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Dynamiq yachts have taken the semi-custom concept to a different level with their new online yacht configurator.
Any petrol heads amongst us? Thought so. All those hours you spent drooling over Maserati’s website will pale into insignificance when you see what Dynamiq Yachts have done to theirs.
The semi-custom yacht market these days is built upon a need for speed, and there are plenty of nods towards the luxury car sector in the marketing materials Dynamiq Yachts have prepared for the new D4. Their latest video, for example, is aptly named ‘The Grand Tour’; but even Jeremy Clarkson might struggle to contain waves of boyish-excitement if he saw the carefully placed ‘BUILD YOUR OWN’ button on bedynamiq.com
…and there it was, right there infront of me. An opportunity to build my own grand-touring yacht from the comfort of my office chair. Yacht goals: officially achieved.
I clicked on the D4 L, simply assuming that ‘L’ must stand for ‘Long’. This might seem like quite a simplistic approach to yacht buying (and it is), but by doing so I had already managed to save myself €400,000 to blow on optional extras at the end.
One key lesson you learn from spending too much time in the world of luxury online configurators is that it’s very easy to ramp up costs, very quickly, with very little effort whatsoever. You start the process thinking ‘ah €15m, that’s not too bad’, and then a swimming-pool and a few jet skis later you’ve managed to spend a reasonable percentage of the GDP of Swaziland on a pink metallic yacht.
Here’s how I did it.
Starting Price: €14,750,000
1. Packages: Deluxe vs Sport
Here’s my Dynamiq D4 L with no modifications whatsoever. Pretty cool, huh? Well you’re wrong.
Yes, it has beautiful lines and a phenomenal bow-shape. But you can’t stop here, you need extras. And lots of them.
The first in a series of not-particularly-tough (but expensive) decisions you have to make is between the ‘Deluxe Package’ or the ‘Sport Package’. This boils down to more-or-less carbon vs. teak railings, 3 extra underwater lights and space for 2 extra guests in your onboard swimming pool.
That may not sound like much, but this yacht is such phenomenal value that spending the extra €20,000 shouldn’t be too much to ask. After all, these yacht packages come as standard with a Castoldi Jet Tender (customised to match your hull), a B&W soundsystem, a home theatre and a rather intriguing ‘sundeck cinema and disco package’. Groovy, baby.
Latest Price: €15,320,000
2. Exterior: time to get personal
There she is, in all her glory. Truly magnificent.
To be exact, what you’re seeing here is the Dynamiq D4 L with the following options:
- Sport package (+€590,000, see point 1)
- Miami Pink Wrap Film (+€80,000)
- Crystal Silver Metallic Superstructure (+€73,500)
- Super Jet Black non-metallic Antenna Domes (Seemingly free)
- Sailcloth Seagull Cushions (Also included)
- Deluxe Carbon GTS Railing Inserts (+€19,000)
When you look at this yacht, it just begs to be noticed. It’s sleek and attractive, but also sporty and aggressive. It seems to shout ‘JUST. LOOK. AT. ME’; which brings us nicely onto the Miami Pink wrap.
The fact is it’s actually impossible to choose a hull color from the Dynamiq Yachts configurator. They all look good on this boat, but you know that in reality this is a mere fraction of the endless possibilities they would offer if you were actually making a serious enquiry about building one. So we chose the pink, because, what the hell.
Latest Price: €15,492,500
3. Arrangement: more is more. Don’t believe anything else.
This was actually a pretty easy section to get my head round. You tend to find on most luxury motor configurators that the options towards the end of the process don’t take too much thinking about, and the same is true with this one from Dynamiq Yachts.
Here’s how the process went:
- 5 Cabin Arrangement: Check. More friends = more fun. (+€107,500)
- Sliding Doors in Dining Area: Check. Who even opens their doors by hand these days? (+€8,000)
- Sunpad: Check. Perfect for all my supermodel friends who need to keep their tans up to scratch. (+€19,000)
- Forward Sofa on Sundeck: Er… Check. Stupid question. (+€14,000)
- Jet Ski Area on Main Deck: CHECK. JUST TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY. (+€5,700)
Latest Price: €15,647,700
4. Interior: just ask your wife.
The problem with anything to do with interior design is that women have intrinsically better taste than most men. Ok, so that’s a sweeping generalisation and not at all true, but in this instance I chose to ask some of the girls in the office what their preference would be between the Trussardi for Dynamiq Interior Package, the Sabrina for Dynamiq package and the London Chic by Bannenberg & Rowell.
The results were, mostly, inconclusive. Points were awarded to Trussardi for their beautiful deck dining area rendering and sea-blue color scheme throughout; to Sabrina for her colorful and modern interior accents, and to Bannenberg & Rowell for their blend of modern and classic. (The accounting ladies particularly liked the bathroom FYI Dickie & Simon…)
In the end I did what every man would do, and shut my yes and clicked randomly. Sometimes life is crazy like that.
(London Chic by Bannenberg & Rowell, +€355,000)
Latest Price: €16,002,700
5. Options: time to go completely overboard.
You may wish to add another metre to the draft of your yacht by overloading it with all of the toys a big-boy like you can conceivably cram onboard (if you don’t know what ‘draft’ is then ask your broker, they will probably know).
The list of options Dynamiq yachts have included here is absolutely insane. Your eyes will get tired if I list them all. Seriously.
Partnerships with the likes of Technogym and Bowers & Wilkins have meant that you can have some of the finest yachting accessories with very little effort onboard your Dynamiq D4 L. Pleasingly, because I chose the Sports Package, mine was already equipped with some epic features, including outdoor Infrared heaters for those colder nights at anchor.
Here is a list of further things you should consider adding:
- Humphree hull control and monitoring systems to increase fuel efficiency and comfort. It (almost) pays for itself! (+€32,000)
- Carbon Fiber awning poles to go with your carbon fiber railing inserts. (+€2,300)
- Sky Satellite TV will keep the children quiet for at least 48 seconds. (+€2,000)
- DL1 Inspire 2 Drone for those beautiful aerial shots you upload on Facebook to make your friends jealous. (+€5,000)
- Underwater ROV for the same reason as above, just underwater with sharks and stuff. (+€3,900)
- Electric BBQ on sundeck because your chef deserves to cook for you outside once in a while (+€3,500)
- VSAT Intellian v80 G Antennas offer internet so fast you could probably keep up with the office whilst rounding Cape Horn (+€47,000)
- Technogym Equipment for your outdoor superyacht gym with the best views imaginable (+€37,000)
- Diving Equipment for you and 6 friends to explore the underwater world below your yacht (+€12,000)
- 2 x Yamaha VX Deluxe jet skis which can be wrapped in Miami Pink to match your hull (+€25,000)
Final Price: €16,493,900
6. Summary.
Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not going to buy this yacht. Such a purchase is beyond the realms of extreme possibility for the vast majority of people reading this article.
But what I am buying is Dynamiq Yachts- I am convinced by their brand and am in tune with their company ethos. The configurator demonstrated to me that Dynamiq’s quest to revolutionise the semi-custom yacht market is routed in a product offering which is highly personal- designed to tick almost every box for the buyer. Semi custom means faster delivery (my pink palace if ordered today would be handed over by May 2018), and the idea that you can have a yacht which is completely tuned to your taste in that short amount of time has got to be a winning formula in today’s market.
The most important thing of all? I had FUN along the way. And yachting is supposed to be fun, isn’t it?!
You can configure your own yacht at bedynamiq.com
