Benetti Oasis 34M

The Oasis 34M covers 2,700 nautical miles at 10 knots, carrying 25,000 litres of fuel, or 6,604 US gallons. Cruise speed is 14 knots and top speed is 16, so a run from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and a week in the Abacos happens without a single visit to a fuel dock.

The hull is a semi-displacement design, efficient at displacement speeds with some reserve when you want to push. Tony puts consumption at roughly 80 gallons per hour at cruise, which is reasonable for a 200-tonne yacht and the reason the range holds up in normal use rather than only on paper.

Yes. Draft is 6 feet 8 inches, or 2.03 metres, which opens up the shallow cuts and anchorages in the Bahamas that most yachts of this length cannot reach, along with marinas that will not take a 130-footer.

That number is a compromise and it is the right one for the mission. It is shallow enough for Staniel Cay and, at 200 tonnes of displacement, deep enough that the boat does not roll uncomfortably in a beam sea. Beam is 25 feet 2 inches. If your cruising ground is the Exumas rather than the open Atlantic, draft is the spec that decides where your season can go.

The master is on the main deck, full beam, with direct access to the foredeck. You can walk out of bed onto a private lounge without crossing the salon or passing a guest cabin, which is the single biggest liveability difference between this and most 112-footers.

Four more staterooms sit below, two VIPs and two twins, all with en-suite heads, for 10 guests in five cabins in total. The galley is forward and separated, so your chef is not cooking in the middle of the living room. Crew accommodation is seven in four cabins. The layout assumes couples and families rather than filling berths.

Choose the 34M if you want the smallest boat that still feels like a proper yacht, and the 42M if the outdoor deck is the whole point. At 112 feet 9 inches the 34M runs with seven crew in four cabins and gets into shallow Bahamian cuts and marinas that will not take a 130-footer.

The Oasis 42M is 139 feet 5 inches, carries the same 10 guests in five cabins, and spends its extra length on the Oasis Deck and a longer 4,000-nautical-mile range. Tony's framing: the 34M is the one you can stay involved in running, the 42M is the one you host from.

Realistically yes, with a captain and a rotating deckhand, if you are an experienced yachtsman willing to stay hands-on. The systems are straightforward, the engine room is accessible, and the layout does not need a full-time steward to keep functioning. Tony estimates that route at $600,000 to $800,000 a year.

Most buyers at this size still run crew. A captain, engineer, chef and steward puts crew cost around $400,000 to $500,000 by his estimate, and total operating cost near $1 million to $1.2 million once fuel, insurance, maintenance and dockage are in. Those are his numbers, not Benetti's.

It is a 200-square-foot space at water level, not a swim platform with chairs on it. There are fold-down terraces, direct access to the tender garage, and enough headroom to stand comfortably, so you can launch toys, serve lunch, or simply sit with your feet in the water.

Benetti designed the Oasis line with input from owners who actually cruise, and the beach club is where that shows. It works with the rest of the outdoor plan rather than competing with it: a full-beam sun deck above with dining, bar and lounge seating, and a foredeck lounge forward. Three separate places to be, on a 112-foot boat.