At Home With BOAT: Watch the Interviews

Daryl Wakefield, President of Westport Yachts, spoke to BOAT International for episode 11 of At Home with BOAT. Discussing how the coronavirus pandemic had affected yacht construction and brokerage sales at Westport, Wakefield said that virtual boat shows may become "the new standard" for viewing boats. Although construction may be currently halted at the company, Wakefield also discussed projects that the team would be working on once life returned to normality.

In episode 12, chief executive of Nautor's Swan, Giovanni Pomati, says that comfort is the key to securing new sailing yacht owners. Before joining Nautor’s Swan in 2018, Pomati spent 20 years in the automotive sector, and believes the yachting industry can learn something from luxury car manufacturers. Today, he says, SUVs are a key business driver for Porsche accounting for over 50% of sales, which comes down to one thing: comfort. With this in mind, the Finnish yard's latest models, the Swan 98 and Swan Maxi 120, are "wider, with more volume, and heel less which is helping us to bring more people in.”

Now could be the perfect time to buy a boat, with sellers keen to secure deals, according to YPI director Abdullah Nahar. Speaking in episode 13, he said: “A lot of owners believe that this is a buyer’s market and so they are keen to sell. The indication of this is the price point is on average anywhere between from 15% to 20% below the usual market price.” In the episode Nahar also touches on a wave of first-time buyers as a direct result of the pandemic and expects charters to resume at the tail end of the summer season.

In episode 14 of At Home With BOAT, Mark Cavendish talks about the challenges of building Heesen's biggest project to date - the 80 metre Project Cosmos. One of the trickiest parts of the build will be transporting the yacht from the shipyard in Oss to the sea, with over 120 kilometres of canal, bridges and locks to navigate. The new flagship is expected to hit the water in 2022 with delivery in spring.

56 metre Feadship superyacht Broadwater is currently undergoing a major refit, and her owner Matt Voorhees shared exclusive details about the project and expected delivery date in epsiode 15 of At Home with Boat. During the interview he also offered some sage advice for owners undertaking their first superyacht refit, and explained why Feadship has been his choice brand for the three superyachts he has owned in the last 10 years.