For yachting enthusiasts, there is perhaps no more highly anticipated event than that held at downtown West Palm Beach. Known as the playground for high society, the area in South Florida draws an affluent crowd seeking the very best of leisure that money can buy. What better setting, then, for one of the most prestigious boat shows in the United States?

Attracting more than 55,000 attendees, the Palm Beach International Boat Show is a five-day event, this year with an exclusive preview day to accommodate the growing number of visitors and exhibitors. One boatbuilder that always draws a crowd is the Swedish luxury company J Craft, having the most prominent stand at the show. Making its full Palm Beach boat show debut back in 2023, J Craft was listed by the Robb Report as one of the most exciting new yachts exhibited and it’s clear to see why. Unlike the row upon row of white vessels made from composite materials, the J Craft Torpedo emanates old-school character, expressing the type of Riviera romance that works whether you are in the South of France or Florida. Cosseting leather, teak and high-gloss mahogany are just a taste of what distinguishes the Torpedo from the other 800 boats on show this year.

Much of this is down to the craftsmanship that goes into each J Craft vessel. Hand-built on Sweden’s Baltic Sea island of Gotland, J Craft’s Torpedoes feature cultivated mahogany veneer seamlessly blended with the most cutting-edge technology: a fully recyclable, vacuum-infused, fibreglass hull and deck, a rudderless Volvo Penta IPS pod system, complete with joystick for close-quarter, effortless manoeuvring and smooth cruising, touchscreen controls, a modular radar, dynamic positioning systems, gyroscopic stabilisers and even remote steering. It all adds up to a seafaring vessel enabling the sort of navigation of the open water that J Craft’s Viking ancestors would approve of. With the Torpedo’s open-sea certification, crossings from Miami to the Bahamas, St Tropez to Sardinia, Corsica to Mallorca and Hong Kong to Hainan are all well within range.

On display now, the J Craft exhibit includes the J Craft Torpedo Aquila III, its most advanced Torpedo yet, as well as the J Craft Torpedo Natalia, which has undergone a complete refit by J Craft’s new US service partner Hinckley Yachts, appointed to take care of all of the Swedish firm’s aftercare and warranties in the USA. Also on preview at Palm Beach is J Craft’s new collaboration with Dunhill: a bespoke, modular drinks cabinet/trunk made from leather, that can slot into your Torpedo, your car or, indeed, your home. It’s ingenious and luxurious and speaks of the British firm’s origins as a maker of engineered accessories for the early motorists of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. 

This is by no means the boatmaker’s first collaboration with world-class designers. J Craft’s new partnership with Italian textile house Fortuny means owners can enjoy custom handwoven fabrics created by leading interior designers, such as Sarah Magness, who will work alongside the brand.

A bespoke approach is, after all, a key part of J Craft’s philosophy. Each boat is unique, having been handmade and custom-specced by its owner. With only two boats produced a year, the result is a yacht created to a superior level of artistry and craftsmanship and with passion by the small, handpicked workforce in Gotland, Sweden. 

The Palm Beach International Boat Show runs until 23 March, Flagler Drive; j-craftboats.com