Before the shortlist:
what our family needs from a yacht.

Our family's needs come first

We need to turn the idea of “a family yacht” into a useful brief. That starts with who will usually be aboard, who might join us and how much time we expect to spend there. A weekend and a longer stay can make very different demands on the same layout.

I want us to work through the ordinary things carefully:

• Sleeping and privacy. Which spaces need to be private, and which can be shared? How will the layout work when family or guests keep different hours?
• Cooking and living. Is there room to prepare meals, store food, sit together and spend a wet afternoon indoors?
• Movement and access. How do boarding, steps, handholds, side decks and access to the water feel to the people who will use them?
• Comfort. What matters to each of us about motion, noise, ventilation, shade and somewhere quiet to sit?
• Storage. Where will clothes, provisions, swimming and diving equipment, water toys and everyday clutter actually live?

This is a list of questions to answer together. We will share the requirements as they take shape, including anything we change after spending time aboard different boats.

Power or sail is still an open question

Do we want sailing itself to be a central part of the day, or does a motor yacht better match the way we imagine travelling? What handling, training and maintenance would either choice ask of us? How much of that work do we want to do ourselves?

We also need to be honest about pace. How do we feel about a day spent underway compared with a day at anchor? How flexible would our plans be? These are questions about our preferences before they become questions about machinery and performance.

A monohull or a catamaran?

One hull or two is a separate choice from power or sail. We want to consider both configurations without treating either as an automatic answer for family comfort.

What would the layout give us? How would we move between living areas, cabins and the water? What would the boat's beam, draft and handling mean for the places we hope to visit, the berths we would need and the experience we must build? We need to examine individual boats before deciding what works for us.

Flybridge, coupe or explorer style?

Among the possibilities, I want to understand the appeal of a flybridge, a coupe and an explorer-style yacht. What would an upper helm and another outdoor living area add to our day? How would an enclosed main living space feel? What draws us to the layout and character of an explorer-style boat?

These labels describe different aspects of a yacht and can overlap. An explorer-style boat can have a flybridge. A look does not tell us how a boat is built or what it can do. We will need to look beyond the name to the actual arrangement, equipment, condition and intended use.

Planing, semi-displacement or displacement?

Hull behaviour is another part of the brief. We want to understand planing, semi-displacement and displacement designs in the context of the trips we hope to make.

What cruising pace would suit us? What would it cost to run a particular boat at that pace? How would its motion feel to our family? What do the design information, service history and, later, an appropriate sea trial tell us? A category alone will not settle those questions.

South Florida and the Bahamas remain part of the journey we are imagining. We want to work out where we hope to spend time, how far we would travel and how long we would stay before using that picture to assess a boat.

The yacht has to work between the good days too

Alongside the spaces and the style, we need a realistic picture of ownership: berthing, insurance, servicing, repairs, equipment and the time it takes to look after a boat. We need to decide what budget and operating arrangement will make sense for us.

I want to ask how accessible the machinery is, what specialist support it needs and which tasks we can reasonably take on. The purchase price will be one part of that conversation. Keeping the yacht usable and leaving time to enjoy it will matter just as much.

The GlassBridge technology build will be another thread in the story. What information would help us understand our yacht and look after it? That question belongs alongside the family brief, with the eventual installation shaped by the boat we choose.

In Entry 02: Designing the Smartest Yacht, I explain why I am building GlassBridge, what the platform can do now and the intelligence I want to bring aboard.

The next step is a better brief

For now, we will work through our family's needs, learn about the different directions and keep a record of the questions that change our minds. A shortlist can follow when we have a reason for each boat to be on it.

If you have made this decision yourself, I would like to hear what you learned. Which everyday detail mattered more after you spent time aboard? What would you ask earlier if you were starting again?