TOP 5 YACHTS

Wally Yachts is a maritime design and manufacturing company based in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Founded by Luca Bassani, a wealthy Italian businessman, in 1994, Wally started out primarily as a sail boat design company. More recently, the company has starting designing cutting-edge motor yachts: one of the more unusual of these power boats being the 118 WallyPower. Wally sailboats and motor yachts range from the recently introduced Nano 11-meter day sailer/racer to the 24-meter range, and often exceed a length of 30 to 60 meters. Wally is considered one of the premier yacht builders for its unique blend of power, minimalist design, and stylish comfort. Gianni Agnelli, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Lindsay Owen-Jones all own a Wally yacht.

In March 2008 the company unveiled its new luxury megayacht WallyIsland. At a length of over 99 m (325 f), it is one of the largest yachts in the world.

In 2009 Wally & Hermes joined forces to establish WHY-YACHTS (Wally-Hermès Yachts) dedicated to achieving a new lifestyle of living on the sea.

Riva Yachts was founded in 1842 in Sarnico, a small town on the banks of the Iseo Lake in northern Italy. Riva is one of the world's oldest and most highly reputed shipyards. In the 19th century Pietro Riva, a young fisherman and boat builder, was capable of unequalled repairs to storm-damaged boats. He built boats of exceptional quality and craftsmanship, and the reputation he earned laid down the foundations for a respected family business. In the 1880's Riva's son Ernesto took over the Riva yard. While maintaining his father's tradition of impeccable quality and craftsmanship, Ernesto added innovation to the Riva shipyard. He started off by introducing piston engines on the boats, and built larger boats to carry more passengers and cargo.

Serafino succeeded his father Ernesto. He ceased building larger boats, choosing to launch Riva in a range limited entirely to outboard engine boats. As early as 1912 Serafino and his racing boat were able to reach speeds of 24 km (almost 15 mi) per hour. Development of the Riva shipyard between the first and second world wars was marked by numerous successes at national and international motor boating competitions. Aside from racing boats, pleasure boats were built; from the very beginning they gained a large following, not only for the sake of their high quality but also for their luxury and elegance. In the 1950s Carlo Riva moved into his predecessor's steps, applying inherited experience to create a range of wooden boats of such outstanding quality and style that the Riva brand became a legend around the world, bound to triumph season after season.

Subsequently Riva broadened its range of yachts. In May 2000 a new phase began with the arrival of Riva in the Ferretti Group. Riva joined the following brands in the Group: Ferretti Yachts, Apreamare, Mochi Craft, Custom Line, and CRN. Under president Norberto Ferretti, the Ferretti Group is among world leaders in the domains of engineering, manufacturing, and selling luxury motor yachts.

The Group has about 2500 employees and operating area of over 488,000 m² (indoor and outdoor). It runs sixteen shipyards in Italy and one in the United States. Over the four years after Riva became part of the Ferretti Group, its annual production grew from 22 to 49 units. Riva's range of models increased to include lengths from 33' to 115', and during 2004 three new models went into production: the Riva SunRiva 33', the Riva Rivale 52', and the Riva Opera 85'. Three further new models were introduced in 2005: the Riva Ego 68', the Riva Venere 75', and the Riva Athena 115'.

Over the decades emperors, sultans, kings, actors, and entrepreneurs have all owned Riva yachts, making Riva known worldwide for prestigious yachts. 

Ferretti Yacht is a yacht builder that is part of the Ferretti Group. The Ferretti Group based in Forlì, Italy, is an Italian yachtbuilding conglomerate that was founded in 1968 by brothers Alessandro and Norberto Ferretti. Starting with small boats, the company built its first motor sailer in 1971. In the 1980s the two brothers decided to specialize in the production of luxury motoryachts. They established a new site in Forlì, where the company headquarters are housed today. In 1998 the company acquired Custom Line, which was already affiliated, and a controlling interest in Pershing and Bertram. Acquisitions continued in 1999 and 2000, when the company bought the CRN and Riva shipyards (in Ancona and Sarnico respectively). In 2001 the Group added Apreamare SpA boatyards (Sorrento, Naples), and Mochi Craft boatyards (Pesaro). The group went on in 2003 to acquire Cantiere Nacale M. Morini S.p.A (Ancona) and a number of companies in complementary sectors, such as Pinmar S L (from Spain, yacht painting and refitting), and Zago SpA (Italy, wooden fixtures and furnishings). In 2004 the group's subsidiary Pershing bought Cantieri Navali SpA. (Rome).

The focus is on the powerboat sector, where the Group specializes in design and production of luxury motor yachts and sporting boats from 7 to 80 meters long.. The Group employs 2,800 people directly, including 100 specialized engineers who constitute the group's design team. Product marketing and after-sales service is handled by an exclusive distribution network of over 75 selected dealers in 96 countries.

Azimut-Benetti is an Italian yacht-manufacturing company with its headquarters in Avigliana, in the province of Turin. It was established in 1969 by Paolo Vitelli. With its roots in sailboat chartering, the company expanded into a sizeable luxury yacht building industry. Its first major contract came from the ship¬yard of Amerglass, a modern Dutch shipyard that builds fiberglass boats. The company thrived and soon added distribution of sailing boats, motorcruisers, and finally motor yachts from different makers e.g. British Powles, Westerly, and others.

The company currently owns Benetti, another luxury ship building company.

Feadship was founded by two Dutch families, De Vries and Royal Van Lent, and is a co-operation between two shipyards (Royal van Lent and Royal De Vries) and a maritime design and engineering company, De Voogt Naval Architects. Feadship has three shipyards in Aalsmeer, Makkum, and Kaag.

After World War II nothing remained of the market for pleasure boats, which had been prospering before the war. Even after four years of peace, funds and inclination to buy pleasure yachts were practically non-existent in Europe. Encouraged by export incentives from the Dutch government, Royal Van Lent Shipyard, De Vries Scheepsbouw, and four other yards undertook to gain a foothold on the thriving American market.

Naval architect Henri de Voogt was the man behind this move. The innovative name Feadship – the First Export Association of Dutch Shipbuilders – sounded as if it represented the breadth of Dutch shipbuilding, an important consideration in a market where a distinct image was vital. Nonetheless the very real skills on offer were soon acknowledged: and the New York Boat Show of 1951, for which a number of yachts were actually packed up and shipped across the Atlantic, proved a breakthrough and a boon. The Americans were astounded at Feadship's use of steel: almost unheard of in the USA at the time, this had been an area of expertise in the Netherlands since the 1930's.

Orders began flooding in for yachts built both of steel and aluminum, and by the mid-1950sFeadship ceased building wooden boats completely. At this time some of the other yards left the group. In 1966 a combination of factors would leave the three present firms working together under Feadship.

In the 1960s the group experienced sustained growth overall, both of its reputation and the size of its vessels: 85-90 ft, 100-110ft, 120ft with fully-raised wheelhouses, trans-Atlantic capabilities; throughout this period the group reached and broke records in yacht construction history. By the early 1970s Feadship had become very well known and it was launching several yachts every year. Henry Ford and Malcolm Forbes were among the many famous individuals who commissioned a completely custom-built, high-performance yacht from Feadship.

In 1977 the company established a separate entity in the USA rather than employing a representative agent as is usual. Feadship chose Don Kenniston as its first general manager in the USA, and he still holds the position today. The early days of his tenure happened to coincide with a tremendous rise in trans-Atlantic sailing, and this reinforced Feadship's rise to worldwide prominence.

In 1984 the group's decision to open an office in Antibes and start collaborating on a worldwide basis was the natural consequence of decades of cooperation. Feadship has known continuous progress and launches an average of five major craft every year.