For me a sailing yacht is just so elegant and graceful, and it's much better for the environment too. 🌎 Also, there are some really interesting developments like hybrid drive that can charge the batteries whilst under sail, and DSS foils that reduce heeling like on the stunning Canova by Baltic Yachts.

Just something special about seeing the sailing yachts under way.

Depends on what you want to do on the boat. In the old days you had to own a very large motoryacht if you wanted to go off to the furthest reaches of the globe, if you wanted speed, forget sailing. Through huge steps in technology where this is no longer the norm. We motored around the world in the mid-80's on a 65m, having a 10,000 mile range. We only met 3 others doing the same, all the rest were sailboats. Look at the HUGE rise in Explorer yachts today like Nordhavn and Bering, even sub 25m.

I like both, the comfort of a motor yacht, and the sleek lines and adventure of a sailing yacht. If I'd be in the market for either of those, I would probably be in team sailing yacht.

active sailing has an appeal. literally learning the ropes and then being able to sail from port to port through your own work. i guess a similar idea would be owning a jet and learning to be a pilot.

For me who grew up in "The Solent" pottering around in a saling dinghy, where I still can remember that feeling of freedom, but also my parents had a small dory which we blasted about in, a totally different but also a fantastic experience, so for me it's the old journey or destination conundrum. Given unlimited funds, I think a motor yatch ticks more boxes, with a yacht with a keel limits where you can go, also you have to have a larger yacht to get the same real estate and toys, but even so that feeling of sailing is difficult to ignore.

Sail for me. And on that subject, David can you please do more walkthroughs of Catamaran's. These seem to be the new preferred method of sailing around the world, with their stability and also the level of comfort and luxury you have aboard. Many of the larger cat's also having a crew, which again is an appeal to the owner who wants to take part in the sailing but also have the luxury of a crew to take over when he/she wants to just sit back and enjoy the sea.

Great video David and thanks for your thoughts

I viewed this excellent video three times. If money were no question: What would you prefer for a 5-year and nearly uninterrupted circumnavigation? A motor yacht just below the 24 m threshold or a sailing yacht of ± 30 m? Side note: Noise and vibrations can be disregarded as CdM for example builds motor yachts with noise levels around ± 40 dB (A). This means you hear the engines if at all only whispering.

Motor Yacht, no question about it! The amount of heeling required on sailing yachts and the impact it places on passenger comfort and enjoyment, not to mention the restrictions on interior choices is not what I consider luxury! I don’t want my Fazioli grand piano sliding around the deck every time a course change is made!

For me I keep going back and forth with this question. While I like the idea of a sailboat, like you every time i see one it’s always using its engines! You did say that an advantage the motor yachts had over sailing yachts was comfort and roominess. I do think that the current trend in motor yachts to explorers might be the exception of it being the destination that’s important. Your only looking at the single hulls- with the catamaran you can get both. I think this is why the popularity in catamarans is growing. After saying that I am intrigued by the latest offerings by Perini Navi.

With motor-yachts it's about the destination, with sailing-yachts it's about the journey...

I like the motor yachts.

I can understand the appeal of sailing and I certainly appreciate the elegance and beauty of sailing yachts, but I am squarely in the camp of motor yachts. While my dream would be to 'sail' around the world, I'd want to do it with as much stability and volume as possible, as most of the reason for the round trip would be to spend time at the many locations along the way. That said, actually 'sailing' round the world in a sailing ship would be a 'true' adventure. I think I'd skip sailing Cape Horn and the Horn of Africa though. That would be a bit too much adventure thank you.

Nice, informative. Something not really covered are the abundance of sailing regattas around the world like the Sydney to Hobart to name another. David I am very curious did you do a video on hull materials, wood versus metal versus composites? I haven’t seen one. Love your channel, watch it all the time.

When I was a kid, my parents had two sailboats (Sunfish) that we would take out onto Lake Juliette in Georgia. It was enjoyable for those occasions, but now that I'm older than they were then and my life has altered, I would definitely prefer a motor yacht. I could almost live on one, although my wife just wants a cruise once a year. 🤷‍♂

Thank you for the video. Now when you say a sailing boat, cat or mono? talking about around UK, Norway coast, Croatia costs, etc.

Well motor yachts are about the destination and getting away from it all whereas sailing yachts are about going places in a close-knit community of likeminded people. Let me explain this a bit more: - Motor yacht owners might invite business partners aboard every once in a while but more often these yachts are like vacation homes to disconnect from everything whereas sailing yacht owners use their yachts a bit more to actively network, e.g. during regattas or things like the Oyster World Rally - Sailing yacht owners tend to love discussing technical details of their yachts or journeys at length whereas the average motor yacht owner prefers to leave such things more to the crew. So chances are you will hear sailing yacht owners discussion rigging types, sail plans, sail handling, etc. So the motor yacht owner looks to reduce stimuli (passive relaxation in splendid isolation) whereas the sailing yacht owner tries to unwind by seeking different stimuli (active relaxation). And that shared interest again makes it super easy to connect with fellow sailing yacht owners (and compete with them ;-) -> yes sailing yachts make it easier to gain a world record if you want to -> largest sloop, ketch, schooner, tallest mast, fastest around the globe…). - Controversial Point: Sailing yacht owners tend to be slightly more adventurous types of people (enjoying a heeled over yacht while playing with the natural forces is not for everyone) which is also reflected when looking at the industries these owners are coming from and/or the way they do business. Motor yacht owners tend to be slightly more conservative; though there are exceptions of course. Also some sailing yacht owners sailed around places like Cape Horn (e.g. Aquijo), also known as "The Sailor's Everest", while motor yacht owners (often even those with explorer yachts) will avoid such extreme conditions. With regards to the latter personal branding might play a role to some extent as well (Richard Branson for example never owned a motor yacht but he did own Necker Belle or Larry Ellison who owned Rising Sun but primarily uses the Americas Cup for his branding rather than his motor yacht).

Motoryacht!!!!!!! But maybe Perini navi with dyna rigg.

I'm not adverse to motor yachts but every yacht that I have owned has been sail. My next yacht has a greater chance of being a sailing yacht than a motor yacht, though I do not reject the possibility. If you are in a hurry, buy a motor yacht and if you are not on a schedule go sail.

If you want the best of both worlds then get a trawler type yacht . They go at 7 to 10 knots like a nordhavn. They are all about the trip and can go for 3 to 4k miles before the need to refuel.

Unmentioned, but a huge advantage for sailing yachts, are lower costs on fuel and much more environmentally friendly.

Motor yacht for me . I would love to sail but I would have to have a crew. If I had a crew I would love to sail a beutuful old world cruise type of sail boat

I definitely would go motor yacht over a sailing yacht. After many years of living aboard a muti-ton steel hull houseboat, and witnessing firsthand the overall arrogance and the lack of knowledge of the rules of the road by many sailing vessels. That is not a group I would ever want to be associated with. True sailing vessels are more economical and better for the environment, which is precisely why when I buy my first super yacht, I will convert every bit of it that I can to solar power. Even if I can only cover the hotel load for the yacht this will be a great achievement, as I have no desire to travel the world, and it will spend most of its time on the hook.

What about the Conrad C115 Lunar?

Trends are changing back to a reflection of historic times: my WEF-buddies and my billionaire friend whose last name rhymes with "Loros" are switching to oar-powered galleys.

Bit of a non story about the carpeted over escape hatch. Did you inform anyone at the yard about the hatch that was carpeted over!? If not why would you potentially leave someone to potentially burn to death trapped in their cabin!

A big sailboat, for sure. Race people across the Atlantic.

Your point about volume misses the catamaran! That brings you plenty of volume on a sailing yacht, because of the wide beam between the hulls. Me, I would never get a yacht which couldn't handle self-propulsion, whether that's via sail or via solar power or both. (At the moment, it would have to be sailing or both, because solar doesn't carry enough power to count on, but that's changing over time.) If I'm getting a boat, I want it to carry me across oceans. I want it to carry me *anywhere* in the world where I want to go, and I also want to spend 90-100% of my time living on it and going places on it. That isn't most motor yachts. It might be some of the long distance explorers, or some of the trawler conversions which were once legitimate commercial boats. But even they have their range limits, long though they are. Sail will still take you everywhere, and that's the most important thing to me. My dream yacht is the Sunreef 80 eco-catamaran, which combines solar and wind to get you anywhere in the world in a level of luxury which matches most motor superyachts in my opinion.

sail boat you can take it racing with a paid crew and some friends, more chance to socialise with owner owners and crews

I'm waaaaay too lazy to like sailing. Motor 100%

Motor yacht!

I am a motor yacht person.

The big upsides of sailing yachts is you can get a rundown and restore it yourself for very little money (but a lot of effort) whereas a motoryacht restoration requires a lot of both. And you can take a very small sailing vessel over the Atlantic. Entire herds of them migrate back and forth each year. Modest little affordable boats. It's a relatively rare and not-cheap motoryacht that does that. BUUUT sailing yachts are permanent work in progress... the only reason you don't have a bag of tools is because you have two bags of tools.

I follow many sailing channels on KZfaq and what I take from them is that they use the engine about 50% of the time. Thinking that sailing yachts hardly use engines is a myth. The new generation of motor yachts with their solar panels and axle generators (re-gen function) reduces the use of the generators and therefore pollution, and for me, the main thing is on a motor yacht your drinks don't fall over 🙂Btw I used to be a sailing sailor.

i got 300 bucks,is that gonna get me a motoryacht ?

David you keep talking about buying a boat and I don't know if you'll ever actually do it, but I think you have enough of a following that if you decided to do it and made a channel out of it, you could make a living off of it. Enough to get by on at least. When you look at the most popular 'yachting' channels, all of them are sail boats. Catamarans mostly, but mono and even a Trimaran now with La Vagabonde. All you have to do is commit.

give me engines every time

"I'm sorry, but you are confusing me even more than before."

Perhaps a sailing yacht is more for nautical enthusiasts who like to "sail", and motor yachts are for "lazy connoisseurs" 😉

I know this is a touchy subject for some. I personally find sailing yachts primitive. To me sailing yachts are about as interesting as watching someone rub two sticks together to create fire. I know there's been a lot of Innovations over the last several years but honestly as soon as I see sails on a yacht I lose all interest. That's just my personal opinion though. I understand there are people that absolutely love sailing yachts.