Pearl 82 Yacht Review

Pearl Motor Yachts is a boutique British marque that seems to weather the slings and arrows of economic fortune with a lot less effort than many of its bigger rivals. New models are introduced every year or two, and they never fail to make a splash at the Fall shows. The company delivered 13 boats in 2024, including three examples of its latest model, the 82.

Having celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024, Pearl must credit some of its success to an unusual and somewhat complicated manufacturing and business structure that nonetheless seems to work: The boats are constructed, engineered and sea-trialed in Xiamen, China and only the final fit-out takes place in the UK. Customers come to Pearl looking for character, and maybe a sense of individuality, and are seldom disappointed. And what seems unusual, particularly for a small production builder, is a commitment to innovation.

Along with all recent Pearl models, the interior of this new 82, which I inspected at the recent Cannes show, has been beautifully styled by the London studio of Kelly Hoppen. Three schemes are offered, dubbed Indulgence, Luxury and Modern. It will probably come as no surprise that Indulgence has proved the most popular so far, and it was this motif that graced our first off the line test boat. In spite of the name it is really quite serious-looking; cool and grey and grown-up, but with plenty of tonal contrast in the veneers and upholstery. Sober it might be called, but it’s certainly not gloomy. The 82 has simply enormous windows, especially on the main deck, where the bulwarks are see-through to improve the views. A tinted mirror in the deckhead over the salon seating adds to the sense of space imparted by all that daylight. It’s an impressive space.

But it’s not the decor that is the most interesting thing about the 82’s interior. Stroll forward along the corridor from the deck salon and you immediately feel like you have moved aboard a bigger yacht. Steps lead down from the salon to the lower deck, which is not unusual, but then more steps lead up, taking you to the raised pilothouse. Pearl claims this arrangement to be a unique feature for a yacht of this size.

There’s more. Carry on forward and you’ll find yourself in the full-beam master stateroom, an extraordinarily successful space, with generous headroom, a big bed, sofas and a chest of drawers, a big walk-in closet and an excellent toilet and shower compartment. With windows on three sides, it feels bright and luxuriously roomy. You’ll even find a sliding door forward for access to the foredeck, which is fitted out with sunbeds and seating. It is a tour de force for an 82-footer.

All this size of course means that there is space for four big guest en suites down on the lower deck, which are arranged with two doubles and two twins. Headroom down here is the same 6 feet 6 inches that you find on the main deck, and even the single beds are a good size. Stowage hasn’t been forgotten—in fact the twin cabins do slightly better in this department than the doubles, but they all have a good mix of hanging space, drawers and bin lockers. The twin-berth cabins have additional drop-down Pullman berths. The two crew cabins are situated between the accommodations and the machinery space.

Along with a choice of interior schemes, you also get a choice of engines with the 82, all MAN V12s on V-drive transmissions, ranging from 1650s up to the twin 2000s in our test machine. Speeds of 30-plus knots were apparently achieved during the yard trials, but on our day, with both fuel and water tanks reading over 80 percent and the usual intimate Cannes boat show crowd of 16 people on board, she topped out at just over 26 knots. Nobody in their right mind goes anywhere on a boat like this at full throttle, of course, and in fact 26 knots felt just fine, because it means fast and relatively economical cruising speeds of around 20 to 23 knots. A fuel capacity of just over 1,600 gallons is lighter than most of the 82’s competitors, and this is reflected in her cruising range, which allowing for a ten percent reserve is barely 200 nautical miles at 22 knots.

With naval architecture by Bill Dixon, it was no surprise to find that the 82 handled well during our trial, was positive and sure-footed in turns and immediately responsive to throttle inputs. The MANs are impressively torquey, and the hull copes with the power without any fuss. There was a bit of breeze on our test evening, which had raised a slight chop of just two to three feet, but nothing to disturb a 70-ton boat packing 4,000 horsepower. She barely noticed it.

The choices don’t end with the engine options. There’s a decision to make regarding the aft deck, too, which can be configured with a sunbed and sofa and a couple of occasional tables, as seen on this first 82, or with a table and two pivoting bench seats. They call them the Veranda and the Riviera layouts, and whichever one you opt for won’t make any difference to what lies beneath—a garage big enough to accommodate a Williams 345 jetRIB and a personal watercraft.

Another excellent feature common to both layouts is the drop-down bulwarks on each side, which extend the area of the cockpit and give it the luxurious feel of a private terrace over the sea. If that isn’t enough for you, the flybridge is enormous, its after section spreading across the full beam of the yacht.

True to form, Pearl’s latest made a splash at all the boat shows it attended. It has character and individuality in spades, but also that all-important extra quality, innovation. With its main-deck master stateroom and raised pilothouse design, it genuinely offers a new concept for yachts of this class. Pearl may be small, but this is a company that has become accustomed to punching above its weight.

Pearl 82 Specifications:

LOA: 83’0”
Beam: 20’10”
Draft: 6’3”
Disp: 172,839 lb. (full load)
Fuel: 1,611 gal.
Water: 370 gal.
Power: 2/1,650-hp or 2,000-hp MAN

This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/cruisers/pearl-82-yacht-review