The buzz behind Bee Yacht

It seems you can hardly have a conversation these days without someone telling you that we live in an experience-based economy where traditional asset ownership is gradually being replaced by a desire to do, not to have. It’s a simplistic view of a complex mechanic, but there is a grain of truth in there – the desire for experiences is real, and it is fuelling the buzz for explorer yachts that don’t just look the part but can deliver what they promise.

It’s that buzz that inspired ART Shipyard in Turkey to build Bee Yacht, a vessel that aims to fill the pocket expedition yacht niche. She is the first yacht to be built under the Bee Yachts brand at ART Shipyard, but although the yard lacks the superyachting history, it’s not short on experience of its own. In fact, it’s part of the Beşiktaş Group, a huge shipbuilding, refit, repair and dry-docking company that currently handles more than 300 repair and maintenance projects annually for some of the world’s leading shipping companies.

In this case, the shipyard’s commercial boatbuilding acumen has paid off, as it has gone all out on the technical details with Bee Yacht. She measures 35.4 metres stem to stern, but her steel hull and aluminium superstructure, twin Caterpillar engines and triple Kohler generator installation infer she doesn’t merely lean toward explorer style, but lands firmly in expedition substance.

There’s also an impressive lazarette that can carry a suite of toys, or it could be kitted out as a dive station, or it could serve as an extension for the interior team with additional laundry facilities and a heap of expeditionenabling storage.

Bee Yacht boasts a high bow with a practical deck layout designed for easy crew operations and wide sidedeck with chunky, fixed wing stations that avoid the potential break points of moving parts. The engine room is laid out for easy maintenance and servicing while cruising, and the bridge is based on commercial shipping principles.

Taking all this in, it’s no surprise to discover that the naval architecture, engineering and exterior design of Bee Yacht was undertaken by Hydro Tec, a firm known for its work on explorer vessels, in particular for shipyards such as Cantiere delle Marche, which has helped define and develop the pocket explorer market over the past 15 years. ART Shipyard credits working with Hydro Tec as being key to the success of its first superyacht.

“The wider beam provides excellent hull volume and greater fuel storage, extending the range to over 4,000 nautical miles when cruising at 10 knots”

“I am a third-generation ship owner, and as a group we decided to move into doing something prestigious,” says Hüseyin Yardimci, owner and director of ART Shipyard. “When we decided to move into this segment, a common friend introduced us to Sergio Cutolo of Hydro Tec. We wanted to build not just a boat but a brand, and I can see the difference that choosing Hydro Tec has made. We are very happy.

Cutolo was equally pleased to connect with this burgeoning brand. “It was a very happy coincidence to meet Hüseyin,” says Cutolo, founder of Hydro Tec. “Initially, the project ranged from 24 to 40 metres before we settled on what the right size would be, because the boat was started on spec. We didn’t have a real client as such – in fact, in Hüseyin we had someone who was even more demanding than a real client.” The yacht is currently for sale with Ocean Independence.

The yacht’s modern explorer lines penned by Hydro Tec signify purpose and practicality, with the elevated bow not only providing a protective cocoon for the owner’s suite, set forward on the main deck, but also serving as a seaworthy feature for coping with the swells and waves encountered on the vast fetch of the ocean.

Being given free rein to develop the design from a blank slate meant Cutolo could draw on all his experience to create the ultimate pocket explorer. “ The platform of the boat is really amazing,” he enthuses, “because we were free to concentrate from a technical point of view on the performance, the stability and the layout.”

Of note is the yacht’s significant beam for her length, coming in at 7.7 metres. It shows both in elements such as the width of the side decks and the generous proportions of the owner’s suite, which makes full use of a forward widebody design. “The wider beam provides excellent hull volume and greater fuel storage, extending the range to over 4,000 nautical miles when cruising at 10 knots,” Cutolo confirms.

“Our CFD analysis showed minimal efficiency loss with the wider beam, while the extra fuel capacity is advantageous for long-range cruising and refuelling at more economical locations, making Bee Yacht perfect for Mediterranean routes where fuel prices can vary significantly.”

Bee Yacht, then, is a boat with big ambitions. “We have up-to-date systems on board, and there’s a direct connection from the guest area to the crew area, which you would normally only find on a much bigger boat,” Cutolo adds. “Similarly, having a fantastic captain’s cabin next to the bridge is not common on a yacht that comes in at 299GT.”

It’s quite a statement for a debut build from a debut brand, although it’s not quite true that Bee Yacht is the yard’s first private vessel. “This is actually the fourth [yacht] we’ve built,” Yardimci reveals. “The first three were for our own family use, although they were later sold.”

The initial work for Bee Yacht began at the start of 2020, right before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and threw the proverbial spanner in the works. The build didn’t actually start until late in 2022, with the yacht emerging from her shed in mid 2025. It was quickly clear that certain choices had paid off, not just in using Hydro Tec for the more technical aspects of the design and layout, but for using renowned Turkish outfitters Equinox to handle the interior.

It was a challenge, thanks to a deceptively detailed design proposed by Dragoni Design Lab. In essence, the interior is clean and modern, contrasting oak with the extensive use of white to create a bright, contemporary ambience.

Leather details, brushed steel and pale stone in the form of Calacatta Cremo marble and backlit white onyx add interest and sophistication without creating clutter, and the use of carefully balanced radii in wall-to-deckhead and doorway transitions as well as on cabinetry and other elements lends softness with a modern touch.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the saloons connect the outside and in, while 2.1-metre headroom throughout preserves the sense of space despite Bee Yacht’s relatively compact size.

Of note is a design detail that runs around each space approximately 80 centimetres from the floor, where a thin recessed band of dark lacquered wood serves as a boundary between core design elements. “The concept is based on a double sensation, with the warmth of oak and teak below the line contrasting with the white above,” says Michele Dragoni, founder of Dragoni Design Lab. “The upper element shines in the natural light and therefore augments the sense of light inside.”

This split in style mirrors the dual nature of the yacht itself, says Dragoni. “Bee Yacht could be described as a double-faced yacht – the explorer side is strong and instils the general feeling of safety and protection, while the luxury side is trendy, modern, comfortable and open to the landscape. The interior design reflects these feelings.

Dragoni was also inspired by the yacht’s robust exterior to create a subliminal link from outside practicality to inside detail. “For example, the shape of the vertical windows is referenced in the interior by a rectangular rounded shape that is visible in several different details all around the cabins,” Dragoni explains.

It’s perhaps most evident in the owner’s suite ante chamber, where an outboard-facing desk that doubles as owner office and dressing table is suspended seemingly in mid-air, supported at its forward end with a rounded rectangular frame – a motif that’s also used in the en suite to create open shelves at the end of the sink countertop.

Similarly, it’s found in the radius of the curved wall that divides the sleeping area from the forward en suite, and in other interior details in the main saloon and elsewhere.

On deck there’s duality too. The yacht’s profile contrasts rounded elements with chamfered bulwarks, chiselled eyebrows and sharper angled styling details, and there’s designed-in conflict in elements such as the al fresco dining table on the vast upper aft deck, where rounded corners mix with the sharp angles of trapezoid inlay details.

Bee Yacht caters for up to 10 guests across her owner’s suite and four lower-deck guest cabins, where dove grey leather and greige soft furnishings mix subtly with the white upper walls and inlaid black dividing lines. The upper saloon – whose size was reduced when the team opted to add the upper captain’s cabin – makes for a comfortable retreat that connects seamlessly with that large upper deck, which itself can carry a tender aft thanks to a concealed 1.5-tonne crane.

The main saloon is divided between seating area and interior dining, where a table fashioned from a single slab of green quartz forms a striking centrepiece, complemented by glass-based artworks sourced in Turkey by Yardimci. Against the warmly neutral palette, the team opted for loose furniture from Giorgetti and Molteni&C.

The main deck lobby feels open thanks in part to the design of the guest stair. Here, serious structural design of the column by Cutolo has allowed the team to fit floating marble steps finished in the same Calacatta Cremo marble found elsewhere, with the handrail formed from a recess in the dove-grey leather covered walls.

For the first offering from a new builder, Bee Yacht showcases a level of detail and seriously engineered construction that inspires confidence when heading out into the wild blue yonder. This ethos is reflected on the bridge, where Bee Yacht eschews an all-glass integration in favour of a more resilient, ship-like layout informed by ART’s shipbuilding heritage.

In a nod to that history, the console is finished in black oak with dark green leather details – a reference to the colour Beşiktaş used on the bridges of the 85 commercial ships and supertankers it built before shifting to a refit and maintenance business model in 2008.

It’s the infusion of that depth of shipbuilding knowledge into this project that makes Bee Yacht feel less like a debut and more like an experienced quest to deliver the ultimate owner experience, no matter how far she roams.

First published in the September 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.