Built for adventure

The 47m King Benji from Dunya Yachts in Turkey was design by Gregory Marshall and with a Design Unlimited interior, this commanding vessel is equipped with all the amenities for extended cruising and adventurous travel.

“I want the most fun Explorer Yacht, that feels like I’m outside…and I don’t want a floating luxury prison.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes, it needs to carry the biggest and fastest Tender possible, maybe 12-14 metres (40-46 ft) and 80 mph. I also want a completely separate owner’s deck for ultimate privacy, hot and cold tubs, and a slide and climbing wall that can be set up efficiently so I’m never waiting long to use them….”

“Are you sure you don’t want a 65-metre yacht?”

“Yes, I am sure. I don’t want to have to use pilot boats when going in and out of ports. I hate being told what to do.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes I want huge walls of glass all over the yacht that slide open and have no sills. When will it be ready?”

This was the conversation between the now owner of King Benji and Greg Marshall who did the exterior design and naval architecture for the 47-metre explorer built by Dunya Yachts. What followed next was a meeting between these two gentlemen at a restaurant where Greg designed the yacht on a napkin that is almost identical to the finished yacht a few years later.

The owner and Greg saw eye to eye from the first meeting. To complete the team they needed an interior designer and a shipyard that also shared the philosophy of building something truly unique. Design Unlimited joined as the interior designer and like Greg, they showed a great understanding of what the owner wanted to achieve. With an amazing ability to merge luxury with a fun and dynamic interior, Design Unlimited was the perfect fit.

Dunya was selected as the shipyard because they are a custom yard with the facilities and expertise to deliver a yacht like King Benji. Dunya has over 40 years of experience building and refitting yachts. In 2006 the shipyard upgraded their facilities considerably to be able to build yachts up to 100m and repair yachts up to 140m. The shipyard is the in heart of the superyacht and ship building area in Istanbul, Turkey, meaning they have every expert on hand to deliver any technology, engineering and design a yacht may need. Both their inhouse team and contractor list is impressive. This owner required a fully custom yacht, and that is what he got, even down to the custom colour of the hull. Every detail was considered, every finish was bespoke.

In the end, Dunya built a vessel that is a low-profile, genuine explorer that has every luxury imaginable. It is low profile in that it is a sub-500GT yacht and has a reasonably low draft, meaning this yacht can get to areas that majority of the bigger explorers cannot. There is a huge amount of space for toys and exploration equipment on the large aft deck. There can be any number of set-ups on this deck to carry the likes of a 40-foot tender, a submarine, an ROV etc. This is all made possible by having such a large crane. King Benji has a 10 ton crane that is also beautifully built into the bulwark to ensure the crane doesn’t take over the deck aesthetically.

It is very rare to find a sub-500 GT yacht that has this lifting capacity. This is a truly impressive explorer yacht of its size. Once all the toys and equipment are off this deck it of course transforms into a stunning beach club for the guests.

The design stage was meticulous. The owner rented a large warehouse and had a model of the interiors built to scale. He walked through with 3D goggles to get an understanding of every room and together with Greg Marshall and Design Unlimited he made the required changes to create the design he wanted. This is just one of the many benefits Dunya receives by working with world leading designers.

Dunya used Ulutas for the outfitting of King Benji and the quality of finishing speaks for itself. King Benji represents a new wave of yachts for a new wave of owners. The yacht is colourful, both in terms of its blue hull but also the playful interior elements. It is a merge of luxury and relaxed, homely living. At the 2024 MYBA Charter Show, the majority of the brokers declared King Benji as ‘the yacht of the show.’ The yacht simply stands out with her bold, functional, and aesthetic design elements.

Dunya does not only do new build projects. They also perform many large-scale refits including a full restoration of the 136m Blohm + Voss, Savarona. Currently they have an 87.5-metre and an 80-metre superyacht in build. They also have an extremely impressive 48m catamaran support vessel that is being built on spec. This vessel has an impressive amount of storage and guest space for a 48m yacht due to the 13m beam.

Dunya is a great example of where Turkey is at with superyacht building. King Benji is yet another evolution in quality and design and it has strengthened the Turkish brand yet again. All eyes are on Turkey as their superyacht building is going from strength to strength. It is exciting to see what will come out of this great yacht building nation next.

©Images: Jeff brown