Updated on October 3rd, 2023
The audience of sail lovers is incredible in size, but at the opposite end are motor yacht enthusiasts who would never rent, much less buy, a sailboat. That’s why.
Simplicity and speed
The vast majority of fans of motor yachts appreciate the ease of movement with which they allow you to be in the right place in a matter of hours, regardless of the direction of the wind. Of course, sailboats also have motors, but their maximum speed makes motor yachtsmen yawn. Yes, motor yacht charter is more expensive, but during this time you can see much more interesting things.
No heel
When a sailboat is under sail, it inevitably rolls to leeward. Even salty sailors sometimes get bored of being constantly tilted and fold their sails and start their little diesel. The exception is sailing catamarans, but their speed is extremely low compared to motor yachts.
Space
An incredible expanse opens up when there is no mast, rigging and all these winches on the deck, which you constantly beat with your feet. Living spaces also have a huge area, and layout options can be countless. But beyond that, all of the interior space is designed for convenience and comfort, not efficiency in terms of sailing.
Equipment
Fans of motor yacht charter are often surprised to learn that sailboats only have one tiny cooler for drinks. Well, sometimes there are two. Simply due to lack of space. What can we say about water toys, jet skis and diving equipment. And those fun inflatable things that kids love so much just don’t work at low speeds.
Internal comfort
At some point, you will play enough and want to take a break. It’s always nice to sleep in a regular comfortable bed in a spacious salon, more like a room with good ventilation and air conditioning. And in the morning, take a full shower and at the same time never hit your head on any ledge. Do you want to wash your clothes? No problem, the crew will show you where one of the washing machines is.
Whether you prefer to have breakfast on the upper deck, in the saloon or on the flybridge (check and mate, sailboats!), you will have plenty of space everywhere and you will not interfere with each other.
Elegance
For some reason, many convinced sailors fail to understand how powerboats can be beautiful or even elegant. In turn, motor yachtsmen are much less aggressive towards their opponents and often admire beautiful sailboats. However, this rarely applies to modern utilitarian designs, but more often to classic wooden boats in excellent condition.
But classic motor yachts with a lot of wood in the finish, for many, look much more aesthetic and perfect, without unnecessary details that break the harmony. At the same time, it must be admitted that the vast majority of modern motor yachts are incredibly ugly.
Safety
Water safety is a relative concept, so any statement will always be rightfully challenged by someone. However, motor yachts have the ability to quickly change location in the event of poor weather forecasts. They rarely go into a storm, not because they are afraid, as sailors think, but because they can simply bypass it.
Predictability
When the motor yacht fires up the engines and sets course, all guests on board can relax, grab their cocktails and either walk around the deck or lounge on the bow sofas, enjoying the cool head wind. This is almost impossible to do on a sailboat.
A few words in defense of the sail
Despite the fact that many sailboat owners secretly dream of motor yachts, this does not mean that the latter do not have disadvantages. Of course they are. And if everything was so bad with sailboats, they would simply not exist today.
For example, in order to make a transatlantic crossing on a motor yacht, its size and, accordingly, the cost, may be completely beyond the income level of a representative of the middle class. And after all, they usually forget to take into account the amount of fuel that the yacht will spend on this week-long trip only in one direction. However, there are small, fairly economical boats of the trawler type, which have a very reasonable price, high seaworthiness and reliability.
At the same time, you can buy an old but years-proven Swedish 9m sailboat for €3,000 and go around the world in it. And yes, sometimes it’s just fun, and the sail gives the feeling of a true flight over the water surface without extraneous noise. That’s why sailboats will never disappear.