 

More so than any other category, the motoryacht does it all, and there is more diversity within the motoryacht world than anywhere else. Which means there is a perfect motoryacht for anyone wanting to enjoy this version of the yachting lifestyle.