100ft King Baby

k i n g b a b y

friendship between King Baby Studio president Mitchell Binder and this

yacht’s owner led to a bespoke interior for this 100ft Hargrave, which is a

little bit voluminous, a little bit edgy, and a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll.

STORY: Louisa Beckett PHOTOS: Interiors & Decks: Bugsy Gedlek; Running: Suki Finnerty

KING BABYKING BABYKING BABYKING BABY

“I want it and I want it now!” That’s how the owner of the 100ft Hargrave King Baby describes the ethos of his new yacht, which he christened with friends, family and a jeroboam of champagne at the Miami Yacht & Brokerage Show in February. It is also the motto of the edgy jewelry and apparel line, King Baby Studio, whose name the yacht bears and whose owner and president, Mitchell Binder, helped design her interior.

“He’s a longtime friend,” her owner says. The American real estate investor/developer met Binder—jeweler to rock stars from Aerosmith to Usher—nearly a decade ago when he called to ask if he could put the King Baby name on the transom of his new Cigarette. That was the start of a friendship forged at full throttle in the gutsy performance boat.

About three years ago, the owner moved up to a Sunseeker Predator 68 open yacht, which he also called King Baby. “It was time to buy an adult boat,” he says. “I realized everyone was kind of humoring me going out on speedboats. They were delighted when I got one with more creature comforts.”

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Taking the Cigar.King Baby’s transom is graced by a distinctive stainless steel, laser-cut emblem of a crowned baby winking and holding a cigar—the logo of the Santa Monica, California jewelry and fashion firm that gave the yacht its name. King Baby Studio owner and president Mitchell Binder says he named his firm after a Freudian term. “It’s a mental condition where you think the world revolves around you,” he laughs. “That kind of describes me and all of our customers.”Binder, who is an avid motorcyclist, started out selling his chunky sterling silver jewelry to motorcycle clubs, and it soon caught on with “rock bands that needed jewelry that really showed up on stage.” The studio grew along with bands like Aerosmith, and has continued to attract the attention of succeeding generations of rock stars. “On Usher’s last album cover, he is head to toe King Baby,” says Binder.In addition to collaborating with King Baby’s owner and Yacht Interiors by Shelley on the overall look of the yacht, Binder designed her two logos—one that the owner has used on all his yachts, and a new one, stitched on the crew’s uniforms, that may inspire a whole King Baby Studio apparel line.Binder also has contributed—and continues to create—unique pieces for each room aboard that are both functional and fun. Hand-carved leather boxes and trays adorned with sterling silver skulls and other King Baby signature designs add to the yacht's overall “rock ‘n’ roll” feel.One of the most striking elements is a sterling silver espresso service with cups styled like skulls and accented by ivory handles, which is displayed on the bar in the main saloon. Binder also created an oversized photo album of hand-carved leather with sterling silver rivets, designed to hold photos of guests' adventures aboard.

“I was able to get my European profile,” he says. He asked Hargrave to take the yacht’s full-beam widebody aft section further forward, which enlarged the two-story side atrium entry foyer and created more storage space for the crew. “I have tremendous height and volume in this yacht.” He also had quite a few other special requests. “I wanted dual anchors…they look great. And I went a little crazy with the soundproofing.” The shipyard installed twice the usual amount of insulation in the bulkheads and used Soundown lead liner in the subfloors. “Hargrave brings new meaning to the word ‘patience’,” the owner says. “There was no such thing as ‘no’.”

As a custom builder himself, the owner felt he and the shipyard were speaking the same language. When discussing the yacht’s design, he put it into construction terms: “The only thing you’re locked into is the size of the hull, which in my case is a 100-footer by 21 feet wide—that’s the size of my foundation.”

Within that foundation, he worked with Hargrave specialist Yacht Interiors by Shelley and Mitchell Binder to achieve a unique interior look for King Baby that would both fulfill his vision and appeal to charter clients. “The boat’s theme is rock ‘n’ roll. Mitchell’s King Baby was the inspiration for the look and the theme.”

One of the first things to catch a guest’s eye on board is the signed photographic portraits of rock legends like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen that hang in every room. These were sourced through the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York.

The photos are hung against a rich backdrop that the owner describes as “transitional” styling. “I wanted to be able to finish the boat where it had a lot of contemporary elements, but at the same time it had a salute to some traditional yacht elements, so you didn’t feel like you were in some cold, contemporary Manhattan apartment, but [instead] like you were in a youthful, hip yacht,” he says. “That’s what we went for, and I think that’s what we got.”

Binder himself designed many of the contemporary décor elements. “He loves my aesthetic and we just have a shorthand way of working together,” the jeweler says of his friend. “I’ll take it way out there and he usually takes it back to somewhere where it can get done.”

The two friends’ collaboration on the design with Shelley DiCondina of Yacht Interiors by Shelley also went smoothly. “First of all, she really knows her business, and she’s good at what she does,” Binder says. “She did the heavy lifting and I did the fun part.” DiCondina gives full credit to Binder’s contributions, as well as to the owner’s “significant participation” and inspiration drawn from the 97ft Hargrave Cocktails, a successful charter yacht.

King Baby’s general arrangement is fairly typical of the 100ft Raised Pilothouse series. The full-beam main saloon is encompassed within the “widebody” section of the yacht, adding to its spaciousness. It has a comfortable seating area, elegant cherry cabinetry with camphor burl accents, a bar with a striking, backlit white onyx top, and a large custom-designed dining table beneath a contemporary cherry soffit. Headroom is at least seven feet two inches throughout.

Forward of the atrium is the country kitchen, a Hargrave hallmark. On King Baby, it is mainly a crew area, but it still incorporates labradorite blue Australian extra granite countertops and a bookmatched burl-paneled dinette. Storage is maximized by a custom pull-out pantry.

The yacht accommodates nine guests in four staterooms, all with en suite baths graced by fine marble stonework in various colors. The VIP stateroom, a few steps down from the galley, offers cozy privacy away from the yacht’s other three amidships cabins. The aft-most guest staterooms are configured as a queen and a flexible twin/queen that features a Pullman berth crafted in gloss cherry. The master stateroom is a truly grand full-beam suite with a centerline king (baby) bed and his-and-her baths.

HaRgRave deliveRed King BaBY On Time and On BudgeT. "In my world, that's everythIng," says her owner.

As tends to happen, he soon began to think about upsizing his vessel once again. “I got to living more on board,” he says. “Every day is not a sunny day.”

One of his main requirements for a new boat was high headroom. “I’m six feet, three-and-a-half inches,” he says. So he was impressed when he went aboard pro football player Jason Taylor’s 99ft Hargrave Katina. “He’s about six foot seven,” the owner says. “I noticed when I went into the master stateroom that the vanities were higher than normal. I said, ‘How did you get this done?’ They said, ‘This is a custom boat—you can do anything you want.’”

“I dragged Mitchell through several boat shows and into more boats than you can believe,” the owner says, assessing each one’s characteristics, along with the builder’s willingness to customize. “I wanted a European silhouette; I wanted a lot of volume, and I wanted something that was not your grandfather’s boat.” Ultimately, the owner asked Hargrave Custom Yachts to build him a 100ft Raised Pilothouse motor yacht.

Then he began asking for modifications.

The owner describes King Baby's interior as "transitional" in styling, with traditional elements juxtaposed with contemporary.

SPECSLOA: 100ft 6in (30.6m)LWL: 89ft 10in (27.2m)Beam: 21ft (6.4m)Draft (max): 5ft 9in (1.8m)Displacement: 220,000lbsEngines: 2 x Caterpillar C-32 (1,675hp)Speed (max/cruise): 21/18 knotsRange: 1,000nm @ 12 knotsFuel capacity: 3,200 gallonsThrusters: Naiad – 36hpStabilizers: Naiad model 302 w/ 9.0sqft fins + Datum controllerGenerators: 2 x Phasor 40kWFreshwater capacity: 600 gallonsGrey/Black water capacity: 100 gallonsOwner and guests: 8Crew: 4Tender: 16ft Nautica w/ Yamaha outboardConstruction: FRPClassification: Full classification available at additional cost – not applied to King BabyNaval architecture: Hargrave Custom Yachts/JB Hargrave Yacht DesignExterior styling: Hargrave Custom Yachts/ JB Hargrave Yacht DesignInterior design: Yacht Interiors by Shelley (Shelley DiCondina & Meredith Mack)/Owners and Mitchell Binder of King Baby Jewelry– Inspiration from Jeff Howard of Howard Dear-mas Group’s previous yacht, CocktailsPrice guide: $8,400,000 base priceCharter broker: Hargrave Custom YachtsEmail: miked@hargrave.orgCharter rates: $45,000++ per weekBuilder/Year: Hargrave Custom Yachts/20091887 West State Road 84Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315Tel: (954) 463-0555Toll free: (800) 551-9590Email: sales@hargrave.orgwww.hargrave.org

Each cabin is equipped with XM radio, docking stations, and a television that taps into the yacht’s extensive audio/visual entertainment system.

The quarters for King Baby’s four-to-five person crew, which are located aft of the engine room, are finished to nearly as high a level as the guest accommodations. The woodwork here also is high-gloss cherry, and the flooring is teak-and-holly. There is a captain’s stateroom with double berth and a second bunkroom. A watertight door leads to the engine room, which has the same exceptional headroom found throughout. Typical of a Hargrave, it is well designed with all the systems and wiring runs neatly labeled.

The pilothouse functions both as a crew space and an owner’s sanctum. Here, images of Paul McCartney playing the guitar on a yacht in the islands overlook a comfortable settee accented by Binder’s custom-designed cushions, made of patent alligator skin and lambskin and hand-laced around the borders.

There is a second helmstation on the flybridge, which also offers an impressive amount of lounging and entertaining space, considering this yacht’s size and style. The tender deck aft has room for a 16ft Nautica and three-person WaveRunner—launched by a 2,000lb crane. When they’re in the water, this area can hold additional seating. Amidships are a Jacuzzi and sunpad, a dining area, and a full bar facing a 37in waterproof television. A big Lynx grill, SubZero refrigerator drawers, an icemaker (one of six on board) and a wine cooler help the crew cater al fresco meals and parties. Like Cocktails, King Baby has a retractable soft awning installed within the hardtop that can be automatically opened or closed for sun or shade.

Hargrave delivered King Baby to her owner after a build time of just 20 months—giving new meaning to the motto, “I want it and I want it now!” “They were able to bring it in on time and on budget,” the developer says. “In my world, that’s everything.”

Not long after the yacht’s christening, the owner took family and friends—including Binder—on a maiden voyage to The Bahamas. “We did six islands in seven days. It was really impressive; it just runs beautifully,” the owner says. “This boat is a hundred feet, and you would think you were on a hundred-twenty-footer. The volume is incredible.”

He is confident that charter guests will agree. In fact, King Baby had a charter on the books even before her debut. “They saw pictures of the yacht and immediately fell in love.” |

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Headroom, volume, and superb soundproofing were but a few of the elements specified by the owner, and Hargrave delivered.