Somebody actually paid $2.5 million for this piece of garbage…
90' of Ugly
As a “personal yacht”.
This has to go into the Guinness Book as the world’s ugliest Yacht… Not to mention dumbest design and yacht builder. Having it sink is actually a mercy.
This thing is an oversized, and exceedingly ugly houseboat with a shallow hull suitable only for lake and rivers where the largest wave you may ever encounter is made by the kiddies on Jet Skis passing by. The two big steel rails ending at the bow are to keep it from breaking in half in a windstorm. I’ve seen this exact thing happen to a houseboat which was beached by its Captain at high tide for the night – resulting in the incoming tide after the low washing over the stern, sinking the boat. There is a reason you don’t see this style of boat in tidal waters.
Considering that some of the best boat builders in the world are in China, including Cheoy Lee – one of the top 3 or 4 Yacht and Boat builders – you have to wonder whether the purchaser of this one thought he was getting a deal. I’ve never seen anyone try to launch a boat, anywhere near this size off a beach like this.
My favorite boat built by them (Cheoy Lee) in days past in collaboration with a designer named Tom Fexas, was the “Midnight Lace” line which took it’s design cues from 1930’s rumrunners…
52' Midnight Lace
These were by no means either the biggest or “baddest” boats built by Cheoy Lee, but with the incredible mahogany decks and trim, fast displacement hulls, and swept back style – they looked like you should have two guys dressed in pin striped suits and hats holding Tommy Guns on the bow, and a load of Canadian Whiskey in boxes sitting on the aft deck. They aren’t built in China anymore, and the new ones have lost the expensive mahogany decks and trim… But they are still a beautiful boat.
What’s the difference between a Yacht and a Boat when at the Boat Show checking out the floating eye candy?
You can (maybe) afford a Boat if you ignore the maintenance, docking, and fuel costs.
Chinese Yacht Fail: $2.5 Million Yacht Sinks On Maiden Voyage
The “SS Jiugang” isn’t a submarine, but it may have been better off built that way.
The Jiugang Group surely suffered a bit of buyer’s remorse as the massive yacht slowly sank in the Yellow River during its maiden voyage. The demise of the “SS Jiugang” was apparently the result of “improper handling from the builders who mistakenly estimated the water level causing the water level to exceed the limit,” a Lanzhou city Ministry of Transportation official said, according to iFeng.
The 17 million RMB ($2.5 million) ship was eventually dragged out of the water, and is now being refitted for sea-worthiness. No one was killed or injured in the mishap.
According to USA Today, there are about 1,300 private yachts in China, and the government hopes the fledgling yachting industry will expand.
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