Mr. Jamie Welch

More than 820 such megayachts are now under construction, according to Jamie Welch, the editor of Yachts International.That's just a 3 percent increase over last year, he said, but a 58 percent increase since 2002.

One reason for the growth is that larger boats are now being churned out on production lines.Baby boomers and a large number of young wealthy Russian entrepreneurs "are coming on the scene, and they want their yachts right now," Mr. Welch said, in contrast to traditional yachters who wanted their boats customized, much like their mansions on land.

Given the numbers, a problem has emerged in recent years: finding a place to tie up giant yachts.Older marinas cannot accommodate the big boats or their needs for electricity, fuel and waste disposal.

Developers have caught on to the demand, and Mr. Welch said he sees, through announcements and advertising, three or four new marinas popping up every month, especially in the Caribbean, Central America and Dubai.

The burgeoning number of "small" super yachts led to the introduction of the term Giga Yacht, first used in print, sardonically, by Yachts International Magazine Editor Jamie Welch in September 2004, noting that there is yet room for "Tera" and still larger metric prefixes.

--Jamie WelchYachts International Magazine

Jamie Welch, Yachts International Magazine

Editor-in-Chief: Jamie Welch - Jamie@yachtsmagazinegroup.com

"Everybody is moving to building on spec," said Jamie Welch, editor of Yachts International magazine.