Economic uncertainty be damned—the market for custom-built superyachts and megayachts has never been more explosive, with the industry projected to reach more than $19 billion in the next 10 years. According to Fortune Business Insights, demand is being driven by rising numbers of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, many of whom want customized, more technologically advanced yachts than have ever sailed the seven seas. The world’s top shipyards have risen to the challenge, delivering increasingly ambitious projects for the world’s wealthiest owners.
From Jeff Bezos’ $500 million sailing yacht Koru, built by Oceanco, to a new generation of custom vessels pushing the once unthinkable 400-foot mark, today’s superyachts and megayachts are larger, smarter, more eco-friendly, and more bespoke than ever before. And behind every headline-grabbing launch stand the designers, engineers, and craftsmen responsible for transforming a billionaire’s vision into oceangoing reality. While headlines often focus on eye-watering price tags and celebrity owners, “the true story of modern yachting lies in the extraordinary designers, engineers, and shipyards responsible for bringing these floating masterpieces to life,” as Assouline notes.
The French luxury publisher has two gorgeous new books on a pair of the industry’s most celebrated names: famed shipyard Feadship and equally renowned yacht designer Terence Disdale. Feadship has dominated industry headlines in recent months following the delivery of the $645 million, hydrogen-powered Breakthrough, the 390-foot behemoth commissioned for Bill Gates. Incorporating groundbreaking sustainability technology, it is Feadship’s largest-ever yacht, featuring a cinema, gym, hospital, multiple hot tubs, an infinity pool, underwater viewing lounge, elevator, library, and a multi-level owner’s residence described as a “townhouse at sea.”
For many yachting enthusiasts, Feadship occupies a category all its own. The Dutch builder, also behind incredible launches for the likes of Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs, traces its shipbuilding roots to 1849 and has been creating entirely bespoke watercraft under the Feadship name since 1949, building vessels for an elite clientele including the world’s foremost entrepreneurs, captains of industry, and royalty, who, of course, value discretion as highly as innovation.
That philosophy forms the foundation of Feadship, an impressive volume drawing extensively from the company’s private archives, to which Assouline gained unprecedented access. The book offers a rare inside look at a shipyard that has traditionally preferred its yachts to speak for themselves. Even its logo and visual identity are purposely understated. Yet anyone interested in seeing a Feadship needs only to head to Capri, Sardinia, St. Barts, or Monaco to see shining examples of its prowess on the water.
Feadship is a unique partnership between two legacy Dutch shipyards and the country’s most renowned naval architect: Royal Van Lent Shipyard (est. 1849), Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw (est. 1906), and De Voogt Naval Architects (est. 1913). Each is a shipbuilding dynasty in its own right, and both partner shipyards have been granted royal warrants. Collectively, the partners have more than 400 years of shipbuilding pedigree between them. Rather than focusing solely on individual vessels, the book—a handcrafted leather-bound volume with a matching leather clamshell case and a metal Feadship logo plate—explores the “culture, craftsmanship and collaborative process” that define the Feadship approach. Through previously unseen imagery and archival material, readers gain insight into the countless hours of design, engineering, and problem-solving required to create a fully bespoke yacht, where every detail is developed around a single owner’s vision.
“This publication is not about celebrating individual yachts, but about documenting a way of working that has been shaped over generations,” notes Jan-Bart Verkuyl, Feadship Director and CEO of Royal Van Lent Shipyard. “By opening our archives, we wanted to provide an honest and carefully curated view of what it takes to create a Feadship, from the first pencil line to delivery.”
If Feadship represents the pinnacle of yacht construction, Terence Disdale represents one of the most important creative forces behind modern yacht design. Since establishing his own studio in 1973 after working for the legendary Jon Bannenberg, Disdale has spent more than five decades creating some of the most coveted and talked-about superyachts ever launched, including vessels built for the likes of Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Designing just one of the world’s most famous yachts would be a career-defining achievement for most designers. For Disdale, it is merely one entry on a truly remarkable résumé. His portfolio includes such iconic superyachts as the 533-foot Eclipse, commissioned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, and the 377-foot Pelorus. “Together, these yachts helped define the design language of the modern megayacht era,” Assouline notes. Terence Disdale: My Art of Yacht Design offers a rare glimpse into his creative process, featuring hundreds of photographs, including many never-before published. The book explores everything from imposing exterior architecture to serene and sophisticated interiors, “revealing the artistry, engineering, and vision behind some of the largest private yachts ever built.”
In an era dominated by computer-generated concepts and renderings, Disdale continues to sketch every yacht and detail by hand. His reputation, aesthetic sense, and work ethic have earned him admiration throughout the industry. As Boat International Editor-in-Chief Stewart Campbell writes in the book’s introduction, “No one needs to be reminded that Terry occupies rare air in our industry; he’s one of the originals, with a back catalog that most designers could only dream about.” Campbell adds that despite a client list and portfolio that would justify a towering ego, Disdale remains approachable, humble, and widely respected throughout the yachting world.
As Peter Lürssen, Managing Partner at the famed shipyard that bears his name, puts it, “If you want to break convention, you want Terence Disdale, because he is one of the coolest designers—casual and smart but with meticulous attention to detail, attributes that feed directly into his designs.” Both Feadship and Disdale are paragons of an industry where ambition is measured not only in feet and tonnage, but in imagination and feats of engineering. And they will continue to shape the future of luxury yachting for many years to come.
This article originally appeared in Maxim’s Summer 2026 issue.