Pastrovich moves every guest to the main deck for charter yield
A guest-first deck that inverts the hierarchy
The centrepiece of the brief is a layout swap. On X-Shinobi the guest cabins climb to the main deck, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass and given private balconies, while the crew quarters, engine room, tender garage and spa drop to the lower deck. Pastrovich Studio, the Monaco firm led by architect Stefano Pastrovich, offers the accommodation in two settings: two master cabins plus four guest cabins, or one master, two VIP and three guest cabins.
The move is a deliberate rewrite of the wedding-cake profile, the stacked tiers that have defined large motor yachts for a generation. Pastrovich frames it as evolution rather than rejection. "With X-Shinobi, we did not want to deny an iconic typology such as the wedding cake yacht," he said. "We wanted to demonstrate that it can evolve." The studio ties the four hulls together through what it calls control of detail, clarity of line and coherence of proportion.
One design language, four sizes
X-Shinobi is not a single boat but a family of four, drawn at 60, 70, 80 and 190 metres so the same thinking scales from a private cruiser to a boutique platform. The 80-metre model sits at the centre of the study, measuring 2,300 GT with a top speed of 17 knots, a cruising speed of 15.8 knots and a range of 5,700 nautical miles.
Power comes from a diesel-electric system with azimuthing propulsion, and the lower-deck garage is sized for one 10 to 12-metre tender, a 6-metre tender and two jet skis. It is a concept rather than a signed contract, a design study meant to show a buyer what a charter-led plan looks like at each size before a yard and an owner commit.
The brief reads charter first
The reason the cabins moved is commercial. Pastrovich built X-Shinobi around a reading of where the charter market is heading, arguing that guests, not a single owner, increasingly set the standard a large yacht has to meet. Putting every guest cabin on the bright main deck, with the same light and the same balconies, is the physical expression of that idea.
For a buyer, the trade is explicit. The owner gives up the traditional top-of-the-stack owner's hierarchy in return for a boat built to fill weeks and hold its value on the charter market. "The point is not simply to design a beautiful yacht," Pastrovich said, "but to create a platform capable of combining elegance, nautical credibility, quality of life on board and a real charter attitude." X-Shinobi puts that argument on paper. Whether an owner signs for one is the next question.
What is good, and what to watch
Strong points
- A real inversion, not a cosmetic relayoutMoving every guest cabin to the light-filled main deck and pushing crew, engine room and garage below is a genuine break from the wedding-cake convention where the owner's suite sits highest and guests are stacked below it, and it is aimed squarely at a charter guest's experience rather than an owner's hierarchy.
- A documented cruise speed and range for at least one hullThe 80m carries a stated 17-knot top speed, 15.8-knot cruise and 5,700 nm range, giving at least one size in the family a real performance figure rather than only a rendering.
What to watch
- It is a concept with no shipyard attachedNo construction contract, shipyard partner or delivery date has been published for any of the four hulls; this is a design studio's own proposal, not a yacht under build.
- The 190m is a different kind of vessel wearing the same nameAt 28,000 GT with 240 guests across 12 private residences and 82 charter suites, plus a casino and nightclub, the 190m is a small cruise ship, not a scaled-up private yacht - a distinction the 'family spanning 60 to 190 metres' framing can obscure.
Practical detail
| The range | Four hulls: 60m, 70m and 80m private/charter yachts, plus a 190m, 28,000 GT 'boutique cruise' ship with 12 private residences and 82 charter suites for up to 240 guests - a genuinely different vessel type sharing the X-Shinobi name and guest-first deck idea |
|---|---|
| Who said it | Stefano Pastrovich, founder of Pastrovich Studio: 'we did not want to deny an iconic typology such as the wedding cake yacht... we wanted to demonstrate that it can still evolve' |
| Propulsion | Diesel-electric with azimuthing propulsion across the yacht-sized hulls; the 80m is quoted at 17 knots top speed, 15.8 knots cruise and 5,700 nm range. No propulsion figures published for the 190m |
| Reported build cost | The 190m alone is estimated at roughly EUR 12,500 per GT, or about EUR 350 million total - a studio estimate, not a shipyard quote |
| Not publicly known | Any shipyard or construction contract for any of the four hulls, a delivery date, and speed/range figures for the 60m, 70m or 190m |
Questions this story answers
What happened?
Monaco studio Pastrovich has unveiled X-Shinobi, a four-hull concept family spanning 60 to 190 metres that inverts the classic wedding-cake layout. Guest cabins move up to the sunlit main deck while crew, engine room and garage drop below. The bet is a plan that reads as a charter asset first and an owner's retreat second.
What is good about it?
A real inversion, not a cosmetic relayout. Moving every guest cabin to the light-filled main deck and pushing crew, engine room and garage below is a genuine break from the wedding-cake convention where the owner's suite sits highest and guests are stacked below it, and it is aimed squarely at a charter guest's experience rather than an owner's hierarchy.
What should an owner or buyer watch?
It is a concept with no shipyard attached. No construction contract, shipyard partner or delivery date has been published for any of the four hulls; this is a design studio's own proposal, not a yacht under build.
Who reported this?
BOAT International, Superyachts.com, Pastrovich Studio.
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