Tender Is The Heart

All classic yacht tenders are designed to be elegant and exclusive. But for Forbes Senior Yachting Writer Bill Springer, no other tender looks, performs or makes him “feel” better than a custom-built J Craft Torpedo. We sat down with him to find out why.

During Bill Springer’s early career as an editor at numerous American yachting magazines, he was lucky enough to sail thousands of offshore miles on a wide variety of yachts. Since then, his job as Forbes yachting scribe and video host has brought him on superyacht adventures from both Poles to the equator, and to nearly every tropical destination in between. He’s dodged high-speed hydrofoils on the brown waters off St. Petersburg, Russia. And anchored in impossibly blue water off uninhabited islands in the Seychelles, Scandinavia, the BVI, and The Bahamas.

The Classic Yacht Tender

But as we found out recently, the elegance and mystique of classic yacht tenders holds a special place in his heart. In fact, he confided in us that he believes the “Image of a beautiful woman wearing a scarf and oversized sunglasses being whisked out to a superyacht aboard classic wooden speedboat defines the luxury and grace of the yachting lifestyle better than any other image in the world.”

And while superyacht tenders can vary from super-sleek all-electric-powered limousines, to big, bold, and brash RIBs powered with multiple outboards totaling over 1,000-horsepower, he still believes the image of the classic wood yacht tender remains at the pinnacle of yachting lifestyle. And since few have spent the last 30 years writing about the superyacht lifestyle quite like Springer, hearing him wax poetic about something he’s obviously spent many hours pondering has been both fun and thought- provoking.

“Image of a beautiful woman wearing a scarf and oversized sunglasses being whisked out to a superyacht aboard classic wooden speedboat defines the luxury and grace of the yachting lifestyle better than any other image in the world.”

Forbes Senior Yachting Writer Bill Springer

And while superyacht tenders can vary from super-sleek all-electric-powered limousines, to big, bold, and brash RIBs powered with multiple outboards totaling over 1,000-horsepower, he still believes the image of the classic wood yacht tender remains at the pinnacle of yachting lifestyle. And since few have spent the last 30 years writing about the superyacht lifestyle quite like Springer, hearing him wax poetic about something he’s obviously spent many hours pondering has been both fun and thought- provoking.

We only asked him one question. “What’s your favorite classic tender?”

It’s a subject that’s he’s thought a lot about, he quips.

What Sets JCraft Apart

Any rare classic tender will get my blood pumping whenever I get a chance to take one out for a spin,” he says. “But after spending time aboard a J Craft Torpedo in Monaco, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach, I can say from experience that this modern classic is more than just an impossibly elegant, awe-inspiringly beautiful, and extremely rare 42-foot-long speedboat. In fact, I think they are unlike any other yachts in the world. They have soul.”

This is simply because a few, uniquely talented craftsman (who build each Torpedo by hand on a remote Swedish island where their ancestors have literally been building boats for more than 1,000 years), know they are building boat for passionate people who understand that a J Craft Torpedo is way more than just another object to own. She’a a living, breathing work of art that will evoke always feelings of pride, respect, glamour, and love—and—be capable of cruising at close to 50 knots offshore too.

And how these timelessly beautiful speedboats are built is only one way the brand is unlike any other. “The other, and to my mind,” he adds, “the even more remarkable thing is the way a J Craft Torpedo can make you feel.”

“For some, the feeling is…pride in knowing that they’re members of the extremely exclusive J Craft owners club. For others the feeling is…relief. Not only have they earned the ability to escape to the sea on a boat built specifically for them,” he says. “They can rest assured in the fact that they own one of the most elegant, best-built, offshore-capable, 42-foot-long speedboats in the world.”

“Or maybe you’re like me?” he asks.

“I feel transformed almost as soon as I step aboard. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try. The cares of my land-based world immediately slip into the background. The air feels fresher. The sun feels soft. And when the Torpedo levels out on a plane, and the wind is in my face, and my friends are enjoying a respite from the land-based stresses of life together with me, the feeling is just like the pure joy I felt as a kid when my love of the ocean, and boats, and adventure was born.”

“Does that amazing escape happen because each hand crafted J Craft Torpedo takes a small passionate team of uniquely talented Vikings well over 8,000 hours build?” he notes.

Well, yes, and no.

“Yes, because, of course, artisan-level craftmanship always plays a part in the physical sensations that happen when a beautiful, well-built boat is used for its intended purpose. But that’s not the only reason. In fact, the reason these yachts move me so much is because J Craft’s special brand of beauty, quality, performance, tradition, technology and style transcends the boats they build. I like to think that every time I carve a turn, or cruise from one luxurious location to another, or jump off the back at my favorite swimming spot or pull up to a dock to a waiting group of admirers I get to connect to the passion and love that each J Craft team member pours into each boat they build.”

“And nothing is better than that. Except maybe having one on a private dock in St. Tropez in the summer or Palm Beach in the winter,” he concludes.

J Craft’s special brand of beauty, quality, performance, tradition, technology and style transcends the boats they build.