Vicem Yachts For Sale: A Buyer's Guide to the Turkish Cold-Molded Flagship

Who Builds Vicem Yachts, and Why It Matters

Vicem Yachts was established in 1990 in Tuzla, on Turkey's Sea of Marmara coast, an area with a wooden boatbuilding tradition that predates the modern yacht industry by centuries. The yard's premise was straightforward but not obvious at the time: apply cold-molded, epoxy-saturated mahogany construction — the same family of technique used by high-end custom builders in New England and the UK — to a workforce and cost base that could deliver it at a fraction of the price. Two decades on, that premise is largely why Vicem shows up on serious shortlists: the hulls are built, not merely assembled, and it shows in the fit and finish at a price point where most competitors are working in fiberglass.

The Vicem Line-Up

The range runs roughly from 58 feet up to fully custom commissions well past 100 feet, with the 65, 72, 78, and 88 models forming the core of what typically comes to market. The 78 Classic, used as the reference model in this guide, sits at the point in the range where the semi-custom program is most mature — enough hulls have been built that delivery timelines and systems integration are well understood, while the interior and joinery are still built to the individual owner's brief rather than selected from a fixed configurator.

Construction: Cold-Molded Mahogany vs. Fiberglass Flagships

This is the single biggest thing that separates a Vicem from most of the flagship motoryacht market, and it cuts both ways. The table below is a general comparison, not a spec-for-spec match against any one competitor.

Propulsion: The IPS Question

Vicem was an early adopter of Volvo Penta IPS pod propulsion on flagship-size hulls, and most 72-foot-and-larger models now offer it as standard or a primary option, typically paired against a traditional shaft-drive package for buyers who prioritize long-range, low-rev cruising over close-quarters handling. IPS trades some of the classic trawler's fuel-sipping character for materially easier docking, better fuel economy at cruise speed, and interior volume that would otherwise be lost to shaft alleys and engine room length. For a buyer coming from a traditional displacement trawler, this is worth sea-trialing specifically — the handling difference is larger than the spec sheet suggests.

What Vicem Yachts For Sale Typically Cost

Pricing on the 78 Classic runs roughly $3.4M to $4.9M depending on engine package, joinery species, and electronics/systems specification, with earlier resale hulls trading below new-build pricing and heavily customized or larger models running well above it. Because the resale pool is smaller and more specialist than for mainstream GRP flagships, pricing on used hulls tends to track condition and maintenance history more tightly than age alone — a well-kept ten-year-old hull can out-price a neglected five-year-old one.

Due Diligence for a Cold-Molded Wood Yacht

Before making an offer on any Vicem, three things deserve more attention than they would on a fiberglass flagship: a survey from someone with specific cold-molded wood experience, not just general marine survey credentials; a documented maintenance and moisture-monitoring history for the hull, since epoxy-saturated wood construction is durable but not maintenance-free; and confirmation that your intended home port has a yard capable of servicing the hull type, since not every marina's go-to yard is set up for it. None of these are reasons to avoid a Vicem — they are simply the diligence items that are specific to the construction method rather than generic to any yacht purchase.

Sourcing a Vicem Through Obsidian Helm

Obsidian Helm's Yacht & Jet practice sources Vicem builds and qualifying resale hulls through its brokerage network rather than carrying direct inventory, which means the process starts with a clear brief rather than a fixed listing. A representative 78 Classic configuration is profiled on our Vicem 78 Classic marketplace listing, and buyers weighing a wood-hulled semi-custom flagship against fiberglass alternatives should also read our broader yacht buying guide before shortlisting. For principals ready to move from research to a sourced, vetted shortlist, Obsidian Helm's $4,999 Private Strategy Session scopes the brief, budget, and timeline in a single working session with the Yacht & Jet team.

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