The difference an experienced Project Manager can make

You may not have thought about building a fully custom or semi-custom yacht before, but a reduced pre-owned inventory is encouraging a lot of us to think again. Our experts take a look at what it takes to produce the yacht that’s made just for you, the questions to ask before you start, and the difference an experienced Project Manager can make to your final product.

While building a yacht to suit your tastes, or refitting a project in to a vessel that you and your family will love, is one of the most exciting projects anyone can undertake, it is also one of the most challenging. Having the right Project Manager by your side makes all the difference.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?

Is your yacht for short trips around the Mediterranean or Caribbean, or journeying around the world? Do you want to go to Antarctica, embark on polar expeditions, discover the Amazon River? Where you are planning to use the yacht affects everything from its shape to its capacity, so this is a vital early decision in drafting your operational profile.

WHO WILL JOIN YOU ON BOARD?

“It is important to scale a yacht to your requirements,” says Fraser Technical Manager Laurent Bredy. “You need to choose a size of yacht that is both suited to your own enjoyment and also suitable in terms of costs and logistics. We suggest, particularly for those new to yachting, that you charter various sizes of yachts to see what works best. A Broker will guide you based on the experiences you're looking for on board.”

HOW WILL YOU SPEND YOUR TIME?

“Some Owners want the fastest yacht possible, others want to go to remote places, which require large range and capacity, some want extreme comfort and stability at sea, or quiet with no vibration,” says Fraser Project Manager Francesca Ghigliazza. Your Broker will offer you a selection of vessels on the market which fit your preferred profile, then the Project Manager will nail down all the details, making sure the yachts tick all the boxes at a technical level.

WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET & HOW LONG ARE YOU WILLING TO WAIT?

Price and build slot availability are key considerations your Broker and Project Manager will take into account. In Bredy’s words: “Not all shipyards are equal in terms of delivery. Some shipyards may take three years to deliver a large vessel, whereas for others it is more like five years.”

SOLID TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE

“As Project Managers, our job is to understand the expectations of the Owner, turn them in to technical facts, and bring these facts to the shipyard,” says Bredy. “There is so much information which needs to be treated on time: documents, 200 pages of specifications and drawings to be reviewed, and choices to be made. You need somebody to handle that and guide you through this process. You need someone to ensure the wording in every document is technically rock solid right from the start.”

AN EXCEPTIONAL EYE FOR DETAIL

“Most Owners feel pretty comfortable with a contract because they know how to deal with contracts, but the technical specification which describes the yacht might be difficult to understand if you are not an expert,” says Fraser Project Manager Alexander Pizano. “We can read a contract, filter certain elements, and spot where it doesn’t meet what we know the Owner wants. What the Owner is buying is that document. It has to be water-tight. Many Owners who don’t use a Project Manager might get a nice yacht — but it’s often not quite the yacht they were expecting or saw in the brochure.”

INTEGRITY, HONESTY — AND THE CONFIDENCE TO SAY NO

A good Project Manager will not simply advise you to choose a shipyard that they know well. They will lead you to the shipyard that they know is right for your requirements. “The right Project Manager is not afraid to say no, sir, this is not what you need,” says Bredy. “We work on a triangle of quality, cost and time, which can be distorted to a point, however changing one of these points will affect the other two. We are always fully open about how any adjustments will affect the outcome.”

AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION YOU WANT

“Transparency in communication is one of the essences of our business,” says Pizano. However, with an estimated +500,000 emails exchanged between parties on an average project, you will probably prefer to receive only the updates and reporting you really need to know, based on your own interests. “There are so many changing parameters, solutions to find, explanations and technical details. We take the stress of this and only pass on what the Owner wants and needs to know — and that is different for each Owner.”

A GOOD PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

To get the results you want, it’s important that you can dedicate time to your Project Manager, open up and explain, in detail, exactly what you are looking for. Look for a Project Manager you are happy to spend time with over a project which will last several years, and one you can effectively communicate with about how you want to spend your time on board. The more you share, the better the Project Manager can represent your interests at the shipyard — and ensure the finished product meets your vision.