Bilgin 173

• 52.7 m LOA (173 ft), 9.25 m beam, 499 GT
• First hull Giaola-Lu due 2027, named for the owner's earlier Bilgin
• Second hull NB90 sold April 2026, delivery scheduled March 2028
• First Bilgin new build sale concluded through Edmiston
• Top speed 16 knots, range 4,500 nm at 10 knots
• 12 guests in 6 suites, displacement steel hull with aluminium superstructure
• Exterior and naval architecture by Unique Yacht Design, interior by Hot Lab

The 500 GT game, played at 53 metres

Gross tonnage, the measure of internal volume, drives crewing, class and compliance thresholds, and 500 GT is the line every owner feels in operating cost. Above it, minimum manning rises, surveys multiply and flag and port obligations tighten, so a certified 499 GT is worth real money every operating year. The 173 packs a 52.7 metre yacht underneath it at 499 GT, stretching the approach Bilgin proved on the 163 and 170 to its practical limit.

The platform logic is straightforward. Naval architecture, structure and systems carry over from hulls already built and debugged, so the yard sells certainty on schedule and engineering while each owner concentrates on layout, finish and the way the boat will actually be used.

A returning name on the first hull

The first 173 will be called Giaola-Lu, a name Bilgin followers will recognise. The original Giaola-Lu was the yard's 46.8 metre delivered in 2017, and her owner has come back to the same builder for a larger boat carrying the same name, after running the first one for the better part of a decade.

In an industry where repeat custom is the strongest reference available, a returning name on hull one is the best endorsement a new series can get. Hull one is scheduled for 2027 and carries the series specification, a 9.25 metre beam, 2.6 metre draft and accommodation for twelve guests in six suites.

The first hull carries a returning owner's name, the second sold two years before delivery.

NB90 and the Edmiston milestone

The second hull, NB90, was sold in April 2026, the yard's first new build sales agreement concluded with Edmiston. The buyer is American, intends to run the yacht in active charter, and takes delivery on a schedule the parties have put at March 2028.

A charter oriented American buyer is a telling signature. Sub-500 GT, six stateroom, long range yachts are the backbone of the premium charter fleet, and an owner choosing a Bilgin platform for a commercial program has done the arithmetic on build cost against charter revenue and liked the answer. The sale also puts a delivery marker on the calendar, March 2028, that the yard has every commercial incentive to hit in front of its newest brokerage partner.

Design continuity with Unique and Hot Lab

Like every current Bilgin series, the 173 pairs Unique Yacht Design on naval architecture and exterior with Hot Lab on the interior. The look extends the sculpted bow and athletic sheer introduced on the 170, drawn out over a longer hull with more length at the waterline.

Published figures show a 16 knot top speed, a 10 knot cruise and 4,500 nautical miles of range, on a displacement steel hull with aluminium superstructure. The range is quoted at the 10 knot cruise, the pace at which displacement hulls of this size are actually moved between seasons. These are passage making numbers, built for Mediterranean summers, Caribbean winters and the crossings between on her own keel.

Where the 173 sits for a buyer

At 52.7 metres and 499 GT the 173 enters the most contested segment in yachting, where established Italian and northern European yards defend the volume end of the custom market. Bilgin's answer is custom yard treatment on a proven platform, from the builder whose 80 metre trilogy retired the question of Turkish flagship capability.

With hull two sold roughly two years before its delivery and hull one building for a repeat client, the series opened with an order book already in place. Trade press counts seven yachts across the combined 163, 170 and 173 order book, and every one of them deepens the pool of crew experience, parts and yard knowledge the 173 will draw on. For a prospective owner, that means validated demand on the way in and a deeper market on the way out.

Pour qui: An owner, or an owner with charter ambitions, who wants maximum sub-500 GT volume on a platform two committed buyers have already underwritten.