M5, the largest single-masted sailing yacht in the world

Wouldn't a carbon tax that is noticeable to these guys be crippling for pretty much everyone else?

Yes, you get the money back eventually, but there's a time lag and no amortisation. Big purchases might become impractical.

That's what it can carry, not what it necessarily uses in a ridiculously short period of time though right?

It doesn't have a wind turbine for electricity. Article mentions a 45 days at sea trip, for which they presumably want lights & cooking & entertainment for several people including crew.

Less efficiently generated, sure, but it's electricity they'd otherwise be using somewhere else.

54,000 liters of wind?

Not for a Texan!

Bought as opposed to made, done or planned yourself. The latter is fine, at a certain point sonit becomes somewhat pathetic.

Edit: The M5 owner doesn't fall into the bought category so, he was very involved in the refurbishment process and knows his way around his boat. Which does look rather gorgeous.

Owner in this case does seem very into the technical detail of the boat and enjoying sailing, not just partying on water and paying someone to move it about occasionally.

I first thought that the title "ugliest yacht in the world" is not so easy to give. Then I looked at the photos. Ugh. The boat looks like a floating tank, like a warship with sails on it. Even the manufacturer Nobiskrug does not manage to shoot appealing photos of this monstrosity. https://www.nobiskrug.com/de/flotte/sailing-yacht-a/

Wow you weren't exaggerating. I wonder if getting a big name designer to design your product increases the chance of it being hella ugly, because when anyone tries to say "that's hella ugly" people just say "but Big Name designed it; it must be good!".

Kind of like George Lucas and the Star Wars prequels.

I'd be willing to get behind a wealth tax specifically for people profiled on boatinternational.com

What are the class markers in that sentence?

Hmm, this isn't really so accurate, there's a reason racing yachts try to reduce weight in every possible way they can, it does make a difference. You could say that adding a carbon fibre sail also makes no difference to weight versus the keel of a boat like Sayonara or Brindabella etc, but it's still worth saving the weight for the best performance.

And also, your point about top speed isn't wholly accurate either, you can get 36 foot boats now which can make 15-20 knots, which used to be thought to be almost impossible. But this is possible now with the advances in boat building techniques and materials.

Waterline length obviously makes a difference but if your boat is heavier, the wetted length and drag are going to be much greater. Also, lighter boats can crest over heavy seas in a way heavier boats can't reducing the slowing effect of a heavy sea, so even out at sea without making any maneuvers, you gain performance. Also, if you are tacking then acceleration is kind of a big deal, since you lose speed with every tack and have to regain it.

You should look at some of the maxi yachts and see the speed and acceleration they are capable of and understand that weight really does make a difference.

The vase must be attached or stowed; but I doubt this heels nearly as much as most yachts. However much money this is still full of engineering tradeoffs. If you loved sailing fast you would buy an AC75 that sails twice as fast and a comftable motor boat to sleep on.

It's called Krazy Glue for a reason.

The crew probably stow most of what you see during transits.