In selecting the winner of the coveted Motor Yacht of the Year award, the judges were faced with the unenviable task of choosing a single yacht from eight individual winners in the Semi-Displacement and Displacement Motor Yacht classes. Making this choice is not just a matter of choosing the largest yacht, nor the yacht that won her class by the biggest margin, as judges are also expected to consider how each of these boats might have improved the design, construction and the look of future yacht generations.

After much debate, the secret ballot revealedKenshō   - Japanese for "to see one's true nature" - to be the winner by a good margin, and while many factors influenced this decision, it was her owner-driven attributes that tipped the scales. In his quest to create a vessel that would stand out from the crowd, the owner toured around 100 of the world's most famous yachts, listing the attributes he particularly admired. High beachheads, soothing room volumes, minimal side decks and no main salon topped the resulting list presented to her designers, Netherlands-based Azure and archineers. Berlin based in Germany, who took responsibility for naval architecture and exterior design. Paris-based design studio Jouin Manku, meanwhile, crafted its stunning interiors from a palette of soft natural hues in leather, teak, metal and glass. Added to her more visual attributes, Kenshō's Veth twin azimuth drive diesel-electric propulsion system, driven by Danfoss electric motors that draw the exact power required from five variable speed generators, was the icing on the cake for this stunning yacht , which surely stands out from the crowd while reflecting the "true nature" of its owner.