Kando85 Yacht Could Be Your World Cruiser

UPDATE, MARCH 14, 2025: Hull number one of the Kando85 yacht series has an owner. Delivery is set for next year. In the meantime, hulls two and three are available on spec, for delivery in early 2027. Read on for our original article.

Recognizing that not everyone who years to globetrot wants a big yacht with a big crew, AvA Yachts has laid the keel for a Kando85 yacht on spec. She can begin cruising late next summer, covering 4,000 to 5,000 nautical miles at long-range speeds.

The Kando85 yacht draws largely on the Kando80, introduced last year. “It’s at the right size point to be able to be either a fully crewed yacht or for an experienced couple or family to run it themselves or with minimal crew,” explains Atilla Küçükdiker, AvA Yachts’ chairman and founder. Specifically, the LOA is 84 feet (just shy of 26 meters), with waterline length just under 78 feet (24 meters). Steel hull construction with engineering for on-her-own-bottom travel is the priority, too. In fact, AvA Yachts anticipates that the Kando85 yacht will see a 4,000-nautical-mile range at 10 knots. Dialed back 1 knot, meanwhile, she gains 1,000 nautical miles of range. Additionally, the shipyard expects her Volvo Penta propulsion to consume just 16.6 gph (63 l/ph) when underway at 10 knots.

Long periods at sea mean good stowage and equally good accommodations are necessary. The shipyard is leaving interior design up to buyers to tailor, but already has a few renderings (included here) to get conversations started. It recommends a five-stateroom configuration. This therefore would mean four guest staterooms below decks and the master suite on the main deck. The 200-gross-ton volume should allow interior lounging and/or dining areas to feel welcoming, too.

Representatives from SRW Yachting joined AvA Yachts for the keel-laying ceremony, since the brokerage house is an investor in the project. Svein Willadssen from SRW Yachting notes the team’s familiarity with the Turkish builder’s abilities and believes the Kando85 yacht will find buyers. “To call the Kando85 a pocket explorer would not do her justice,” he asserts. “She’s a superbly well-equipped, ultra-safe oceangoing explorer superyacht.”

Additionally, Willadssen is looking toward the future. He hopes “this will be the first of many Kando85s whereby we can establish a series production operation.” That would be similar to the Kando110 series, which includes the yacht Infinity Nine. The series will keep the engineering platform already established for the keel just laid, while still allowing wide-ranging layout and design customization.

AvA Yachts avayachts.com