Indeed, super boats are made of steel and aluminum, as are ships. The buyers are "upper, upper, the real movers and shakers," says Perry. Typically, Perry says, they are heads of state and major corporations and founders of dot-com empires, like Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who owns the $200 million, 417-foot yacht Octopus.

Helping Clients Get What They Want
When a client decides he wants a luxury vessel, Cleveringa says, many questions should be asked: "Where is the boat going to be used? What type of entertaining do you do? ... What water toys do you wish to have on board? Do you wish to charter the vessel? What classification should it be built to?"

A big-boat enthusiast must consider basic issues when buying a yacht, especially if the boat is custom-built. Let's assume your client has the money and the time to have the boat of his dreams built expressly to his wishes. Right now, Bey says, a new buyer will wait six years after having the idea before taking delivery of a high-quality European-made yacht. Cleveringa says it takes 26 to 30 months to build a custom 153-foot yacht at the Wisconsin shipyard. A shortage of steel in the United States and high quality European craftsmanship have sent Americans abroad to have their boats built in Holland, Germany and Italy.

While some wealthy Americans are going abroad for their big boats, there are Russians, Middle Easterners and Greeks who are ordering their boats built in the United States because of the clout of the euro over the American dollar. "We are definitely seeing an expansion of business in the non-U.S. markets and we expect to continue to see this segment of the market expand for us," Cleveringa says.

Sources for this article recommended such boat builders as Ferretti and Benetti in Italy; Hakvoort in Holland; and Trinity, Westport and Burger in the United States. Allen's Octopus was built by Lurssen.

For the wealthy boating enthusiast who does not want to wait years for a custom-made dream yacht, there is always the option of buying a previously owned vessel. Typically, a vessel 125 feet and longer can take four days to survey; the buyer is welcome aboard during the sail. Bey, who sells custom-made boats through his company, Bay Marine Ltd., says "the deposit [on a vessel] is not funny money. It's real money," or about 10% of the purchase price.

And then there are yacht owners who are in partnership or fractional ownership of their vessels. Fractional ownership means the boat rarely sits idle. Moreover, there are fractional management companies that both provide vessels and handle fueling, pump-out, maintenance and insurance. Fractional owners can schedule use of the boat online.

A good place to get a sampling of what's new in luxury yachts is at the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to be held Oct. 30 through Nov. 3, 2008. A similar show, the Miami International Boat Show, will be held Feb. 12-16, 2009.

Super-yacht builders also have splashy and enticing Web sites featuring virtual tours of glamorous and amenity-laden boats.

All boats must be registered with a country and fly a flag-or ensign-of that country. Super-yachts often fly what's known as the "red ensign," denoting registration with British Commonwealth countries such as Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Safety standards are high in red ensign countries, which adds to the vessel's resale value.