Aaron Fidler

When tech entrepreneur Aaron Fidler bought his yacht AK Royalty in 2022, he achieved the seemingly impossible by bridging the gap between crew life and superyacht ownership. The former chief engineer had quick career progression as crew, but after three years travelling the world, he found himself wanting more. “I realised I didn’t want to scrub decks on somebody else’s boat. I wanted my own,” he says.

Born in Perth, Australia, Fidler studied computer electronics in the 90s. “Technology was growing at such a rate 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. 

In South America, he met and befriended a few yachties who advised him to fly to Fort Lauderdale and walk the docks. He joined a yachting agency and landed a job as a deckhand aboard a yacht named Solemates, after which he caught the attention of an American owner who had a boat called Sea Bowld under construction in Fidler’s hometown. He joined the build, and once delivered, sailed the Indian Ocean, South Pacific and Panama Canal, before moving to Happy Days for two years as chief engineer.

Time for a change

By this point, Fidler had clocked enough sea miles to circumnavigate the world three times and felt crew life had run its course. With the savings he’d accumulated during his time at sea, and combining his electronic and marine knowledge, he developed a circuit to improve the standard shore power communications systems used by marinas and headed to China to work out how to make it. 

“I spent $100,000 producing a telephone cable that, by the time it launched, was superseded by mobile phone technology,” he says. “But, importantly, I’d learned how to manufacture products in China.”

A year later, he co-founded Furrion with his brother Matt, who is also a marine engineer. The pair began supplying high-end technology to the marine, RV and home sectors that meshes superyacht style with transformer capability. This includes the world’s largest exoskeleton, a 4.5m-tall battery-powered mech named Prosthesis, manufactured by Furrion’s sister company, Furrion Exo-Bionics. It can run up to 20mph and is fully controlled by an onboard human, akin to the robots seen in the film Avatar. 

In 2019, the brothers brought the company’s learnings back to the yachting industry with the boat Adonis, which had the first AI concierge system installed on a yacht. Named Angel, it controlled audio, video, a smart chef’s kitchen and advised guests what to wear. It also provided weather warnings, onboard systems alerts, and could even fly the yacht’s drone. 

“My focus for 10 years was to grow the company,” he says, “but my biggest drive throughout all that hard work and sacrifice was to have my own boat.” When he sold his shares in 2021, Furrion had an annual turnover of $350 million. Fidler bought AK Royalty shortly after.

A boat of one’s own

“I’d always dreamed of owning a yacht from 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.”

Built in 2009, Fidler shipped the yacht (then named Plus Too) from France to Dubai, where he now lives with his wife Ksenia. He spent a year refitting it, including overhauling the engineering systems, upgrading the air conditioning to Gulf standards, and installing backup systems for when exploring remote regions. 

He also gave the yacht a gold exterior paint job with matching livery for the jet skis and seabobs. It makes quite the statement, even in the UAE, and forms part of Fidler’s master marketing plan. AK Royalty has completed more than 20 charters—including day bookings— since entering the charter market in December 2023 with Burgess. It is also due to star in an upcoming Bollywood film.

The only thing missing is Furrion’s AI technology, which requires a full-time software engineer on board to run it, something Fidler is no longer willing to spend his time doing. That’s not to say, of course, that he’s forgotten his years below deck. He recites the value of well looked after, well trained and dedicated crew. In fact, all eight crew aboard AK Royalty, from the deckhand to the chief engineer, are qualified captains, led by Chilean-born Captain Pedro Argote. 

In achieving the ultimate work life balance, Fidler not only paved the way for ambitious crew, but created a blueprint for enjoying the superyacht life.