When Nick Baker first saw Kwikumat, a 152-foot Feadship, he was immediately struck by how expansive the boat appeared to be. It seemed to stretch across the water, its lines unbroken, its open areas free of clutter and misshapen design. “There is a tremendous amount of space on the boat,” says Baker, an agent for yacht broker Camper & Nicholsons Interna-tional. “It’s deck space you might find on a 175-foot boat.
The highlight of Kwikumat, which is being offered for sale by Camper & Nicholsons for $15,750,000, is its upper deck. The yacht’s twin tenders are located on the lower aft deck, freeing the upper deck for dining, entertaining and lounging. It features a large Jacuzzi and a forward dining area that is covered and air-conditioned. Kwikumat also comes with a 22-foot Grady White center console sportfisherman, which is located on the sundeck.
Kwikumat, named for the deity who, in Yuma Indian mythology, emerged from the ocean and created land and humans, was not always so spacious. The yacht was originally launched in 1987 under a different name—and at a different length. It was 142.6 feet long and cruised at 14 mph, but in 1992, the yacht underwent a refit at its original Dutch shipyard, where Feadship extended the yacht by 10 feet.
The current owner then purchased the boat, and in 1998 he installed new Caterpillar 1,000-hp twin main engines along with a new shaft, gear engines and propellers. The upgrade increased Kwikumat’s cruising speed to 16 mph and enabled the yacht to ride more smoothly across the water. “That significantly reduced what little noise and vibration there was,” says Baker. “The owner was keen on having a quiet-running boat. The boat may be 15 years old, but the engines have only 5,000 hours on them, so they’re hardly warmed up."
Kwikumat, which now operates with a 10-person crew in the Mediterranean in the summer and in the Bahamas in the winter, was originally designed with wall murals decorating several of the guest staterooms, and the current owner expanded the theme. Three of the four guest staterooms—Plantation, Portuguese, Venice and California—feature themed wall murals. Palm trees and scenes of the Caribbean, for example, are painted on the walls of Plantation. The California stateroom has no murals, but rather takes its name from a frequent guest of the owner, a Californian who regularly stays in that room. “If you buy the yacht, you get the murals,” Baker says. “You can paint over them, but that would be a pity because they’re very appealing."
Baker says that if you purchase Kwikumat, making the yacht available for charter might be a prudent decision. He recommends a 12-week charter schedule each year, making Kwikumat available in mid- to late summer in the Mediterranean, and in the winter in the Caribbean; save June around Greece and September in the Bahamas for yourself, he says. Kwikumat’s 8-foot-5-inch draft allows the yacht to navigate most of the Bahamas’ shallow waters without danger of damaging the hull. “Without any significant difficulty, a committed owner could break even on charter,” Baker says. “Use it in June and September. It will be less hot, less crowded and more attractive."
Recently, another yacht brokerage firm listed a 142-foot Feadship, built the same year as Kwikumat, at $17,950,000. Kwikumat was originally listed at $17,750,000, and Baker says that a prospective buyer would be getting fair market value. “The days of naked optimism in yacht pricing are behind us,” he says. “People have to offer value for the price they’re asking. Besides, you’ll have a lot more fun using this yacht than watching your stocks decline every day on the New York Stock Exchange
Camper & Nicholsons International, +44.20.7491.2950,
www.cnconnect.com
