The distinction between owners and crew is as stark as night and day. One lives the dream, the other facilitates it. When tech entrepreneur Aaron Fidler bought his 136-foot (41.4-meter) Palmer Johnson AK Royalty in 2022, he bridged the gap, going from chief engineer to superyacht owner in 15 years.

“I had quick career progression as crew and traveled the world,” Fidler says, his mirrored sunglasses glinting under the Dubai sun. “But I soon realized I didn’t want to be scrubbing decks on somebody else’s boat. I wanted my own.”

We’re sitting on the aft deck, dining on roasted sea bass, ceviche and finely sliced meat that we grill ourselves on hot stones. The spread has been prepared by newly hired chef Luca Napoleone, whose roster of clients includes the royal family of Abu Dhabi. The boat is anchored in front of Palm Jumeirah, with the Ain Dubai—the world’s highest observation wheel—on the horizon. Yet the biggest attraction is AK Royalty’s 24-karat, gold-dust exterior paint job, which Fidler says took “many months and a lot of money” to get right. Twinned with personal watercraft and Seabobs in matching sparkling gold livery, the yacht makes quite the statement, even in the UAE.

“We have one sheikh who loves to throw parties on board, and hotels pull up alongside in their tenders asking, ‘How much to charter the gold yacht?’” he says with a laugh. “Plus, when the price of gold goes up, the yacht’s value goes up, too.”

For Fidler, who also owns a gold Lamborghini, it’s all part of a master marketing plan. Since entering the charter market in December 2023, AK Royalty has completed 20 bookings (including day charters) through its management company, Burgess, and is set to appear in an upcoming Bollywood film.

It’s not exactly what the Perth, Australia, native thought he’d end up doing as he studied computer electronics in the 1990s, when “technology was growing so fast that by the time I finished school, my knowledge was obsolete,” he says. Keen to avoid a career in mining, he set off backpacking around the world, living in the Amazon jungle, Chile’s Atacama Desert and Europe.

He befriended a few yachties in South America who advised him to fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he joined a yachting agency and landed a job as a deckhand aboard the 170-foot (52-meter) Feadship Solemates. A year later, he caught the attention of an American owner who was building the 174-foot (53-meter) Oceanfast Sea Bowld in Fidler’s hometown. He joined the build, and ultimately cruised the Indian Ocean, the South Pacific and the Panama Canal before moving to the 164-foot (50-meter) Delta Happy Days for two years as chief engineer.

He had soon clocked enough sea miles to circumnavigate three times, though crew life had run its course.

“I discovered that shore-power communications systems were really poor, so I developed a circuit that improved connections, and went to China to figure out how to make it,” he says. “I spent $100,000 producing a telephone cable that, by the time I launched it, it was superseded by mobile phone technology. But, importantly, I’d learned how to manufacture products in China.”

He co-founded Furrion a year later with his brother Matt, also a superyacht marine engineer. The company supplied technology to the marine, RV and home sectors that meshed superyacht style with transformer capability. Outlandish design concepts included an RV with a helicopter on a roof that lifts, twists and lowers inside the back bedroom during transport. In parallel, sister company Furrion Exo-Bionics manufactured an exoskeleton that’s 15 feet tall and battery powered, and can run up to 20 miles per hour under control of an onboard human, similar to in the blockbuster film Avatar.

In 2019, they brought what they’d learned back to the yachting industry. The 78-foot (24-meter) Numarine 78HTS Adonis had a Furrion AI concierge system named Angel that controlled audio, video and a smart galley, and that advised guests what to wear. It also provided weather warnings and onboard systems alerts, and it could fly the yacht’s drone.

“I paid myself $35,000 a year for 10 years and just focused on growing the company,” Fidler says. “My biggest drive throughout those years of sacrifice and hard work was to have my own boat.”

By the time he sold the company in 2021, Furrion had an annual turnover of $350 million. Not long after, Fidler bought his yacht.

With a golden tan to match his laid-back Aussie temperament, he’s in his element aboard AK Royalty.

“I’d always dreamed of owning a Palmer Johnson,” he says. “I think they’re the most beautiful, sexiest boats. It’s a shallow-draft, go-fast explorer that looks cool and has one deck space, so guests aren’t socializing between different levels.”

House music pumps out from speakers as a pink inflatable flamingo bobs alongside the yacht’s jellyfish pool and 33-foot (10-meter) slide. “It’s all about creating that party atmosphere,” he says, adding that he kitted out the yacht with “every toy imaginable,” including a dive compressor, a 12-person floating trampoline, a hot tub and an outdoor cinema.

Before all the fun came some serious work. Originally named Plus Too and built in 2009, the yacht had to be shipped from France to Dubai, where Fidler lives with his wife, Ksenia. He says he spent a year “and many millions” refitting it. He overhauled the engineering systems, upgraded the air conditioning, and installed backup systems for exploring remote regions.

All eight crew, from the deckhand to the chief engineer, are qualified captains. They are led by Chilean-born Capt. Pedro Argote, who has spent half his 30-year yachting career in the service of the Dubai royal family.

The Fendi-themed interior, with mirrored ceilings and an acrylic full-size bathtub, is designed by Ksenia, whose fashion label the yacht is named after. The only thing missing is Furrion’s AI technology, which requires a full-time software engineer on board to run it. “The last thing I want is to be working,” Fidler says. “This time, I’m here to enjoy the boat.”

Last November, the family cruised to Oman to explore the Arabian Gulf. They had hoped to head from there to the Red Sea, but instability in the area forced a cancellation. It’s a temporary delay, as far as Fidler is concerned.

“I installed an electromagnetic shark deterrent system around the whole boat, because we don’t want to take any risks when we do eventually get to the Red Sea,” he says. And anti-piracy precautions? “A 35-knot top speed,” he says, “so we can outrun them.” 

This article was originally published in the Summer 2024 issue.