Kensho
| LOA 75.2 m, gross tonnage 1,989 GT | |
| Steel hull with aluminium superstructure, four decks | |
| Diesel-electric propulsion, twin Veth azimuth drives, five variable-speed generators | |
| Top speed 15.9 knots, range about 4,500 nm at 13 knots | |
| 16 guests in 8 cabins, crew of about 23 | |
| Interior by Jouin Manku, exterior by Azure Yacht Design with archineers.berlin | |
| Motor Yacht of the Year, World Superyacht Awards 2023 | |
| Delivered July 2022 |
The build that changed the brand
Kensho left the Marina di Carrara sheds in July 2022 as the most ambitious yacht Admiral had ever delivered, a 75.2 metre, 1,989 GT displacement yacht in steel and aluminium across four decks. Her name comes from a Zen term for a first glimpse of one's true nature, and the owner ran the project with that idea in mind, assembling a design team from outside yachting and asking the yard to build around their thinking instead of the industry's habits.
The results were recognised almost immediately. In 2023 Kensho was named Motor Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards, and she took Best Interior Design for motor yachts of 500 GT and above at the Boat International Design and Innovation Awards. Six major trophies in a single season is rare for any yard, and for an Italian builder outside the usual shortlist it was a statement heard across the market.
An interior by Jouin Manku
The interior came from Jouin Manku, the Paris studio of Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku, best known for hospitality work with Alain Ducasse. Kensho was their first yacht, and it reads that way in the best sense. Spaces flow in curves, materials are handled with a restaurateur's sense of atmosphere, and a sculptural staircase and lift core links the decks like the centrepiece of a private hotel.
The owner's accommodation is a full-beam suite with a bathtub cut from Carrara marble, quarried within sight of the yard that built the hull. Guest accommodation runs to eight cabins for sixteen, looked after by a crew of around twenty three. The beach club opens to an aft-facing pool, and the exterior styling, by Azure Yacht Design with archineers.berlin, wraps it all in soft curved glass and a blue-green metallic hull colour developed for the boat and named after her.
Kensho is the hull that put Marina di Carrara on the same shortlist as the Dutch and German yards.
Quiet, clean running
Under the waterline Kensho is as unconventional as she is above it. Propulsion is diesel-electric, with two Veth permanent-magnet azimuth drives fed by five variable-speed generators, so the boat makes exactly the power she needs at any moment and no more. The hull was drawn to minimise resistance around the azimuth pods, with retractable stabilisation flaps in place of conventional fins, and the whole package was designed to the ECO notation of the classification societies.
Performance is genuinely useful for a yacht of this volume. Top speed is 15.9 knots, cruising pace sits around 13.6 knots, and range runs to roughly 4,500 nautical miles at 13 knots, enough to cross the Atlantic in comfort. More telling for life on board is the silence. Electric pods and distributed generation mean vibration levels a shaft-drive yacht cannot match, which owners tend to value more with every season they live with it.
Living on board
Kensho was conceived for long stays on board, and the layout shows it. Sixteen guests spread across eight cabins, with the owner's deck arranged for privacy and the main deck given over to social space. A helipad handles arrivals, a lift connects the decks, and the wellness and beach club areas at the waterline are scaled like those of a considerably larger yacht.
The exterior decks carry the same thinking. Curved glass bulwarks keep sightlines open from the interior, terraces step down towards the water, and the aft pool anchors a beach club that functions as the social heart of the boat at anchor. It is a yacht arranged around how a family actually uses a 75 metre platform in the Mediterranean summer, and charter-style show spaces were never the point.
The reference Admiral
For a prospective Admiral client, Kensho matters less as an individual boat than as proof of capability. She demonstrated that Marina di Carrara can deliver a fully custom, technically novel 2,000 GT yacht to a standard that wins against the best of the Netherlands and Germany, and do it with a first-time yacht design studio on board. That is precisely the risk profile a custom buyer needs to see retired before signing.
She also anchors the brand's value story. Kensho has since appeared on the brokerage market with a reported asking price around EUR 124.5 million, and her award record travels with her. Owners considering the GC-Force line or an ultra-custom project will find that every conversation with the yard eventually returns to this boat, and with reason. She is the standard the rest of the fleet is now measured against.
Questions owners ask
How big is the Admiral Kensho?
LOA 75.2 m, gross tonnage 1,989 GT. Steel hull with aluminium superstructure, four decks.
What does the Admiral Kensho cost?
Reported on the brokerage market with an asking price around EUR 124.5 million in published listings. The original build cost was never disclosed.
Who is the Admiral Kensho for?
The owner who wants a full-custom Italian flagship with award-grade design credentials and a proven low-emission engineering package, and who values quiet running over headline speed.
Who it is for: The owner who wants a full-custom Italian flagship with award-grade design credentials and a proven low-emission engineering package, and who values quiet running over headline speed.
Guide price: Reported on the brokerage market with an asking price around EUR 124.5 million in published listings. The original build cost was never disclosed.