How to build a superyacht
We take a trip to Sunseeker to see how luxury boats are made
Superyachts are the essence of luxury. They offer uninterrupted panoramic views of the ocean, state-of-the-art technology and a seemingly effortless capacity to cruise through the water. But behind the gleaming hull and polished wooden floors, a complex array of plywood and fibreglass houses thousands of metres of electric cables, powerful engines and computer systems. All of this is the result of an incredible engineering and design process – a product of hundreds of thousands of construction hours.
Sunseeker International is world renowned for dominating the luxury yacht industry. Famed for their bespoke products, they carry designs through from the first conversations with the clients, transforming ideas and sketches into computer-generated schematics before constructing and handcrafting the entire vessel within a couple of months.
Sunseeker’s giant factory in Poole in the UK is spread across several shipyards, with the process working on an assembly line. The factory is impressive, but there is a noticeable lack of large machinery across the manufacturing line for the company’s 116 and 131 Yachts. Instead, the factory is bustling with people who work on
painting, fitting components and laying out wires. Our guide is Matt Francis, one of the on-site general managers, who explains the lack of machinery.
“You can get machines for these things. You can get spray guns for fibreglass, instead of rolling these sheets. But you’d have to change the settings for every boat, so it works better by hand. That’s why almost everything you can see is hand built.”
Across the shipyard almost every part of the yacht is being created by Sunseeker; we watch as the skilled teams work in synchronicity to build each part of the yacht’s interior, from the beds and cabinets to the wiring weaved beneath the floors and between the walls. While other manufacturers tend to purchase pre-made furniture and components, Sunseeker prides itself on producing most of these parts at their own factory.
At the start of the process the hull is little more than a layer of painted gel inside a mould. This mould is shaped to include space for the parts to be added later down the manufacturing line, including the windows, portholes, lights and engines. The layer of gel will eventually form the gleaming high-quality coating on the outside of the yacht, but for now it is lined with fibreglass and carbon fibre. Knitted sheets are added layer upon layer then saturated with resin, which hardens to form the strong hull. Once set, the hull is lifted by a crane and carried to the next section of the factory.
The next stage of the manufacturing line looks very different from the first. The boat’s hull is freed from its mould and layers of fibreglass and carbon fibre are applied to strengthen it. “The boat really starts to get its layout now, it looks like the floor plan of a house,” says Matt as he points to the exposed rooms being built into the hull. “You can see the bulkheads are there now, and where the cabins will be, and the en-suites, the galley, the stairs. We’ll start to build the boat up now.”
The carpenters are creating the components on site using durable hardwood. These are then fixed in place with high-strength adhesive before the engines are installed and the decks are fitted. Carpenters, laminators, electrical engineers, plumbers all work together across the boat at this point.
Next, the yacht’s interior framework is added in. The stairs have gone from basic plywood shapes to polished steps. The engines and gearboxes have been installed on vibration mounts to limit the sound permeating the boat when they are powered up. You can trace the fuel lines all the way from the front to the back of the boat. Standing above the ship looking at the parts about to be pieced together, it’s fascinating to see how the vessel is gradually taking shape.
The decks and hull are fixed together in the next stage using high-adhesive glue. “The deck follows the same process as the hull mould,” explains Matt. “When finished, the deck lifters spin it around upside down and it comes out of the mould tool.”
Completed surfaces are wrapped in protective blue plastic to shield them during the final stages of construction. The superyacht is manoeuvred using giant hydraulic cradles from the main shipyard into a hangar for the remainder of the work. The teams then get started on completing the interior with a meticulous attention to detail. The wiring, plumbing and furnishings are all installed to the client’s original specifications.
The final stage of superyacht construction takes place on the water just outside the shipyard. A sea trial is required to make sure everything is working as it should, and a team checks every single surface for imperfections. After a thorough clean and the final installation of a few lights, the yacht is complete. The Sunseeker superyacht is ready to start cruising, carrying its new owner out into the open seas within the most luxurious of surroundings.
“At the start of the process the hull is little more than a layer of painted gel inside a mould”