Standout Superyacht Aft Views

What is it: Legend, a 77.4 metre high latitude-capable explorer for up to 26 guests. Originally an icebreaking tug, she was converted to a yacht in 1999, before a massive refit to true superyacht standards in 2016.

Why we love it: Through her styling, dimensions and some of the original mechanics, Legend, which is available for charter with Camper and Nicholsons, preserves the spirit of the Russian icebreaker that plied the northern reaches of the globe during the Cold War, but her year-long rebuild at Icon Yachts – which earned her a World Superyacht Award in 2017 – turned the tough vessel into a spectacular charter yacht. This Orient Express of the sea comes with an art deco inspired master suite, fire pits, top of the line gym, a garage full of toys including a submarine, and a certified helipad for a six-passenger Eurocopter.

Design genius: Reimagining the vessel inside and out made it possible to add a large heated pool and storage for the helicopter protected from weather.

Perfect for: History buffs, large families, film directors or novelists with means.

What is it: Rising Sun, the groundbreaking 138 metre motor yacht designed by Jon Bannenberg, delivered by Lürssen to Larry Ellison in 2005.

Why we love it: So fresh was the design and so different from anything he’d done before, that a yachting forum even questioned if it was really the work of Jon Bannenberg, according to a biography of the prolific British designer by his son Dickie. The owner agreed succinctly to Bannenberg’s terms in March 2000 (“Jon, I accept. Let the work begin. larry [sic]”) and by May the designer, who died before the yacht was finished, had sketched project LE120.

Design genius: Exposure of structure was a major theme of the design, with the web frames of the superstructure clearly visible — this is distinctive and honest design. In practical terms, the yacht is designed so that her acres of glass don’t reveal all: there are many private areas, including a two-level cinema and (originally, at least) a trophy room for the America’s Cup, embedded deep within.

Perfect for: Entertaining guests dockside and getting time away from it all with a full deck dedicated to the owner.

The 67 metre Seasense is a custom Benetti superyacht with styling by Cor D Rover and a jazzy interior by Los Angeles interior design firm AREA.

Why we love it: That spectacular pool and the deck that surrounds it. Wide teak louvres control the sunlight allowed into the area, while teak boards, stretching across rather than along the beam, emphasise the yacht’s 10.8 metre width, increasing the apparent size of the space.

Design genius: Forward of the superyacht pool is a teak-decked dining area, and forward again a television lounge. Two sets of massive sliding doors seal the area into three or two spaces, or left open, one indoor-outdoor space that spans about half the length of the main deck. That’s more than 30 metres.

Perfect for: Families — thanks to fun colours, cosy corners and a basketball court that can cover the pool and keep the kids entertained.

The 72.1 metre VSY motor yacht Stella Maris was launched in 2013, boasting radical lines by Espen Øino and pared back interior styling in muted natural tones by Michela Reverberi.

Why we love it: Al fresco spaces abound, from the substantial superyacht beach club to the tender garage that can be converted into a party spot.

Design genius: The sundeck is a stunner. Stroll straight from the helipad for a dip in the twin pools aft, or just collapse on a sunpad with a cocktail.

Perfect for: Superyacht owners who insist on a light, bright lifestyle on the water. Inside there are rows of full-height windows that make the main deck feel like an extension of the seascape.

The 73.5 metre Nobiskrug motor yacht Mogambo was launched in 2012, boasting a sinuous and achingly cool interior and exterior design scheme by the Reymond Langton studio.

Why we love it: Check out those sweeping stairs, that muted grey and white paint job, the flared sundeck overhangs — there aren’t many back ends this pretty.

Design genius: The chic interior with a 1950s Mad Men flavour translates into laid-back spaces outside, from the low-slung furniture of the main aft deck to the sprawling superyacht beach club, complete with spa area.

Perfect for: Superyacht charterers with a penchant for mid-century glamour. Or Don Draper.

Tansu Yachts’ seductive 39.3 metre motor yacht Sexy Fish was developed over four years under the code name Project Cutlass, with in-house styling and naval architecture by Diana Yacht Design.

Why we love it: The yard’s design ethos, to create boats around a modern outdoor lifestyle, leads to spectacular alfresco spaces such as this sprawling aft deck and a lighting scheme that makes the most of it.

Design genius: Tansu’s previous launch So’mar boasted an owner's deck with a million dollar view up top. This one shares the wealth by placing a glamorous bar in the same spot, so you can stroll out to the upper aft deck to sip your cocktail, or linger in a sheltered nook with the barman.

Perfect for: Cool young things who like a beach house vibe.

Built by Lürssen in Germany, Kismet is 95.2 metres and five decks of fantastical and highly personal design.

Why we love it: The aft decks become one big party loop: start in the main aft deck bar, move up to the bridge deck lounge and helipad, and then up again to the sundeck for a dip in the pool. And that still leaves two decks as a chill-out zone. She can host parties for 270 guests.

Design genius: The owner’s ideas are woven through this highly collaborative and unusual project, from Espen Øino’s height-disguising black mast and stainless steel flourishes, to Reymond Langton’s interior box of delights, with a video wall, a piano, four fireplaces, spectacular atrium stairs — plus a quiet exterior nook with a hanging seat.

Perfect for: Design aficionados who like to socialise al fresco.

The 69.3m debut yacht from Italian yard Tankoa Yachts, Suerte was designed by Francesco Paszkowski and Margherita Casprini, and launched in 2015.

Why we love it: Weary travellers arriving by tender can step directly into Suerte’s spectacular spa-like beach club. This sprawling space is extended with fold-out terraces and contains a hammam, massage tables and a sauna with its own window out on to the seascape.

Design genius: On many yachts a beach club feels like an afterthought, awkwardly connected to the rest of the yacht and incoherent in décor. On Suerte, this popular feature is where it should be, at the centre of the design, the showpiece at the end of a grand central staircase from the main deck lobby – with décor to match its status.

Perfect for: Spa junkies and beach bums who take relaxation seriously.

This 95 metre Blohm+Voss superyacht Palladium is utterly bespoke – from custom electronics to a throw-out-the-rule-book layout, the coolest of pools, and furniture that coils and flows its way through the interior.

Why we love it: The curving lines of Michael Leach’s design are either space-age or 1970s, we can’t decide which; in any case their undulating, organic forms meld beautifully with the seascape.

Design genius: The central section of the 12 metre bathing platform lowers into the water and tilts forward to ease launch and retrieval of toys. The garage, meanwhile, holds two 10 metre Cougar tenders and so many toys that the stern sometimes looks like a Formula One pit.

Perfect for: Action junkies with a sense of retro style. Or cutting-edge cool. Or both.

Galactica Star is Heesen’s award-winning 65 metre extravaganza.

Why we love it: The whole stern is devoted to a palatial beach club, with tenders and toys relegated to a forward garage, giving designer Frank Laupman maximum space for his imagination.

Design genius: The space is backed by cascading LED lights, while a skylight in the roof opens onto the pool on the main deck above – a feature that helped her pick up a World Superyacht Award in 2014.

Perfect for: Watching the sun go down at anchor, thanks to folding platforms at the rear and port quarter, opening the whole space up.

Anything else? Access to the main deck is made easy thanks to two brilliantly lit stairways either side of the beach club, so water – either in the main-deck pool or off the bathing platform – is never out of reach.