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.

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.

Lürssen’s 63.4 metre explorer yacht Polar Star, launched in 2005, was recently lengthened and refitted in sumptuous style by her original designer Espen Øino plus FM Architettura d’Interni, at MB92.

Why we love it: This refit has taken her closer to her purpose as a boat for exploring nature. The classic interior has been replaced with contemporary design inspired by the seascape: silver grey tones accented with bronze, as well as mosaics in aquamarine.

Design genius: They weren’t afraid to take the interior back to basics to get what the owners wanted. The rearranged layout creates cohesive flowing spaces, rather than a series of separate ones, and routing made more logical for both guests and crew.

Perfect for: Diving into nature, both outside and inside your yacht.

The aggressively cool 86 metre yacht Seven Seas, was designed by Nuvolari Lenard and launched by Oceanco in 2010 for Steven Spielberg.

Why we love it: There are few yachts that pile on this many decks and still look sleek on the water. The keys are her monochrome paint job, curving sundeck superstructure and a mast with flared satellite dome supports. From the rear she has a sexy, faintly Asian aesthetic; from the side her lines are smooth, forceful and, well, shark-like.

Design genius: A professional projection system, five metre by two metre screen and two rows of raked seating transform the main saloon into a movie theatre. Another projector throws an image on to the glass wall of the aft infinity pool, so guests can watch while they swim.

Perfect for: Black-tie Hollywood galas on the enormous aft deck – however many film stars you need to invite, it is unlikely that you’re going to need a bigger boat.

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.

The 85m motor yacht Ace was penned inside and out by Winch Design and launched in 2012 at Lürssen’s yard in Rendsburg, Germany.

Why we love it: The most striking features of this seriously big boat are massive, sculptural superstructure arches that sweep from foredeck to stern platform, topped with huge oval balconies. Can’t see them here? No, but you can see the aft deck layout they usually conceal.

Design genius: Those arches, in combination with the yacht’s 14.5m beam, allow for dramatic staircases that sweep up to the first three aft decks. They give an open, relaxed air to these exterior spaces but, thanks to Winch’s unusual superstructure, they remain private-feeling.

Perfect for: Design junkies or shameless show-offs – there’s no way this distinctive profile will escape attention from the dock.

The 88 metre Quattroelle, launched by Lürssen in 2012, with exterior and interior design by Nuvolari Lenard.

Why we love it: This boat is all about massive exterior decks – she has a 13.8 metre beam. Her American owner adores cruising the Caribbean, so he wanted space to feel the breeze and watch the sun set.

Design genius: Clever touches range from the techie – a section of the big stern platform lowers into the sea – to the simple: aft exterior stairs on all five decks so guests can stay in that sun-dazed mood all day long. Later, they cool off in the bridge-deck infinity pool.

Perfect for: Sun worshippers who want to keep in bikini- or swimmers-ready shape: Usain Bolt designed her massive gym.

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.