DEN BOSCH – Moonen Yachts recently laid the keel of its 7th Martinique superyacht since 2018. It is a 37.4m (122ft) project for which the yard has no buyer yet. Luckily, speculation building – starting on a yacht with no buyer in sight – is not as scary as it sounds.
It happens in the Netherlands a lot, both in the superyacht sector and the under-30m segment and is a significant reason why Dutch yacht building is so successful.
Spec-building gives a shipyard a head start. Moonen is a boutique yard that sells two boats a year ranging from 34 to 40m (112 to 131ft) a year. Australian owners Matthew and Louise Baxter acquired the yard in 2019 and provide solid financial backing.
Spec-buying shortens build time. When buyers knock on Moonen’s door, they can choose from several yachts already in build. When IBI talked to Commercial Director Victor Caminada, he had five yachts in build but no clients nearby.
Moonen’s 7th Martinique, project YN 205, is listed at €25.5 million and due for delivery in February 2025. “We’ve started construction with shipyard financing to offer clients a shorter delivery time,” says Caminada.
He is confident he’ll sell the 345GT yacht. But as Moonen builds without a buyer, it chooses the color schemes, the materials, the designs, the number of staterooms, layouts, crew facilities etc.
The yard publishes a menu of half a dozen dates for design choices. The closer YN205 comes to its delivery, the fewer design choices buyers have. “I have never seen other yards publish these details,” says Caminada.
He stresses buying a yacht under construction limits choices. “As a keel is being laid, the yacht’s interior is already being built,” says Caminada. “Buyers should not think, ‘Oh, I’ve got lots of time still.’ The further the build of YN205 progresses toward delivery, the more decisions must be made to stay on track for completion.”
If you want to YN205, you have missed the June 15 deadline for the interior design concept. But you can still choose the whirlpool design and interior painted surfaces (Deadline: Dec. 11, 2023), the design of outdoor layouts (Febr. 5, 2024), the exterior paint scheme (March 35, 2024), the choice of flooring, upholstery, lighting and loose furniture (July 29, 2024) and the yacht’s name and logo (Sept. 27, 2024).
