It's 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday in Bimini. You're standing barefoot on the swim platform of your GTX116, coffee in hand, watching the sun climb over water so clear you can count the fish. Behind you, the tender garage is already open, jet ski ready to launch. Above, your guests are still asleep in five full cabins. By 9 a.m., you'll be underway at 30 knots, carving a line toward the Exumas. By noon, you'll anchor in a private cove, drop the transformer platform into the water, and turn the entire aft section into a beach club that rivals anything on a 50-meter displacement yacht. This is the GTX116's promise: the performance of a Pershing, the space of a superyacht, and the freedom to use both on the same weekend.
Who This Boat Is For
The GTX116 is built for owners who refuse to choose between speed and space. If you've owned smaller Pershings and loved the handling but outgrown the layout, this is your next step. If you've chartered 40-meter motoryachts and appreciated the volume but resented the 12-knot cruise, this is your answer. The ideal owner runs a business that demands presence in multiple cities, values time on the water as a reset, and entertains frequently enough that five guest cabins and a two-level beach club aren't overkill. You're comfortable with crew but don't want a floating hotel. You want to drive the boat yourself from the lower helm, feel the waterjets respond, and know that when you throttle back, there's a full-beam owner's suite waiting midships.
This is not a boat for someone prioritizing long-range cruising or fuel economy. With 3,830 gallons of fuel and a 30-knot cruise, you're looking at roughly 400 nautical miles between fill-ups. That's Miami to the Abacos, Fort Lauderdale to Key West and back, or a fast run from Monaco to Portofino with reserves. It's enough for how most owners actually use their yachts, but if your dream is crossing the Atlantic under your own power, you'll want more tankage or a slower hull.
Design and Layout: Space Without Compromise
Pershing and Fulvio De Simoni solved a problem most builders ignore: how to give a 115-foot yacht the outdoor living area of a much larger boat without turning it into a barge. The answer is the transformer platform and the beach club. The platform extends hydraulically from the transom, creating a stable swim deck at water level. Flanking it are two hydraulic wings that fold up to open the entire transom. Above, the cockpit is raised and deep, with a full wet bar, grill station, and dining for eight. The result is 1,780 square feet of connected outdoor space across two levels, all within 10 feet of the water.
The layout inside is equally deliberate. The full-beam owner's suite sits amidships where motion is minimal. The bathroom is split into two separate sections, each with its own head and sink, connected by a walk-through shower large enough for two. Four additional guest cabins fill the lower deck, all ensuite, all with standing headroom that exceeds six feet. One of the twin cabins can be swapped for a private lounge if you'd rather have a social space than maximum berths.
The main deck saloon is wide enough to fit a side-opening balcony without feeling like a hallway. When the balcony drops and the glass doors slide open, you get a cross-deck connection from the interior to the teak side deck to the water. It's the kind of flow that makes a boat feel twice its size when you're hosting.
Performance: Freedom, Not Just Speed
The GTX116 offers two engine packages. The standard setup is triple MAN V12-1800s at 1,800 horsepower each, good for 32 to 33 knots flat out. The optional package upgrades to triple MAN V12-2000s at 2,000 horsepower each, pushing top speed to 35 knots and cruise to 29.5 knots. Both configurations use Kongsberg Kamewa waterjets, which give you shallow-draft access, tight turning radius, and joystick control at low speeds.
The performance matters because it changes how you use the boat. A 30-knot cruise means you can leave Fort Lauderdale at 8 a.m. and anchor in Bimini by 10:30 a.m. It means you can run from Naples to Capri in under three hours. It means you're not planning your weekends around transit time. The waterjets also mean you can tuck into anchorages with four-foot-nine-inch draft that would be off-limits to most yachts this size.
The trade-off is fuel consumption. At 30 knots, you're burning roughly 10 gallons per nautical mile. That's 400 nautical miles on 3,830 gallons, or about 13 hours of running time. For comparison, a displacement yacht this size might carry 5,000 gallons and cruise at 10 knots for 2,000 nautical miles. The GTX116 is optimized for fast, frequent trips, not transoceanic passages.
Ownership: Crew vs. Owner-Operator
The GTX116 sits in an interesting space. It's large enough to justify full-time crew, with dedicated quarters for five aft of the engine room. But it's also manageable enough for an experienced owner-operator to handle with part-time help. The lower helm is the primary driving position, with twin throttles, joystick control, and a bow thruster all within easy reach. The single-piece windscreen gives you unobstructed sightlines forward. Docking is straightforward with the joystick and waterjets.
If you're running with crew, expect annual operating costs in the range of $800,000 to $1.2 million, including crew salaries, insurance, maintenance, dockage, and fuel for moderate use. That's assuming a captain, engineer, chef, and two deckhands. If you're owner-operating with occasional crew for longer trips, you can cut that figure in half, though you'll still need to budget for insurance, maintenance, and slip fees at major marinas.
Maintenance on the MAN engines is predictable. Expect service intervals every 500 hours, with major overhauls around 8,000 hours. The waterjets require annual inspections and impeller replacements every few years depending on use. The hydraulic systems for the transformer platform, balcony, and beach club wings need regular checks, but Pershing's engineering is solid and parts availability through the Ferretti Group network is strong.
Where to Start
If the GTX116 fits your use case, the next step is a sea trial. The boat drives differently than a displacement yacht, and you need to feel the waterjets respond before you commit. Pershing dealers can arrange trials on existing inventory or demo boats. Expect a 12 to 18-month build time for a new order, with significant customization available in layout, finishes, and systems.
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