A Handmade J Craft Torpedo Is The Ultimate Collectible

Conditions were perfect for my test drive of the 42-foot-long J Craft Torpedo on the waters around Monaco. The sun was shining. Superyachts worth billions of dollars had gathered in the principality for the annual Monaco Yacht Show. J Craft’s owner Radenko Milakovic (who was quick to defer all attention away from himself to the skilled craftspeople who are responsible for building these jaw-droppingly gorgeous runabouts on the small Swedish island of Gotland) had kindly offered to take me for a spin.

And since I just so happened to be wearing my blue velvet blazer for the occasion, I felt a bit like James Bond. But it wasn’t until gave the Torpedo full-throttle, and started carving turns through one of the most famous superyacht anchorages in the world, that I realized this luscious, hand-built runabout is way more than just another pretty boat.

In fact, I can say from firsthand experience, it’s hard to find another design that combines the elegance, craftmanship, comfort, power, control, seaworthiness and the almost mystical X-factor that J Craft has. The hull is designed to provide both stability and performance—in addition to move-star good looks of course. And each J Craft features cutting edge design and state-of-the-art technology that includes joystick control to make docking and tight-quarters maneuvering easy.

While J Craft’s interiors have always featured the finest leathers and materials, its latest collaboration with the storied Venetian textile house Fortuny (whose impossibly intricate fabrics have draped the grandest interiors for more than a century) takes exclusivity to a whole new level. Introduced by interior designer Sarah Magness of Studio Magness, this partnership is more than a meeting of two heritage brands — it is a study in the enduring power of craftsmanship, of handwork that transcends time, trends and even terrain.

For Magness, a designer known for her reverence for history and deep understanding of materials, bringing Fortuny into the world of high-end yacht design was a natural extension of both brands’ shared ethos.

“J Craft is rooted in the artistry of boat building; Fortuny in the artistry of textile making,” she explains. “Both require patience, precision and an obsessive dedication to craft. The two coming together was inevitable.”

This collaboration, which sees Fortuny’s signature fabrics reimagined for life at sea, is not just about aesthetics — it is about reviving a lost sensibility, one where true luxury is measured not by excess but by expertise. It also signals a broader shift: an embrace of slow luxury, where brands steeped in tradition continue to find relevance through reinvention.

As one of the lucky ones who’s been able to test drive 100’s of new boats over the last 20 years or so, I’ve never experienced anything as satisfying or stimulating as the feelings of speed and style that I felt at the helm of the J Craft Torpedo. And you can too at the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show where you can see for yourself that it really belongs in a Bond movie. Or, better still, on your dock at home. If you can afford one.