In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino.

Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts showcases 20 of the Monaco-based Oeino's stellar creations accompanied by text from top yachting author Nick Jeffery, the most respected authority on luxury watercraft. Among the megayachts featured is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state. The nine deck ship cost $200 million to build and has an annual operating budget estimated at $20 million.

Designed for self-sufficient long range cruising, the Octopus contains a wet dock for a 59-ft. tender and an equally large remotely-operated submarine that can descend to 2500 meters, a twin helicopter hangar and two helipads, countless giant antennae and a telescopic sonar, a cinema and music studio. Another Oeino creation featured in the book is the military-looking 233-ft. SKAT, pictured above, built by Lürssen of Bremen, Germany for Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft software engineer and pioneering space tourist. The yacht features an elevator serving all four decks, a gymnasium, matching helicopter, and motorcycles with a special lift.

Billionaire Paul Allen recently did some housecleaning on his 302 ft megayacht, Tatoosh, after 6 crewmembers tested positive for drugs. Tatoosh has been a celebrity favorite and a popular charter yacht. Paul Allen has reportedly laid down the law for crewmembers and charter guests that no drugs whatsoever will be tolerated. Given the fact that the entire yacht could be seized if someone onboard is found in possession of drugs, I think that Paul Allen might be concerned with that.

Via: BYM News

A little while back we wrote about Shadow Boats, boats that cart around the helicopters, speedboats, cars and other toys a megayacht owner needs so the main yacht doesn't get to cluttered. Now the Sunday Times reports that Paul Allen is running out of space on the Octopus. He is looking at the Zein, a the yacht which was where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace spent their honeymoon. It would be a sad end for such a lovely old yacht but the 535,000 euro purchase price makes the Zein a deal.