First Impression: Noble House

Date toured: October 2008

This 173-foot motoryacht is the second to go by the name of Noble House. (The first was a 150-foot Trinity motoryacht now known in charter circles as Magic.) The newer Noble House launched from New Zealand’s Sensation shipyard in 2005, the same year that her current captain, Steven McDonald, came onboard.
    “She was originally built as an expedition yacht with a strong hull compared to regular yachts,” McDonald told me as we sat in the sky lounge. “But for the most part, we’ve stayed in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. We chartered a lot at first because there were rumors of problems during the build, and we wanted to counter those rumors by demonstrating excellence. We have since earned an excellent reputation and invested where we needed to in terms of refit, including spending a million dollars in 2008 alone to refit our fire safety system.”
    Noble House’s interior looked virtually brand-new to me as I toured from room to room, with the décor offering elegance as well as comfort. I felt surrounded by luxury, but not so much that I wouldn’t be comfortable relaxing with my feet up.
    I also noticed a few interesting features that aren’t on most other charter yachts, including his-and-her flat-screen televisions in the master bathroom. (Yes, the bathroom!). The sky lounge, too, has a large flat-screen television plus leather sofas and chairs that recline like La-Z-Boys, as opposed to fancy furniture that looks great but isn’t exactly plush.
    “The owner is from Texas and he likes to watch football,” the captain told me. “You won’t miss a minute of a game on this boat, and you will always be comfortable while watching.”
    About half the charters that Noble House has done so far have been with families, and half have been all adults. The accommodations are flexible enough to include either type of group, with the king-bed master on the main deck plus four more guest cabins below. One has a king-size bed, one has a queen-size bed, and two have twin-size beds. One of those twin-bed cabins converts to a king-size bed and connects to the other king-bed cabin, making it ideal as either a VIP suite or a spacious room for parents with small children they want to keep close.
    In the activities department, the captain told me that Noble House tows a 28-foot sportfishing boat that is included in the weekly charter base rate. There’s also a large sunpad on the bridge deck, in addition to seating on the sundeck, where there is also a glass-enclosed, air-conditioned gymnasium with outstanding views.
    The yacht is keen to do a lot of charters this winter, the captain said. Burgess Yachts is the management company and lists the lowest weekly base rate as $245,000 per week for 12 guests with 12 crew. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more.--Kim Kavin