Hotel Room On Water?

In a number of our blog articles over the past few years, we’ve mentioned how visitors (especially at boat shows), often talk about our HopYacht 30 as being like 'an apartment on water' or 'a compact condo that just happens to have a sail!'

Initially this feedback took us by surprise, however the more we got to know our clients the more we realised that our HopYacht 30 can be enjoyed on so many levels. Who says you have to leave the mooring to enjoy a yachtie lifestyle?

Having a yacht that delivers relaxed sailing, blended with the comfort of a compact apartment, is a superb way to optimise the lifestyle your yacht offers. For the number crunchers this could read as 'a better return on investment!' By adopting this mind set, our design and build teams have been continually able to refine what the HopYacht 30 offers.

The 2025 model has a number of new features.

Firstly, it's crucial that we never lose of the overall sailing experience. For keen sailors we now offer better downwind performance (especially in light winds), with the option of a cruising asymmetric spinnaker (complete with a snuffer) or a furling code 65 asymmetric. Both designed by North Sails and both still offering easy-going sailing.

And for everyone else?

We have worked hard to create features that you could perhaps liken to designing a compact easy to manage, apartment on water.

Great outdoor living space is an essential part of most luxury apartment layouts. Our equivalent to having a patio, is our cockpit area with a couch designed as a day bed and equipped with a gas lift pedestal, to quickly convert into a 4-seater table, with wrap around seating.

And if weather becomes a little inclement, your 'on the water patio' can be fully enclosed, with drop down awnings. A mesh layer keeps the bugs out, still allowing a flow of fresh air. A second see-through layer keeps the rain out.

The helm station can also now be fully enclosed incorportating the bimini. This makes sailing in bad weather much more enjoyable, and for your apartment on water, this is also like having the elegance of a built in skylight, when you close up the cockpit.

A 130L fridge freezer is right where you need in the cockpit, the only downside is that it's so accessible it's not going to be as easy to achieve your step goal each day!

Moving into the saloon (or coffee bar as we like to call it), we've re-designed the saloon table. Traditionally, this is where you would store navigation charts, however with digital charts now the norm, we've re-purposed this space for ‘his and her’ cosmetics and provided a make-up mirror built into the lid.

The bathroom on our HopYacht is already on a par with larger luxury yachts, however we now have a new mould for the vanity unit and this incorporates better storage, and creates more space beside your electric flush throne!

We already had good standing headroom in the shower, however some of our clients are seriously tall, so we’ve managed increase the height to 1.92m. The bi-fold glass door also makes you feel more at home too!

Many land based apartments have inherently small bedrooms and three-quarter or standard double beds are common place. Whilst the HopYacht 30 is a compact yacht, we were determined not to compromise on comfort. From the outset we designed the forward cabin to have a bespoke queen-size island bed. Add to this a superyacht quality mattress, and now with the option of 500 thread count fitted sheets and mattress protector, a good night's rest is guaranteed!

Our overhead ventilation hatches have built in bug screens, and for warmer climates we offer a 5000 BTU air conditioner.

An essential key feature for any Airbnb type property these days is block out bedroom curtains. Many guests now insist on this. On our 2025 HopYacht, we’ve got you covered, with block out window shades on the inside and the option of sun shade blinds on the outside. Stopping the sun dead in its tracks, is often the difference between needing an AC or not.

And finally if you’re lucky, your land based apartment will have a balcony, and if you're even luckier a reasonable view.

Great views are easy to find on a yacht. To take full advantage the HopYacht 30 has a trampoline area at the bow. This becomes the ultimate sun loving balcony. With two lounger cushions, built in cool box and changeable scenery ... what more can you ask for?

So perhaps we are unashamedly an apartment on water, with added advantage of whisper quiet wind driven or electric propulsion.

In 2025, one of our objectives to is partner with waterside hotel groups to offer the HopYacht 30 as a unique hotel room on water. If more people could enjoy the unique lifestyle on a yacht that becomes a hotel room on water, for many this could be the adventure of a life-time!

Perhaps you could help us to achieve this?

The video below pitches this opportunity. If you happen to know someone in the hotel industry that is a progressive thinker, looking for a new competitive edge for their hotel group, we’d really appreciate you sending them the video, and an introduction! :-)

The video is available at this link. https://youtu.be/wTZWubO0k78?si=wzq9LUuQ2TCzI_7C

If you would like more information on how to customise your own HopYacht, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at hello@hopyacht.co.za.

Here's to happy sailing and an even happier lifestyle on the water in 2025!

Paul and Mary-Clare Tomes

Founders of HopYacht