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As the big yachts go, it was bigger than most

The Lonian in Boston Harbor

Hodor on the left. See it larger.

Eric Bender, who covers the waterfront, couldn't help but notice the Lonian docked at Commercial Wharf today, because the thing is enormous: It's a 285-foot-long superyacht.

It's so big it has a "garage" to store a smaller, 32-foot long boat for, we guess, those quick trips to little bays that can't handle the craft's draft or wake or something. Or owner (and Las Vegas billionaire) Lorenzo Fertitta, could just get a helicopter to pick him up - and ferry his up to 12 guests - from the yacht's helipad.

Of course, a $160-million yacht that costs $10 million to $15 million a year to operate (with a staff of 27), just isn't enough to contain all the life you need to live, so naturally you go out and buy a separate 217-foot long "support" catamaran (with a staff of 20) to hold another five smaller boats, your jet skis, your quad bikes, your ATVs and your motorcycles - with room left over for your submarine and your other helicopter.

And no, that doesn't sound at all like the sort of ship a Bond villain would use to visit his lair under an active volcano. Fertita, obviously a "Game of Thrones" fan, named it Hodor - and it follows the Lonian around everywhere, just like Hodor did with Bran:

Hodor:

Hodor the Catamaran

The catamaran design means you never have to wait long for Hodor to open its door:

Hodor the Catamaran's large doorway
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Comments

I love me an Edmund Fitzgerald reference. If I were an actor that’d be my go to if I had to turn on the waterworks.

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And I wonder how often he is on it...I bet it's a trophy piece....hey guys wanna come hang out on my super yaught ?!

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….behind the song’s origins, as envisioned by Randall Munroe in the XKCD webcomic?

https://xkcd.com/2910/

As for superyachts - they’re kind of sad. Lacking in all the qualities that make messing about in boats pleasurable.

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I like the jibe GL takes at himself, “… its islands and bays are for sportsmen,” re Lake Mi.

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Bought a t-shirt with that quote on it in the mid nineties from an artists’ jewelry store on Church St. in Harvard Sq. and just now looked up its origin.

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Where are the orcas when we need them?

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The Baysian Sinking

Very sad that people died because they didn't put the keel down.

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The first question that comes to my mind when I see such debauchery is how long would it take for the planet to become thoroughly unlivable -carbon emissions and all- if everyone adopted this kind of lifestyle.

If we all emulated Fertitta and his ilk, it would probably be a matter of days, not even weeks. In my esteem these folks rank about as high as pedophile priests and nazis and deserve the same amount of shaming. Why are they considered respectable?

https://theconversation.com/private-planes-mansions-and-superyachts-what...

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It may be many things, but debauchery it is not.

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It will do until the real debauchery shows up.

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When the winds of debauchery come early.

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Fortunately, that’s not a lifestyle that almost anyone can adopt.

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A study showed that an income of greater than $250k/year brings no further actual happiness. With that in mind, anyone earning more than $250k/year MUST have a ZERO carbon footprint. So this guy needs to start building windfarms immediately to pay for the privileges that harm others.

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$250,000 in Boston area gets you a 1200sqft shack that hasn't been renovated since the 1950s and a daily bowl of ramen. The Nissin brick kind, not the $20 restaurant kind.

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how long would it take for the planet to become thoroughly unlivable -carbon emissions and all- if everyone adopted the average American's lifestyle?

AFter all, USA is 14% of CO2 emissions despite only being 4% of the world's population...

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In the three minutes of patience I had to look, it seems there is almost a 1:1 ratio of superyachts to container ships, meaning the ever reliable savior of the economy, the American consumer, has some leverage to demand fewer crossings.

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Douchecanoe

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…. appropriate. Haha!

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That's definitely not Ben Gardner's boat.

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Toxic

Cumbersome

Hard to park

The equivalent of a monster pickup plus plus.

Cage for a billionaire zombie brain.

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Many (most?) super/megayachts (and most passenger vessels more generally) are designed to maximize interior volume/layout and views from the inside looking out, so they tend to end up looking like a floating Marriott of sorts.

Much of what makes a boat/ship pleasing to the eye are features that increase seaworthiness, which is largely irrelevant on these yachts as they are really mobile vacation homes that spend the vast majority of their time docked wherever the party is and don't need serious passagemaking ability.

You can see a vivid example of this form-follows-function whenever the QM2 is docked next to a cruise ship at the Black Falcon. You really don't need to know anything about naval architecture to see that they are very different breeds and the aesthetic difference is almost entirely coincidental.

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I have voyaged on the QM2 a few times. Just one minor point: The QM2 is an ocean liner. It is designed to make ocean voyages in all sorts of weather and thus has a different design. Most large passenger vessels are cruise ships, not ocean liners.

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I was under the impression that the QM2 and the QE2 before it were the last vessels in active service to be classed as ocean liners.

I know there are a handful of small ships built for Antarctic cruises that are quite stout, but I think that's mainly concerned with their ability to handle polar ice, rather than seakeeping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Class

By way of context, the Pacific Princess (aka Love Boat) was less than twice as long as this monstrosity.

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