Siren

Siren came out of the German Nobiskrug yard in 2008, with both the exterior and the interior by Newcruise, the studio behind Triple Seven. Her owners loved being outdoors and asked for rooms that open onto the decks rather than shut them out, and that brief still defines her after a refit in 2018. Inside, the mood comes from timber in three tones, from near-black oak to pale limed maple and grey-streaked zebrano, softened by silk-and-wool rugs knotted by hand.

What matters most to a charter group is how flexible the cabins are. All six can be made up as doubles, which is rarer than it sounds on a boat of this size and saves the usual negotiation over who ends up in twin beds. The owner's suite claims nearly one third of the main deck: it has a balcony that folds down over the sea, separate bathrooms with Lalique fittings and a study that turns into an extra bedroom for a small child. Four cabins sit on the lower deck and one more on the bridge deck, all reached by a lift.

The social spaces follow the outdoor theme. Tall windows let a round bar look straight out to the aft deck; films can be watched indoors one level up, on the bridge deck; and the sun deck combines a crow's nest, a round space where people tan by day and dance at night, and a big screen for open-air films. Down at the waterline, a shaded gym opens straight onto the sea, with a jellyfish-proof pool that the crew can set up alongside.

She suits six couples travelling together, or a family that wants a proper suite for the parents and a cot space within reach. Groups looking for a large swimming pool on deck or a dedicated spa should look elsewhere, as should anyone set on the latest in yacht design: Siren is elegant and well kept, but her strength is space and light rather than novelty. Summers take her along the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic, winters to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.