Things you wouldn't expect on a yacht

By Laura Tait There are some things you would expect to find on a yacht. A cabin, a galley (kitchen), somewhere to sit, some navigation equipment. That sort of thing. And then there are things that you’d be pretty impressed to find in a billionaire’s mansion, let alone a boat. Like this lot... A basketball court You’d think a floating court would cause all kinds of problems for any sport, yet basketball appears to be a popular pastime for rich men with big boats. In addition to his two helicopters, seven boats, two submarines, cinema and audio recording studio, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has a basketball court on his 414 foot mega-yacht, Octopus. American film producer David Geffen’s The Rising Sun has one too, which handily doubles up as helicopter pad if it’s needed. A concert hall Little is known about what is inside the Al Said - the yacht owned by the Sultan Qaboos of Oman – in fact, no one outside of the sultan's court has ever been inside it. But one thing that has been confirmed is that aside from the fact it has six decks (with most of the deck space covered because of the hot middle-eastern weather) it also has a concert hall with the capacity to host a 50-piece symphony orchestra. An aquarium If you’re a fan of the water and all it entails – and you probably are if you’re on a yacht – then there’s hours of fun to be had aboard Roman Abramovich’s The Eclipse, which is believed to be the world’s priciest yacht at a rumoured cost of £665 million to the Chelsea Football Club owner. As well as a swimming pool (and a dance floor that turns into another swimming pool), the boat has a submarine and an aquarium. So no need to pack your scuba gear next time he invites you on it. A Grand Prix track Set to take over the title as the world’s most expensive yacht from The Eclipse (costing an estimated £700m to build), The Streets of Monaco is modelled on a section of Monte Carlo, featuring smaller versions of the state’s landmarks including the Hotel de Paris and Monte Carlo Casino and, of course, the famous racetrack. Instead of ‘decks’, the 510-foot boat will have buildings and instead of a swimming platform it will have a beach. A beach The aforementioned Monaco model won’t be the first boat with its own beach however. Despite the fact that by design a yacht should be able to quite easily get you to a coastline, the idea that you can take the coastline with you was used by Saudi Arabian businessman Nasser Al-Rashid, and his spectacular vessel The Lady Moura which has a beach that slides out of one side of the boat. The miniature resort incorporates sand, deck chairs and palm trees. A helicopter It seems that until Chitty Chitty Bang Bang becomes a reality and someone invents a vehicle that has the ability to travel both through wind and water, the solution is to keep your flying machine on your boat, and a chopper is increasingly considered a must-have accessory for yachters. All of the previous yachts we’ve mentioned have one – or at least a landing pad should they want to hire one. Paul Allen’s Octopus actually has TWO of its own. But then who doesn’t need a spare helicopter on their yacht? A massive sculpture of Diane Von Furstenberg’s head A bit leftfield compared to the other features, but makes more sense when you know the yacht is owned by the fashion designer’s husband, Barry Dillon. The media mogul bought the Eos in 2007 for him and his wife, and other features include a glass staircase. While we can’t be one hundred per cent sure, we’re prepared to lay money on the fact that it’s the ONLY yacht in the world that has an enormous Von Furstenberg head in it.