CHRISTINA O - the yacht that wrote history now sails on in splendour. The mere mention of the name Onassis conjures up images of wealth, power and opulence and the mega yacht Christina O, more than anything else, encapsulates the legend that was Ari Onassis.
In recent years, small/medium-sized private yachts have evolved from fairly simple vessels with basic accommodation to sophisticated and luxurious boats.
Sailing yachts fall into four basic categories: ‘Day Sailing’, ‘Weekender’, ‘Cruiser’ and ‘Racer’.
A sailing yacht can vary in overall length (Length Over All - LOA, in yachting parlance) from about 6 m (20 feet) to well over 30 m (98 ft), where the distinction between a yacht and a ship become blurred. However, most privately owned yachts fall in the range of about 7 m to 14 m (about 23-46 ft); the cost of building and keeping a yacht rises quickly as length increases. In the US sailors tend to refer to smaller yachts as sailboats, while referring to the general sport of sailing as yachting.
Monohull yachts are typically fitted with a fixed or adjustable keel below the waterline to counterbalance the overturning force of wind on the vessel’s sails. By contrast, multihull yachts (a catamaran is an example of this type of vessel) use two or more hulls widely separated from each other to provide a stable base that resists overturning.
Until the 1950s almost all yachts were made of wooden boards, or in a larger yacht, steel but nowadays there is a much wider range of materials. Most common is fibreglass, but steel, aluminium and much less often because of insurance difficulties, ferrocement are used as well. Wood is still used (traditional board based methods as well as modern technologies based on plywood, veneers and epoxy-glues etc.) but wood is mostly used when building an individual boat by a hobbyist or wooden boat purist. At the other extreme, high performance yachts such as those used in the Volvo Ocean Race and the America’s Cup are often constructed from carbon fibre.
Modern yachts have efficient sail-plans that allow them to sail into the wind. This capability is the result of a sail plan and hull design (typically a sloop rig) that utilizes Bernoulli’s principle to generate lift.
What are the differences between boat and yacht insurance?
Generally “boats” are considered to be 26′ and smaller, and “yachts” are 27′ and larger. Generally speaking yacht coverage is broader and more specialized because larger boats travel further and have more unique exposures.
What should I look for in a yacht policy?
I am about to purchase a used sailboat (40+ feet). I would like some advice
on insurance companies. Care to share your experiences with any particular
company?
Pantaenius Hull Insurance provides coverage in the case of actual total loss, constructive total loss and partial loss of the yacht. The conditions for a constructive total loss are given when the costs of repair exceed the agreed fixed value. The agreed fixed value – a value which is agreed upon between the owner and the insurer – is stipulated as a valuation (fixed valuation). The insurance protection covers the costs of salvage, wreck removal and disposal.
The Right Insurer and the Best Policy
Did you know that the true yacht insurance policy is probably the most comprehensive insurance policy you will ever own. Today’s yacht insurance is a hybrid of coverage types and philosophies, which have been handed down from the very beginnings of insurance in England, in the sixteenth century.