Jeff Bezos’ 127m yacht is ready. Secrets of the world’s largest sailboat

Koru, the world’s largest sailboat, 127 meters long and 16 meters wide, appeared in Rotterdam a few days ago after being moved from Oceanco ‘s headquarters in Alblasserdam(without the need to dismantle the historic Koningshaven Bridge). The boat was just registered in the Cayman Islands and, although records show it is owned by Trident Maple CI LTD, it is said to belong to Jeff Bezos.

Koru: the megayacht of Jeff Bezos’ new beginning

The name Koru is derived from Māori culture and is a spiral shape taken from the natural outline of the Silver Fern, a plant that in Māori culture symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. Perhaps a reference to the new life of its alleged owner, who divorced his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott in 2019, giving her 4 percent of his shares in Amazon, making her the third richest woman in America (35th in the world).

All the secrets of Jeff Bezos’ sailboat

1. Like a soccer field… + VAT!

With a length of 417 feet (127 meters), Jeff Bezos’ sailboat has no equal. To understand the proportions, it is about 20 percent longer than an 11-a-side soccer field. Or as big as 10 regular buses, if you prefer. It outclasses, by a lot, the Sea Cloud, which at 109.5 meters in length has become the world’s longest ex-sailboat!

2. The record boat

Bezos’s megayacht is also a record for the Dutch company Oceanco, which specializes in building “giants of the sea” (one of the latest being the stunning 106.7-meter-long Black Pearl, from which Koru’s design was inspired): it had never built a boat this large. Which, data in hand, is also the largest pleasure yacht built in the Netherlands.

3. Koru costs very little (for Jeff Bezos).

There is always a lot of secrecy around the cost of these items. According to the most informed rumors Jeff Bezos spent $500 million on Koru. It may sound like a lot, but it is “pittance” for a man who has an estimated wealth of $144 billion and is the third richest person in the world (after Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault)!

4. How much does it cost to maintain it

Given that Koru will have a crew of 40 and estimated mooring and maintenance costs, the New York Post estimated that Mr. Amazon will have to shell out $25 million a year.

5. Tender of 75 m (with helicopter)

Jeff Bezos Bezos’ sailboat has three decks, including one with a swimming pool. And so far, almost everything normal for a boat of this size. But what is amazing is the tender, or rather, the support boat, built in the Dutch Damen Yachts shipyard: 75 meters long, it is equipped with a helicopter landing pad. Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez (who appears to have been a major influence on the tycoon’s choice to get a sailboat), loves to fly.

6. The “copied” interior?

Bezos is said to have been inspired for the interior by those seen on the megayacht Eos by U.S. billionaire (and husband of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg) Barry Diller: launched in 2006 and built by Lurssen Shipyards, Eos is “only” 93 meters long: with an aluminum hull and superstructure, it has a maximum beam of 13.50 meters, a draft of up to 5.50 meters, and a displacement of 1,500 gross tons.

7. Jeff Bezos’ superyacht: Double bow

Of the gleaming black steel and carbon boat, the crazy stern and bow soars and classic lines are striking, at a time when design is moving more and more toward vertical bow and stern straights. Strange solution with a kind of “double bow.”

Mind you, a double bow quite different from what has already been seen on some ships and even on a 12-meter motor boat-the Canelli 39 Revolutio-that is, a double bow staggered and lying on the same axis that allows for reduced friction and resistance to motion when the unit is traveling at low speeds and coming out of the water in a planing attitude. In the case of Bezos’ boat, the choice seems to be dictated by the desire to have a large “dolphin boat” integrated into the hull.

8. Jeff Bezos’ superyacht: It makes 30 knots!

The top speed of Jeff Bezos’ sailboat is over 30 knots under sail and 18 knots under motor. The boat displaces more than 3,000 tons. There are 6 (or 7) cabins with a master suite positioned in the bow, which is equivalent to an apartment of at least 250 square meters. Equally monstrous is the sail area estimated at 3,500 square meters.

9. Ecopropulsion

Jeff Bezos’s sailboat has a state-of-the-art electric motor, and the propellers will function as hydrogenerators to recharge the batteries while the boat sails (as is already the case with OceanVolt’s Servoprop-type systems).

James Barbaro