Last Updated on September 23, 2023.

Speedy. Sporty. Superfluous. The Yachts of Yesterday.

For years, these three adjectives could define much of the yachting market between 60-100 feet. Building yachting to be fast and fuel efficient was the market’s happy place, where buyers, builders and architects spent their days designing for aerodynamic efficiency, both above and below the waterline.

Were they rushing to get somewhere?

Fast forward to today’s climate, where a recent focus to maximize usable space and nautical range has redirected many of the market’s leaders to engineer their version of a “Pocket Explorer”.

WHAT IS A POCKET EXPLORER?

Pocket Explorers may incorporate many of the following characteristics:

• Maximized volume: wide body displacement hull, extended flybridge
• Efficient & dependable powertrain
• Great fuel economy and even hybrid propulsion
• Plumb bow (tall, straight) to maximize interior proportions and ride dry
• Generous tender and toy storage

Efficiency. Volume. Versatile. The Yachts of Tomorrow.

The journey is the destination with Pocket Explorers. With so much volume, a variety of spaces and the ability to cruise distances, its what’s happening on the yacht versus what’s happening after. This is perfectly showcased with the recent launch of the X-treme Yachts X105.

Courtesy X-Tremeyachts.com

While X-treme Yachts are a small operation, their concept is ready for a large audience. Its the perfect example where the features of a much larger yacht are efficiently engineered into a downsized comparable in trade for low-speed. X-treme Yachts is the brainchild of three friends each with dense yacht ownership experience, and the X105 is notably their smartest model offered. The combination of a main deck master cabin, 10m on-deck tender storage, 2400 NM range and excessive system redundancies is rarely found in options 50% larger. Space is so efficiently used it almost becomes excessive.

WHY ARE THEY POPULAR?

The primary sticking point of any Pocket Explorer is the “amount of boat” you’ll get for the money. This concept starts at the waterline via a displacement hull, otherwise known as a round or flat bottom hull designed to cut through the water versus ride on top (see planing hull). With a wide base, your foundation maximizes usable deck space at the lower level, which in turn maximizes the main deck, flybridge, and beyond. In trade for the volume, buyers give up speed and handling.

If you’re asking yourself if displacement hulls are a new concept, they are not. What’s new is the displacement hull’s popularity in the 60-100 foot range, where speed has been sought after for the last few decades by brands like Leopard, Mangusta, Ferretti, Riva, Azimut and Pershing to name a few. By utilizing a displacement hull, buyers get more boat for their buck, and that’s a sales pitch anyone can get behind. With a smaller size comes a significant reduction in operating costs too. If speed is not the goal, the Pocket Explorer might be the answer.

As the world navigates its supply chain troubles and energy prices fluctuate with the wind, we see the market’s demand skewing to products which hedge the unknown. Pocket Explorers have the capacity to be autonomous, and in a world with increased uncertainty, autonomy is a superpower. What’s more, the Pocket Explorer’s launching during the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival allude to a mainstream evolution to sustainable power, utilizing reasonable hybrid propulsion systems to further distance the vessel from a diesel fuel dependency. And while energy efficiency is a hot button for today’s consumer, Pocket Explorer’s are much more than their fuel burn.

WHO IS DOING IT THE BEST?

Although the Pocket Explorer category seems like a niche, there are a wide variety of players with great products. We’ve summarized our favorites based on an analysis of price vs what you get for it between 75-90ft, with some honorable mentions outside the parameters.

Here are four Pocket Explorer’s were scheduled to tour during the 2022 Cannes Yacht Festival:

Courtesy Arcadia Yachts

Arcadia Sherpa 80 XL

Base Price: €5,250,000

Since 2009, Arcadia has promoted a fluid yachting style, where the vessel is vast, open and close to the surrounding sea. Coupled with its displacement hull, raised pilot house and huge main deck, the Sherpa 80 XL combines everything the Pocket Explorer trend calls for. The 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival will unveil the first Sherpa 80 XL with an open main deck galley, making way for four staterooms below and an overall improvement for owners who entertain through food and beverage.

Arcadia’s open concept is prime for temperate or year round yachting climates.

Courtesy Bering Yachts

Bering 77ft 

Base Price: €4,700,000

If Arcadia was a culinary tour through Almalfi, Bering would be an Alaskan whale watching expedition. The Bering 77 was developed for range, capable of running nonstop for 22 straight days or 4,000 nautical miles at an 8 knot cruise, all while hosting its guests among four large cabins with en suites, two separate dining areas, a flybridge with crane and even a sauna. Even with its rugged exterior, the 26m ship hides an al fresco dining and bar setup on its top deck, under a convertible hardtop.

Courtesy Boats.com

Evadne Rock 85

Base Price: €5,358,000

With Vripack as its naval architect and chief designer, Rock has both the looks and the brains. Although its larger than the Sherpa 80 XL (Arcadia) and the Bering 77 its evident the Rock project was intended to maximize volume most of the three, led by a 55 square meter flybridge comparable to a boat twice its size. The Rock 85 breaks all expectations with its main deck master suite while still having a sizable salon, dining and galley at the same level. For efficiency, we’ve got a 3,500 nm range at 9 knots.

Courtesy Numarine

Numarine 26XP

Base Price: $5,448,000

While Numarine’s style is more conventional than the rest, their lineage and busy production line offer the most proven of the list. Couple its dependability with a competitive price, expansive flybridge, four large cabins and a dreamy amount of natural light, and the 26XP justifies itself. The production capacity and quality of Numarine yields more units annually than the previous three combined.

WHAT ARE THE NEWEST/RICHEST OPTIONS?

Looking for the newest and trendiest releases of today’s Pocket Explorer category? Look no further than Cantiere delle Marche’s Flexplorer and Benetti’s answer.

Cantiere delle Marche Flexplorer 39m

CdM’s Flexplorer uses a proprietary stowable crane.

Before you even get into the salon, the Flexplorer has unique features breaking the industry’s expectation for a yacht of this size. A hidden A-frame crane with a 2.5t capacity pops out of the deck, while folding bulwarks (side walls) expand the deck’s usable space and a 10 sq m pool appears out of the tender storage bay.

By today’s fuel efficiency performance standards, the Flexplorer leads with 72 liters per hour consumption at a 10 knot cruising speed for a worldly range of 5,000 nm. Its quad-fin system responsively dialogues with the rudder system to ease the ocean’s influence on the hull and keep propulsion focused forward.

Base Price: ON REQUEST

BENETTI B.YOND (37M)

B.Yond’s airy feel is second to none.

With a new concept comes a transformative look for Benetti; a statement to redirect your expectation of what exactly the Benetti B.Yond is. In addition to the endless interiors and a style matching that of a Boho Beach Resort, the B.Yond’s hybrid propulsion should be what the market talks about for the near term.

Via a collection of engines, generators and battery banks, the vessel has a variety of propulsion options led by a conventional set of combustion engines, and ending with a low-power electric-energy propulsion by Siemens Energy for quiet relocations. Crew can utilize any combination of the power sources to run the combustion engines, while activating a set of electric engines when propulsion from the battery bank or generators is active. These combinations yield a 5,000 nm range and a dependable redundancy.

Unfortunately, the most talked about launch during the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival has been postponed, and guests will not be able to view B.Yond until after the show.

Update 9/1/22: As of Thursday, September 1, Benetti has reconfirmed the B.Yond’s appearance at the Cannes Yachting Festival.

Base Price: €14,600,000

The Pocket Explorer category is on the rise and sure to expand over the next 5-10 years should the market’s interest in energy efficiency and spacial value persist. With the introduction of dependable hybrid propulsion systems, we may just be at the forefront of lower diesel fuel dependance and maximizing the range of a single tank of fuel.

Comments, questions or feedback on our Pocket Explorer review? Email me at Reed.Nicol@WaveYachtSales.com.

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