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Skat: A look inside the iconic 71m Lürssen superyacht

A favourite among yacht-spotters, Lürssen's 71-metre trendsetter SKAT has earned her place as one of the most photographed superyachts of all time. We take a rare glimpse inside as she's snapped up by new owners less than 18 months after joining the market... 

Look at these pictures and you either get SKAT or you don’t… but you won’t forget her. This yacht has been provoking discussion since her launch in 2002, and as Lürssen sales director Michael Breman notes, nearly 20 years on she is just as unforgettable and still fulfilling her owner’s brief for a yacht “pas tout à fait comme les autres”. A yacht like no other.

Grey, straight sides, high bow, faceted superstructure, a conning tower of a mast, launched by a builder renowned for military vessels – and 9906 emblazoned on her side like a warship. A Danish and Norwegian word for treasure, “skat” can be used as a term of endearment; 9906 stands for naval architect Espen Øino ’s sixth design commission in 1999 and grey is the owner’s favourite colour. And while not exactly mainstream, SKAT ’s unique look has mellowed over the years – or perhaps we have.

So how did a brilliant mathematician and computing genius who prefers to stay out of the limelight enter yachting with a boat so striking that it is a yacht-spotter magnet?

“He reached out to me through a mutual connection,” says Stuart Larsen of Fraser Yachts , the client’s broker. “His concept was so visionary that there was nothing on the market to satisfy the amazing futuristic needs of how he felt he should live on a yacht. He was ready to build a yacht and he asked me who I thought we should ask to design it. I thought about who was young and thinking outside the box and I suggested contacting Espen Øino. I didn’t even name any other designers.”

“It would have been the Octopus connection,” Øino notes. “Lürssen had held a competition to see who would design Octopus . I won, and that’s how Stuart, who was also that owner’s broker, saw how I work.” Larsen briefed Øino on a project that as yet had few boundaries, “other than something about not wanting a boat looking like it was carved out of a block of cheese – and that I needed to see the client’s house to understand. It was the end of April when I flew to meet him in the Pacific Northwest. He was so gracious and showed me every detail of the extraordinary house [a masterwork of late modernist architect Wendell H Lovett]. We talked about the boat, how he expected to live on it and that he likes circles, arcs, flat planes and straight lines – nothing extraneous. He didn’t want complicated shapes. He said if we are working with steel and aluminium, let’s respect the materials. I did explain that for the sake of hydrodynamics there would have to be a few curves in the hull surfaces.”

Øino was given four weeks to prepare a concept and he shares that on the flight home, reflecting on the client and the scope of the project, “I wondered what I had gotten myself into.” Precisely four weeks later a meeting was arranged in Monaco. It was the week of the Monaco Grand Prix and the client had chartered a 50-metre yacht.

“I arrived and there was a party going on, the boat was full of really important people. He invited me inside and we sat at a table reviewing my plans. All of a sudden, it started raining and everyone rushed inside. The saloon of that boat is not so big. The next thing, everyone was crowded around and I was making my presentation to all these people. “I wasn’t so confident then as I am now,” says Øino, laughing at the memory. “I wasn’t sure I could get through it. When I finished, I think I pushed the drawings towards him and waited in silence. Then he said, ‘I like it. Let’s do it,’…on the spot.”

Øino began with the GA, which was also unlike anything he had ever presented before. Design, he says, is about problem-solving and in this case the challenges involved putting the guest and owner’s cabins on the main deck, maximising crew areas, creating a large guest workspace, bringing as much natural light into the boat as possible, not stowing tenders on deck, incorporating a helipad and a gym and having clear sight lines. Fortunately the client appreciates multi-functionality of objects and spaces.

The entire design process took just six or seven months to complete. “Working with this fascinating client was a wonderful experience. To him, nothing was a problem, merely a challenge,” Øino says.

“With the basic GA in hand, I prepared a preliminary spec,” says Larsen, who sent the bid package to five shipyards before Lürssen was selected. In 1999 Lürssen’s yacht division was still gaining traction. It had built Be Mine , Limitless , Izanami and Coral Island but the projects were usually coming along one at a time.

“Lürssen was supervising the construction of Octopus at HDW in Kiel because she was too big for its yard, and I thought SKAT might be a good fit for the Lemwerder [Bremen] yard. I also thought, that with its military projects, it might be a bit more creative on technology,” he adds. That last part turned out to be especially true when it came to meeting requirements for a super quiet yacht.

Lürssen’s project manager, Jörg Buttscher, elaborates. “We knew reducing noise was very important so we approached it in two ways, and yes, we used military technology. We designed the engine room so that all of the equipment would be elastically mounted to a steel raft [an enormous steel structure that floats on resilient mounts].” This included the engines, generators in their soundboxes, watermakers, air compressors – virtually everything that produced noise and vibration. Elastic mounts were specified based on the frequency of each engine or machine. The raft was in turn floated off the structure of the engine room’s lower level on shock mounts. All conduit, pipes and exhaust lines running from the equipment on the raft were isolated as well.

“We insulated the entire two-level space from the rest of the yacht’s interior,” Buttscher says. “We used a technical material we had used before but on other yachts we probably used about 60 per cent of the amount we used on SKAT .” The proof is in sound levels that measure far lower than most owners demand or yards deliver: 34dB in the master at cruising speed.

One of the granular details of the build was how few changes were made to the specifications and design once construction started, despite the fact that the owner visited the yard monthly. “We had never had a client show that much attention to the process before,” Buttscher says. It became a mark of pride with the build team. “We took our time with the planning. The bridge was mocked up 1:1 for example so he could see exactly where everything would be before we built it. If you don’t plan properly, problems come up and the owner loses the fun of building.”

SKAT ’s interior is also one of a kind. “I recommended Marco Zanini for the project,” Øino says. The pair had worked together earlier on an unusual conversion project called Amazon Express and on two smaller boats and Øino believed Zanini, who had been a designer for famed architect Ettore Sottsass before becoming a founder of the iconoclastic 1980s design powerhouse Memphis Group, would be a good fit.

“After Espen proposed me and one other designer, the owner asked us to design one room. Then he asked me to come and see his house and I flew there with Jörg,” Zanini says.“He said, ‘Look, this is my house, this is my plane. I want a seamless experience from my house to my jet to my yacht.’ He’s very mathematical. I understood how his mind works within an hour. The rest was just details. For example, he questioned why wall switches are always arranged as a horizontal instead of vertical like outlet covers. He’s right of course, it’s much more logical.”

Once he understood the goal, Zanini says, “it was easy. Clean, precise, uncluttered, practical, useful and, if possible, multi-useful. I designed for him a yacht that sails, not a Tudor palace. I suppose it helps that I had been sailing for years. The interior is extremely modern, in tune with the owner’s vision of the world and the outside design of the ship.”

Zanini realised that to the client, grey is a neutral colour – his favourite neutral colour, and that elements of his art collection, mostly pop art by Victor Vasarely and Roy Lichtenstein, are so bold that they demanded a neutral background to be appreciated. Instead of wall panels and cabinets in intricate grains, he proposed solid sheets of Wilsonart laminate outlined geometrically in teak bands and a few counters of grey Guanabara granite.

“Plastic laminate is seaworthy, comfortable and practical,” Zanini says unapologetically. “We worked out the thematic colours – grey, dark blue, red and white – and he took to the idea of the smooth laminate quickly.” The surface material may be common, but that does not mean there was not a lot of intricate design to the flat panels, consistent teak banding, reveals and tight tolerances of the interior crafted by interior outfitters Zago and Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau. Aside from the art, the only other interior colour comes from a few occasional chairs. The space is restful and speaks with one consistent design language.

Zanini gives considerable credit to Brazilian designer Flávia Alves De Souza , who worked with him on SKAT . “She did most of the actual design of each space, built mock-ups [the saloon was also mocked up 1:1], developed details and followed the execution... I may have read [the owner’s] mind and had most of the basic ideas, but she did hundreds of drawings and worked hundreds of hours to get it right.”

At launch, SKAT ’s extensive use of glass nearly caused necks to snap. The 270-degree surround of windows on the bridge deck created a conservatory effect heretofore unseen but perfect for viewing surroundings and brightening the interior. Port and starboard the bay windows stand proud of the superstructure and angle inward to join the overhead. The amount of glass was such that class insisted on exterior water-cooling spray rails linked to the fire system. “Thankfully, they have never been needed, but they allow for fast washdown,” the captain quips.

“The bridge deck is where everyone hangs out and it’s been designed for multiple functions,” Larsen says. More organised than divided, most of the area aft of the main staircase is open plan. “The thought that went into it is fantastic.” Two functional areas, the library on port and the guest office to starboard, can be closed from the rest by pocket doors or allowed to cleverly flow along the bay windows aft on to the informal saloon and a bar/games/snack area. This in turn opens through glass doors to the aft deck, shaded by the helipad above. Here are breezy options for large or small group dining, napping or views out over the stern.

Like the captain, many of the yacht’s crew have been aboard for many years and that, too, was part of the plan. Long before MLC 2006 mandated better working and living environments for mariners, SKAT ’s owner understood that the boat wasn’t just his home on water but the crew’s home also and was determined to provide a good living space. As a result, the entire lower deck, save for the beach club and dive store, is dedicated to crew. Their double cabins are spacious, each has a desk and wardrobes and an en suite head with enclosed shower, something that was uncommon in 1999. A comfortable crew lounge is separate from the crew mess; both are separate from the galley. An extra plus is the dedicated workshop with more than enough space and storage for all manner of tools.

There is just one lift on SKAT but it has two doors, one opening on to guest corridors and one to the crew side, and it extends from the gym deck all the way to the tank deck. The lift’s wall panels hide fold-out shelves that crew employ during guest meal service. Instead of jockeying around a bulky food cart, crew flip up the shelves and put the plated dishes and service items on them to whisk them from the galley to service pantries on the main, bridge or gym deck.

The finish of the crew quarters uses exactly the same practical surfaces and attention to design detail as the guest areas. “I’m proud to be part of that egalitarian effort,” Zanini comments.

Nearly 20 years down the line, the yacht’s interior and layout have remained close to the original apart from substantial refreshing of sofas, chairs and other soft furnishings as the interior transitioned from a bachelor’s yacht to a family home. “The owner’s office became a child’s cabin, the large spa bathtub was reduced in size, a guest cabin was modified to be convertible to another child’s cabin and a door was added to allow the family cabins to be a private wing. And we found a place for a swingset, trampoline and sea pool,” the captain notes.

The plan wasn’t to build an innovative yacht, just a highly personal one. “That yacht was a lot of firsts for us, first helideck and our first yacht with all the accommodations on main deck or above. The arc at the bow was difficult to build and it was also a difficult boat to paint with all those unforgiving flat surfaces. It was hard to make it perfect,” Breman says.

“It was a difficult design to understand on paper,” Øino says. “Remember there wasn’t 3D modelling or photorealistic renderings 21 years ago. There was one fellow at the launch who, when the boat came out of the shed, was really surprised. He said from the drawings he thought it was going to be the ugliest boat ever, but seeing it he said, ‘It’s cool.’” Or perhaps, “spaendende” – Danish for exciting – is more appropriate for such a treasure. 

SKAT was sold in November 2021 with Stuart Larsen of Fraser representing both buyer and seller. This feature is taken from the January 2021 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

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SKAT SOLD Still ground-breaking after all these years…

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• Impressions

The 70-metre yacht SKAT was built to be a comfortable second home, with iconic exterior design by Espen Øino and interior design by Marco Zanini. Comfort and performance were essential with noise and vibration levels extremely low at cruising speeds. The construction brief called for as much light as possible, which resulted in a glass conservatory on the bridge deck, which allows natural light to shine in from above and below while affording magnificent views of the yacht's surroundings. With a very clean layout and separation, the lower decks are entirely dedicated to technical spaces, crew and services. They received the same level of attention to design and detail as the owner and guest accommodation on the upper decks. Delivered in 2002, the size and quality of these crew spaces is still outstanding even today.

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M/Y SKAT 70m Super yacht by Lürssen Yachts

• €49,500,000

The iconic 70.71 metre Lürssen motor Skat has been sold!

Skat The pure lines and the gray color of her hull could induce you in error. Skat (darling or tax in Danish) is not a military ship, but one of the most surprising yachts ever produced. Without compromise, this unit reflects exactly the requirements of her owner, a chief software architect of Microsoft. He doesn’t like the curves, and the general design presents only a multitude of angular forms put aside from the radar spheres. The installation is distributed astutely on four decks, all served by a lift.

The lower deck accommodates the crew quarters and the technical rooms. Aft there are the garages for the tenders which open on both sides of the hull. Also there is a lift for the crew? scooters.

The main lounge, the dining room and the various staterooms (for the guests and the owner) are located on the main deck.

The next deck up presents the most original part of this yacht : a kind of semi-open deck composed of a very large glazed area including a veranda, harmonizing excellently with very modern furniture and stripped-down decoration. The plays of lights are very interesting here. Forward is a library, a work room, some small lounges, the captain’s stateroom and the pilothouse.

On the back of the upper deck, there is a helipad. This one, slightly raised, contains the necessary to refuel and maintain a helicopter which could be especially designed in the style of Skat. The central area being under the mast is a gymnasium. It gives an access to a leisure platform (with Jacuzzi) placed above the pilothouse.

The impressive mast centralizes all the technical appendices (radars and antennae). Half way up is an observation platform which offers a helm station, a rarity for a yacht of this size.

• Price: €49,500,000
• Property Type: Lürssen Yachts
• Property Status: Monaco Yacht Show, Sold
• Yacht Name: SKAT
• Ship Yard: Lürssen Yachts
• Yacht Designer: Espen Oeino
• Interior Designer: Espen Oeino
• Naval Design: Espen Oeino
• IMO: 1007287
• MSSI: 319741000

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SKAT Yacht – Masterful $60M Superyacht

The Hungary native worked at Microsoft for over two decades, leaving in 2002 to start his own company.

The yacht was designed as a home away from home for Simonyi, with minimalist features penned by design house Espen Øino International.

The design house also contributed to the interior design and Marco Zanini. Lurssen built the ship in their Bremen shipyard, delivering her in 2002.

SKAT yacht interior

Marco Zanini and Espen Øino International penned the interior of the luxurious SKAT yacht.

Minimalism defines the interior, and although she forgoes the lavish luxury of the average superyacht, she has many beautiful features that make her a comfortable home away from home for the owner.

The impressive interior of SKAT features an elevator that serves all four decks, a leisure platform with a Jacuzzi, and a gymnasium that is located centrally on the yacht. A helipad serves a McDonnell Douglas 500N Helicopter on the upper aft deck.

The 70m yacht can accommodate 12 guests across one master suite, four doubles, and two twins.

There is accommodation for 18 crew members on board. She was built as a home and not as a charter yacht for the software engineer owner.

The interior design is focused on a clean and uncluttered look. The ship has a near-frameless bridge deck that is enclosed and offers panoramic views of the water.

The ‘capsule’ is protected as the boat spends a lot of time in Scandinavia and has to let in as much light as possible.

The beach club opens to allow guests to enjoy a swim platform and houses several water toys in the full-beam garage. The crew areas were designed with crew satisfaction in mind.

The owner uses SKAT as a home away from home, so crew satisfaction was influential in the design process.

Lurssen shipbuilders built the SKAT yacht at their Bremen shipyard in Germany. Espen Øino International executed the exterior design for the vessel.

The SKAT yacht was delivered in 2002, and she was last refitted in 2021.

Her exterior is undoubtedly striking with its grey color, imposing lines, and multiple windows. The owner is a software engineer, and the yacht was designed to reflect his vocation.

Specifications

The 70.7m yacht has a beam of 14.02m and a draft of 3.76m. The SKAT’s volume measures 1998 gross tons and is powered by 2 MTU engines.

SKAT has a cruising speed of 14.3 knots and a top speed of 18.1 knots. She has a range of 4600 nautical miles. SKAT has an annual running cost of $3 – $6 million.

SKAT yacht in Gibraltar

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SKAT yacht NOT for charter*

70.7m  /  231'11 | lurssen | 2002 / 2022.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Elevator for convenient access
• Impressive 4,600nm range
• Recent refit in 2022
• Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1, SSC Yacht (P) Mono, G6, , ✠ LMC , UMS classification
• Award winning

The award winning 70.7m/231'11" motor yacht 'Skat' was built by Lurssen in Germany at their Bremen shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house Marco Zanini and she was completed in 2002. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Espen Oeino and she was last refitted in 2022.

Guest Accommodation

Skat has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 12 guests in 6 suites. Additionally, there are 2 staff cabins aboard. She is also capable of carrying up to 18 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include an elevator, beach club, gym and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Skat is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel MTU (16V 4000 M70) 16-cylinder 2,682hp engines running at 2000rpm, she comfortably cruises at 15 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 18 knots with a range of up to 4,600 nautical miles from her 224,000 litre fuel tanks at 14 knots. An advanced stabilisation system on board promises exceptional comfort levels at anchor or on any voyage. Her water tanks store around 62,000 Litres of fresh water. She was built to Lloyds Register ✠ 100A1, SSC Yacht (P) Mono, G6, , ✠ LMC , UMS classification society rules.

*Charter Skat Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Skat is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Skat Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Skat Photos

Skat Awards & Nominations

• International Superyacht Society Awards 2003 Best Power 43m+ Winner

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Skat

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South Florida yacht brokers hit with lawsuits that claim 10% commissions violate antitrust laws

T wo newly filed federal lawsuits claim that 10% sales commissions required by South Florida’s yacht broker industry are anticompetitive and violate antitrust laws.

The claims follow an October finding by a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, that the National Association of Realtors conspired with brokers to artificially inflate commissions paid to real estate brokers. The ruling, and a March 15 settlement by the Realtors, is expected to radically change how homes are sold in the United States.

Both lawsuits involving yacht brokers name as defendants the International Yacht Brokers Association, based in Fort Lauderdale, the Yacht Brokers Association of America, Boats Group LLC and YATCO LLC.

Also listed as defendants in both suits are a who’s who of South Florida-based yacht brokers, including Denison Yacht Sales, MarineMax Inc., Galati Yacht Sales Inc., Allied Marine Inc., Tournament Yacht Sales LLC and Northrop & Johnson Yacht Ships, among others.

Nearly all of the defendants are headquartered in South Florida.

The most recent suit, filed on March 22, proposes a class of plaintiffs that includes anyone who listed vessels on certain Multiple Listing Services using a listing agent or broker affiliated with one of the defendants and paid a buyer’s broker commission since March 22, 2020.

The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit is Kip Lamar Snell, identified as an Alabama resident. Snell entered into an agreement with Galati to sell a 41-foot Express Cruiser Sea Ray in July 2020 and ended up paying a $12,000 commission on the $120,000 sale price, the suit states. The lawsuit lists as defendants 15 brokers and six organizations that promote the yacht trade or operate Multiple Listing Services.

That lawsuit follows one filed on Feb. 29 that proposes a class of plaintiffs that includes anyone who paid a commission to a listing broker affiliated with the defendants since Feb. 19, 2020. It lists as defendants 11 brokers and five organizations that promote the yacht trade or operate Multiple Listing Services.

The lead plaintiff in that suit is Ya Mon Expeditions, a Wyoming company that paid a “substantial broker commission” when it sold a vessel in January 2023 while represented by Tournament Yacht Sales of Tequesta.

The most recent complaint accuses the trade associations of colluding with brokers to “enforce an anticompetitive restraint that requires (sellers of pre-owned yachts and boats) to pay a brokerage fee to the buyer’s broker and a total aggregate commission fee that is inflated as a condition for selling their yachts.”

The complaint states the typical commission is 10% and is shared between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker under terms spelled out in Central Listing Agreements provided by the brokers associations, including the International Yacht Brokers Association and the Yacht Brokers Association of America.

Only boat brokers are able to list boats and yachts on such Multiple Listing Services as YachtWorld.com , BoatTrader.com and Boats.com , and the Multiple Listing Services will not accept listings from owners who want to sell their vessels themselves, the lawsuit states.

Yacht owners are “severely disadvantaged” if they do not list their boats for sale on the listing services, while buyers suffer because their brokers are “financially incentivized” to show boats that will earn them standard “and inflated” commission rates of 4% to 5% through co-brokerage transactions, the complaint states.

None of the defendants contacted for this story responded to a request for comment, and no response has been filed yet in either case.

Robert Allen Jr., whose Miami-based law firm Robert Allen Law represents the International Yacht Brokers Association, did not respond to emails or return a phone call.

A woman who answered the phone at the International Yacht Brokers Association said, “We have no comment on that,” and hung up after a reporter asked for her name.

Of six brokers contacted for comment about the lawsuits, only Tournament Yacht Sales responded to emails. “No comment,” the company’s response stated.

Overall commissions have increased faster than the rate of inflation in recent years as the price of larger boats and yachts have increased, according to the lawsuit that lists Snell as lead plaintiff.

The result is that boat owners pay “hundreds of millions of dollars” in inflated commissions each year, the suit alleges.

Both lawsuits allege violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act that are upheld by “brokers who should be competing with one another but, instead, cooperate with each other to the detriment of pre-owned boat sellers.”

Some brokerages represent both buyers and sellers and retain the entire 10% commissions, the suits state.

The trade associations enforce rules requiring brokers to offer their boats through a listing service and to share commissions, the suits state, adding that they can impose significant penalties on members who do not comply with their rules.

Yacht purchasers are disadvantaged by the current system, the lawsuit alleges, because their agents would otherwise negotiate for their business by decreasing their commission rates.

But buyer brokers’ commissions have remained constant despite their diminishing role, the suits state. Many buyers today find boats they are interested in purchasing through online searches and enlist the services of a buyer’s broker only after identifying the yacht they want to buy, the suits claim.

The lawsuits seek an order declaring the commission structure to be illegal, a permanent injunction outlawing what they describe as anticompetitive conduct, plus damages and/or restitution, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees.

Paul Geller, an attorney for one of two law firms representing the class that includes Snell, acknowledged “parallels between the allegations relating to commissions in the real estate and yacht markets.”

In the real estate matter, the National Association of Realtors on March 15 agreed to a $418 million proposed settlement that would free home sellers from paying commissions to brokers for both sellers and buyers.

After a jury ruled for the plaintiffs in the case against the National Association of Realtors in October, numerous lawsuits were filed across the country with similar allegations, including one in December against the Florida Association of Realtors and 16 brokerages.

“At bottom, the goals of (the suit against the yacht brokers) are similar: protecting consumers by challenging what we allege to be anti-competitive conduct,” Geller said by email. “We believe in the universal truth that consumers benefit by increased transparency and the competitive pricing that results from negotiated terms, including commissions.”

Geller is a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, which specializes in securities litigation on behalf of investors. The firm has offices in 10 cities, including Boca Raton.

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