Private Charter Yachts - General Information

Private Charter Yachts - Some General Information

Before you decide to purchase or rent a luxury yacht for your vacation, here is some information about yachts. The english word 'yacht' comes from the Dutch word Jacht which means 'to hunt'. It refers to a type of fast light boat which was used by the Dutch a few centuries ago to hunt and catch pirates in the waters off their coast. King Charles 2 of England got one from the Netherlands for his private use after which this sea vessel became popular with the rich and famous.

Private luxury yachts anchored in the marina at Montecarlo, Monaco.

Private charter yachts can be powered either with sails or with a motor. Some yachts have both sails and a motor. They are great for a pleasure cruise as well as for profesional yacht racing.

Motor Yachts - are popularly bought or rented out by the rich and powerful and parked in marinas around the world like Monte Carlo, the Caribbean, France and Italy. Motor yachts have enough space which allow you to spend around 5 - 7 days at sea comfortably. They are usually 30 feet (9 m) to around a hundred feet (30 m) in lenght. Luxury motor yachts are about the size of a small ship and can be as much as 450 feet (135m) in lenght.

Sailing Yachts - these charter yachts have a lenght over all of around 6 m (20 feet) to 30 m (98 ft). Private sailing yachts are however much smaller and range between 7 m to 14 m. In America these yachts are popularly known as sailboats. A sailing yacht can be monohull or multihull. Monohull sailer yachts have a single keel that prevent the boat from overturning due to the speed of the wind on the sails. A Multihull sailer yacht or catamaran has more than two hulls.

Private yachts or sailboats were originally made of boards of wood. Later on steel became the popular material for luxury yachts. Today, private charter yachts are usually made of cheaper materials like fibreglass, ferrocement, plywood and veneers. Racing yachts are usually made of carbon fibre just like racing cars. This enables them to withstand huge crashes. There are four kinds of sailing yachts - day sailing yachts or dingies, weekender yachts, big cruisers and racer yachts.