
More companies are offering fractional-ownership schemes these days than ever before. The latest: Curvelle, a London-based firm working with Cheoy Lee Shipyards to build catamaran megayachts.
The first of two 33-meter (108-foot) yachts is already under construction. Called the Curvelle 33X9, she has a sporty profile, and if you examine the illustrations above and below closely, you’ll note a good mix of shaded and sunny alfresco spaces. Inside, she’ll feature six guest staterooms that can be reconfigured as three larger suites or a combination of twin cabins if a shareholder will take along fewer guests. Because the yacht employs a catamaran hull, the 33X9 should prove to be more stable and comfortable than traditional monohulls in the same size range, with top speed additionally expected to be 25 knots. Two teams of six crewmembers will rotate maintenance and operational duties, employed by the management company.

Just as other fractional plans do, Curvelle’s will feature an independent organization as the “owner” of the megayacht, with clients able to purchase shares in the corporation for much less than the cost of building or buying a yacht by themselves. Specifically, a one-eighth share is available for €1 million (nearly $1.3 million). But Curvelle says that clients get far more control than other fractional-ownership programs; in fact, they have complete control over the company owning the yacht, and they get to choose when they want to cruise aboard. Clients are guaranteed three weeks in the Med during the summer and two weeks in the Caribbean in the winter. Curvelle estimates that the probability of a client getting the cruising weeks he or she wishes is about 80 percent.
In addition, “The shares can be sold, and of course if five weeks is insufficient, an owner can buy more shares, if available,” says Luuk V. van Zanten, Curvelle’s marketing director.
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