From her needle-like, gold-leafed bowsprit, to her rounded, oh-so-elegant fantail stern, Nadan oozes Art Deco-era style and elegance. Back in the ’20s and ’30s, billionaire banking tycoon J. P. Morgan built a legendary series of yachts just like her, all named Corsair.
“There’s not a harbor or port in the world where Nadan wouldn’t spin heads and drop jaws,” Captain Andy Lytle told Robb Report during a tour of the yacht at this year’s Palm Beach International Boat Show.
Originally named Sycara IV, she was built in 2009 for New York auto dealership mogul Ray Catena by the Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Those sleek, Art Deco lines came off the drawing board of famed American sailboat designer Bruce King, with a Roaring Twenties-style interior full of Lalique glass and Madrone burlwood paneling by UK superyacht designer Ken Freivokh.
The yacht was originally designed to cruise the low-bridge canals and rivers of the Eastern Seaboard, so she was given a slightly-unusual low-profile look. That changed when the yacht was sold in 2017 and renamed Nadan.
The new buyer, automotive engineer and philanthropist Klaus Bytzek reportedly wasn’t happy with the low-profile look—he’s said to have likened the lines to a wedding cake lacking a top layer—so he sent it to Fort Lauderdale for a refit.
Bytzek commissioned Freivokh to add a tall-windowed, varnished wood “wheelhouse” on the top deck to give the yacht back its elegant proportions and regain a sense of balance. But instead of making it a proper wheelhouse with a wheel, Bytzek turned it into his “man cave”—though that 2000s term is less apt than what eventually looked like Jay Gatsby’s den.
Bytzek filled it with a velvet sofa, comfy side chairs, a full-width desk with elegant Tiffany lamps, and in a single modern nod, a big-screen TV. “It’s just the greatest place to get away from it all, enjoy some privacy and personal space away from guests,” says Lytle.
Bytzek, who kept Nadan at his private Bahamian island, B.B.’s Cay, listed the yacht in early 2021 with a $28.2 million asking price. Interestingly, he owned a second yacht, the 121-foot 1958 steel cruiser Montreval, which he listed at the same time. Whichever found a buyer first, he said, he would sell and keep the other. Nadan sold first.
Nadan’s new custodian became fellow Bahamian island owner, Quantlab Financial co-founder, and prolific yacht collector Wilbur “Ed” Bosarge Jr. It joined Bosarge’s spectacular 180-foot, black-hulled custom sailing yacht Marie.
“Nadan is a yacht that has had three great owners who’ve had the passion and the means to maintain her in perfect condition,” says Edmiston yacht brokerage director, Bruce Brakenhoff.
Why is Bosarge selling? Brakenhoff explains the famous beret-wearing yachtsman has a new, bigger sailboat under construction, and three yachts is one too many. “Right now, she’s in magnificent condition with a turnkey crew, and ready to go,” he added.
With a draft of just six feet, Nadan is perfectly suited to cruising the skinny waters of the Bahamas where she’s been spending the winter months, before typically heading north to Maine for the summer.
Powered by a pair of 600-horsepower Caterpillar C18 diesels, the all-aluminum vessel has a friendly cruise speed of around 12 knots, with a top end of 14. With its 4,300-gallon fuel capacity, range is around 2,400 nautical miles at 10 knots.
“She has a fairly slender hull—the beam is just 26 feet—but she moves through the water beautifully, creating less than a foot of wake at cruising speed,” says Lytle. “When she was built, there was a real focus on reducing noise and vibration. She’s eerily quiet on the move.”
That relatively narrow hull does mean compromises when it comes to interior space, compared to more modern designs, though Lytle likens the interior to that of a classic sailing yacht. The cozy main salon features Art Deco-style sofas, and a stylish bar with ’20s-style chrome stools. That leads into a formal, wood-paneled dining room. Glass doors open out on to a drop-down terrace that’s perfect for a post-dinner Old Fashioned.
On this level is also the owner’s suite, with its king-sized bed, elegant cabinetry and spacious bathroom. One level below is an equally grand VIP stateroom plus two twin-berth cabins. Nadan runs with a crew of seven.
Outside entertaining spaces include a sizable aft deck with twin U-shaped lounges under shade, plus a lovely wraparound sofa above the fantail stern. On the top deck are sunpads in front of the new wheelhouse, and a hot tub, dining table, bar and outdoor kitchen behind.
Who will be the next owner? “Likely someone who buys with their heart rather than their head,” says Brakenhoff. “Someone maybe making the move from sail to power. But it will be someone looking for a unique, very special yacht.” The vessel is listed with Edmiston for $22.5 million.
Click here to see more images of Nadan.