Custom Tenders

Custom Tenders for superyacht programmes. Independent reference for owners, captains, and build managers.

A custom tender is a boat designed and built from a clean sheet for a specific yacht, garage, and programme. The hull lines are drawn for the project, the deck layout is the owner's, the build standard is dictated by the spec rather than the builder's catalogue. Custom is the right answer for the same reasons it has always been the right answer: when no series boat fits the garage, when the use case is unusual, or when the owner has the appetite to specify the asset to a higher standard than the segment offers off the shelf.

This page covers what a custom build actually involves, when it is the right call, and the time and cost implications.

What "custom" means in tenders

The word is used loosely. There are three honest categories:

  1. True custom, where naval architecture begins blank. Hull drawn for the project, plug and tooling built specifically, structural engineering signed off for the spec. Build cycle 24 to 42 months. Cost 50 to 100 percent above an equivalent semi-custom.
  2. Heavily modified semi-custom, where the hull is from an existing series but the deck layout, interior, and propulsion are project-specific. Build cycle 14 to 24 months. Cost 30 to 60 percent above stock semi-custom.
  3. Series boat with custom finish, sometimes labelled "custom" by the builder. Standard hull, standard deck, custom interior trim and paint. Build cycle 9 to 14 months. Cost 10 to 25 percent above the stock list price.

Most "custom" boats sold by major builders are actually category 2 or 3. True category 1 custom is rare and concentrated among a handful of yards.

When custom is the right call

The decision tree usually collapses to one of four cases:

  • The garage demands it. The yacht's tender garage has a non-standard footprint, height profile, or launch geometry that no series tender fits. This is the most common driver and accounts for perhaps 60 percent of true custom builds.
  • The use case is unusual. The programme needs something the segment does not offer: a beachlander with helideck, a limo with a bow ramp, a sport tender with a SOLAS-compliant rescue layout. Where a single boat has to do two roles, custom is often the only honest answer.
  • The build standard is uncompromising. The owner wants pre-preg carbon hull, full-custom interior, and a finish standard above what the semi-custom houses produce. Hodgdon, Pascoe, Vikal compete here.
  • The visual identity matters. The yacht has a distinctive design language and the tender has to match. A Wally has a Wally tender, a SilverYachts has a SilverYachts-styled tender, and a Riva yacht usually pairs with a Riva-finished launch.

If the case for custom is none of the above, semi-custom is almost always the right call. See semi-custom tenders.

What gets designed

A typical custom-tender spec runs 40 to 80 pages and covers:

  • Naval architecture and structural engineering, signed off to a class society standard or to flag-approved equivalent
  • Hull lines and lofting, including resistance prediction at planned cruise and top speed
  • Construction specification: lay-up schedule, core material, secondary bonding, hardware mounting standards
  • Propulsion package, drive geometry, engine room layout, fuel system, exhaust and acoustic treatment
  • Deck layout, hardware specification, hatches, lockers, helm geometry
  • Interior layout, headliner, upholstery, finishes, cabinetry
  • Air-conditioning, electrical, plumbing, freshwater, blackwater, audio-visual, navigation electronics
  • Cradle design, lift points, garage interface
  • Acceptance criteria: speed at FAL, noise at cruise, vibration limits, recovery sea state, accommodation comfort

The spec is the contract. Anything that is not in writing is not in the boat.

Builders

The dedicated custom-tender builder set is short:

  • Hodgdon Yachts (USA), the dominant US builder, vacuum-infused composite or pre-preg carbon, full custom only above 9m
  • Pascoe International (UK), strong on limousine and high-spec custom in the 8 to 13m range
  • Vikal (Australia), small-volume custom builder with a distinctive aesthetic
  • Wally (Italy/Monaco), Wallytender X and custom variants, Ferretti Group
  • SilverYachts (Australia), custom tenders for their own yachts plus owner orders
  • Tenderworks (Italy), full custom and semi-custom

Plus a long tail of yards that take occasional custom commissions alongside their semi-custom main business: Wajer, Compass Tenders, Castoldi, Vanquish, Goldfish.

Lead time

Realistic timelines from concept to handover:

  • Concept and naval architecture: 2 to 5 months
  • Detailed engineering, classification submission, spec freeze: 3 to 6 months
  • Tooling and plug build (true custom only): 4 to 8 months
  • Build itself: 12 to 22 months
  • Sea trials, acceptance, commissioning: 1 to 3 months

Total 24 to 42 months for a true custom, 14 to 24 months for a heavily modified semi-custom. Builders that quote shorter usually mean from "build start" rather than from contract signature, which is misleading. We push for total-from-signature numbers and a written commitment in the contract.

Cost

Custom is expensive. Headline bands above the equivalent semi-custom price:

  • Series boat with custom finish: +10 to +25 percent
  • Heavily modified semi-custom: +30 to +60 percent
  • True custom: +50 to +100 percent, occasionally more

For a 10m custom limo, the all-in number sits between 1.8m and 4m EUR depending on the build standard. The cost components match those described on cost of a superyacht tender, with the addition of project-specific engineering and tooling that can run 200,000 to 600,000 EUR on a true custom.

Risk and how to manage it

Custom builds carry three risk categories that semi-custom does not.

  1. Cost overrun. The spec gets richer as the build progresses, the owner adds late-stage changes, the builder discovers issues that could not be predicted from the spec. A 10 to 20 percent overrun is normal. Above 25 percent suggests poor spec discipline.
  2. Schedule slip. Custom timelines slip more often than semi-custom. The slip is usually 3 to 9 months.
  3. Performance shortfall. The boat does not hit the contract speed, the noise level, or the recovery envelope. Acceptance trials are the moment to catch this; written acceptance criteria are the lever to fix it.

The right project-management discipline mitigates all three. We sit on the owner's side of the table for custom builds and take on the spec, contract, and acceptance work directly. See tender buying process.

When custom is the wrong answer

The tells:

  • The brief is "I want a Wajer 55, but better"
  • The garage fits a stock semi-custom with no modification
  • The owner is uncomfortable with a 30 month build cycle
  • The budget is at the floor of the custom band rather than the middle

In these cases the right answer is a semi-custom from a builder who can deliver in 14 months and a 100,000 EUR finish allowance for the bits that matter. We will say so.

Where to go next

For the alternative path, semi-custom tenders and new tenders. For the cost framework, cost of a superyacht tender. For the buying process, tender buying process. For the broader picture, tenders pillar. To start a custom-spec conversation, get in touch.