Members’ logbook: Cyril and Flo Silberman on rebuilding Sobe Sunset for life afloat

Every month, superyacht owners reveal where they are in the world and share their future plans with BOAT. Cyril and Flo Silberman reflect on rebuilding and automating their 29-metre Heisleyyacht Sobe Sunset as they prepare to live on board full-time and cruise the US East Coast.

Cyril and Flo Silberman

Yacht: Sobe Sunset
Length: 29m
Year: 1999/2023
Location: Miami Beach, Florida, US

What are your plans for Sobe Sunset?
The plan started about five years ago, when we decided that it was time to build the perfect boat. I drew plans for an aluminium boat but couldn’t find a yard that I trusted. So I ended up buying an older boat with a good hull; I set up a shop in a yard here in Miami and rebuilt it into Sobe Sunset. Starting in February, we’re going to live on the boat 100 per cent.

Where will you go?
In April, we’re going to start working our way up the coast, which we’ve done before in our older Horizon, but this time we’re going to take it slower. One stop for sure will be in Charleston – we enjoy it there – and we’re going to go back to Washington, DC, and New York and up to Maine.

And you’re doing this all without crew?
We built the boat with enough automation that we can comfortably run it ourselves. It’s not so much my wife – it’s me. I’m kind of an old-time boater where I want to do everything. I think that deep down almost all hardcore boaters really want to do that, but it’s very difficult in this day and age because boats are getting so complicated. I think I’ve overcome most of that.

How have you automated it?
It has digital data collection equipment throughout the boat, top to bottom, pumps, air conditioning, waste treatment… are all automated and monitored. So an engineer can sit at a desk, and through our Starlink antenna, can manage systems and look for problems without being on the boat.

What else makes it the perfect boat?
It’s hybrid electric, which is really great when you’re in a port like Biscayne Bay. I could go out for a dinner cruise, look at the lights of the city, and then, with a push of a button, I put down a spud pole, so there’s no anchor handling. It just anchors itself, really easily. We can have dinner, pull up the pole, come back to port and never start an engine. So there’s no diesel fumes, no noise. It also has a significant solar component.

What are you most looking forward to?
The adventure, and being able to actually manage and operate the boat and show it off every chance we get.

First published in the February 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.