Launchpad vs. Breakthrough

Dutch builder Feadship proudly delivered the world's 35th longest yacht, Launchpad, in February 2024. Around the same time, Breakthrough set sail as the world's 36th longest yacht.

Launchpad allows for up to 26 guests to sleep aboard with a crew of 49, while Breakthrough can have 30 guests with 44 crew members. So Launchpad can sleep nearly five guests less than Breakthrough, but she has more than 10% extra crew to deal with operations. In addition, Launchpad also has provision for around two of the guests' employees. While both superyachts offer guests the luxury of arriving by air, Launchpad provides the utmost in convenience and flexibility having two helipads. Launchpad's biggest helipad, which is located forward on the main deck, is fully certified for helicopters that are up to 8,818lbs.

Gross tonnage (GT) is a way to understand how much "stuff" a yacht can hold, like cabins, bathrooms, and other spaces. Contrasting the GT of Launchpad and Breakthrough vividly highlights why it serves as a superior metric for yacht size compared to overall length, as despite their similar length, Launchpad has nearly 25% less usable space on board. The difference is more than 85 shipping containers of volume. YachtBuyer has introduced the YB100, offering a better approach to ranking the world's biggest yachts. Launchpad secures the 40th position in the YB100 rankings, calculated by GT, representing a two-spot decrease from her placement in the Top 100 by length. Looking at Breakthrough, she currently secures the 29th position in the YB100, standing seven positions higher than her placement in the Top 100.