It's been no surprise that several Water Ways readers have quizzed me about a rather conspicuous vessel that was recently berthed at the Waikiki Yacht Club.

We don't see very many 163-foot yachts tied up in the Ala Wai Harbor after all, and especially one with a helicopter strapped to its upper deck.

One of the first questions I was asked was, “;Who owns that boat?”; But unfortunately, that's about the only piece of information I can't provide because large yacht owners often like to maintain their anonymity.

Still, there is plenty of information about the boat from its builder Delta Marine in Seattle that can be shared, beginning with its name—“;Triton”; (the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea).

According to Delta, Triton, with its nearly 32-foot beam and nine-foot draft, was the largest composite carbon fiber laminated hull ever constructed when it was launched in 2004.

The yacht is powered by two Caterpillar 1,000 hp diesel engines that give it a cruising range of 6,000 miles at 13 knots (15 mph). The engines are mounted on shock absorbing cushions to control vibrations at any speed.

Triton's builders have given it other unusual creature comforts to match its world-circling performance, including elevators, wheelchair accessibility and “;child-proofing.”;

“;With four decks of living and entertainment areas,”; Delta notes, “;this yacht has all the features necessary for cruising, deep-sea fishing and exotic reef diving.”;

There is one elevator on board to transport the owner, guests and/or crew from one deck to another, along with the usual ladders and stairs, and another elevator for safe transiting from the flying bridge to the high-perched crow's nest above.

Formal meals may be served on board in the dining area adjacent to the main salon from a galley that includes a large walk-in refrigerator and freezer. Less formality is provided in a tropical designed “;sky lounge”; just aft of the wheelhouse.

Triton's master stateroom consists of a sitting room, a library, an office, his and hers baths and ample closet space for a wardrobe to fit any climate the vessel and its owners may encounter. And the two guest staterooms are nearly as grand.

The yacht's flying bridge is huge, but necessarily so, as it encompasses an eight-stool wet bar, a snack settee and a hot tub.

Triton is equipped with a compressor for filling SCUBA tanks, an easy-in-and-out dive platform at the transom and a bottom-mapping sonar and photography system for planning future dives.

Yachts like Triton—in the 100- to 200-foot range and with prices in the 10s of millions of dollars—are appropriately known as “;mega yachts”; and are found in surprisingly large numbers up and down the U.S. coastlines, in Australian waters and in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas.

But spotting one here is a much more novel event due to Hawaii's relative isolation and its shortage of adequate port facilities.