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BARBADOS—At the top of a spiral staircase lined with scalloped, silver-leaf walls (the banister cost $60,000) is a door accessible by a
fingerprint security system. It opens to an all-white,
2,583-square-foot master suite wrapped in bomb-proof, 44-milimeter
glass. There, a king-sized bed sits on a giant platter that rotates
with the press of a silver button. Another set of buttons rotates the
bed itself. The combination of the rotating bed and the rotating
platter allows limitless angles for watching the sunset, sunrise or the
60-inch plasma TV, which retracts from the ceiling.

And of course, everything's afloat.

In the battle among Russia's billionaires for yacht supremacy, Roman Abramovich's upcoming 540-foot Eclipse may soon become the biggest, but Andrey Melnichenko's 394-foot "A" has become the most talked-about
yacht on the seas.

With its radical shape—more sleek submarine than boxy pleasure boat—and reams of custom parts and finishes (including bath knobs costing $40,000 apiece), "A" is a conspicuous marker of an ocean-going
plutocracy that's largely been untouched by the recession. The boat,
designed by Philippe Starck and completed in mid-2008 for more than
$300 million, has spawned a flotilla of copycats emulating its
low-slung hull and design scheme. Numerous companies involved in its
construction went bankrupt, done in by the novelty of the project and
the level of customization required.

For all its fame, "A" remains a bit mysterious. Its owner, a 38-year-old banking, steel and fertilizer czar, is intensely private and requires all his construction crew and staff to sign strict
confidentiality agreements (he declined comment for this article). He
and his wife only rarely entertain on board, and few public images of
the boat's interior exist.

Dirk Kloosterman, "A"'s project manager and a veteran of the world's largest yachts, recently provided an exclusive tour of the boat's 23,600 square feet of living space.

The boat's interior departs dramatically from most conventions of yacht design. Instead of the usual overstuffed couches and mahogany walls, there are Baccarat-crystal tables, shiny white finishes and
polished silver, a kind of Manhattan-loft-meets-Vegas aesthetic. Many
of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling mirrors, which Mr. Starck says have
a built-in "mathematical beauty" that also refer to the "mathematical
genius" of Mr. Melnichenko.

The walls of one room are covered in white sting-ray hides, while another is covered in hand-stitched calf's leather. The main deck features two Michel Haillard chairs made from alligator hides and Kudo
horns. Known for his mischievous streak, Mr. Starck outfitted "A" with
risqué touches like the suite dubbed the "nookie room" by the crew,
with its white circular bed with padded walls and a ceiling-mounted TV.

Mr. Starck says that while most megayachts are "vulgar" statements of wealth and power, "A" was designed to be in harmony with the sea and nature. "This boat has elegance and intelligence, it is not trying to
show the money," he adds.

As with many Russian-owned yachts, "A" is highly secure. Its rounded exterior and knife-like hull make it difficult for intruders to board. It has 44 security cameras and more than a dozen exterior cameras
fitted with motion-detection systems and a night-vision infrared system.

It is also designed to outrun threats: Twin, high-speed diesel engines deliver 24,000 horsepower and push the 5,959-gross-ton ship to 24 knots, roughly a third faster than most
boats its size. The boat, which is stabilized by fiber-optic gyroscopes
and four giant motorized flaps, is rumored to also be equipped with a
pod-like escape system, but the staff declined to comment.

A transom door in the rear of the boat, which swings with open to become a swim deck, is fitted with so many hydraulics, locking pins, rotating stairs and electronics that it
cost around $25 million to build. The company that made it eventually
went bankrupt, along with the company that made the bomb-proof
wrap-around glass encasing the master suite and the company that built
the hydraulic gangways. The ship's two main landing boats are
mini-yachts themselves, stretching to 36 feet, boasting plush interiors
and costing more than $1 million each.

There's little sign that the billionaire boat boom is ending. The recession has certainly hit the "middle-class" yacht market, as banks cut back on boat loans and mere
millionaires struggle to rebuild their fortunes. Orders for boats of
more than 80 feet fell to 753 last year from 992 in 2008, according to
Showboats International magazine. Yet orders for superyachts, or those
more than 250 feet, were actually up more than 20% in 2009, according
to Showboats.

"A" has a crew of between 35 to 37 people, including stewards and stewardesses, mechanical engineers, security staff, housekeepers, deck hands, galley crew and chefs. The crew also has specialists for
surfing, jet skiing, water skiing and cycling. All of the crew wear
Starck-designed uniforms—crisp white dress shirts and white pants for
daytime, and tight, black T-shirts and slacks for evening. The boat
costs over $20 million a year to maintain; Filling the gas tank costs
more than $500,000.

There are many discussion groups and forums about "A" online, with
titles like "The Ugliest Yacht in the World" and "Should Philippe
Starck Design Boats?" Debates can get heated: On the "Insider's Guide
to St. Bart's"—a Web site frequented by vacationers on the upscale
Caribbean island—dozens of "A" spotters tracked

"That's pretty Cool!," wrote one St. Bart's vacationer. "Finally a real designer yacht!".

Added another: "Who would call their Yacht 'The A'? Seems like you're setting yourself up big time." ("A" stands for both Andrey and Aleksandra, Mr. Melnichenko's Serbian-born supermodel wife).

Some yacht designers and brokers describe "A" as too futuristic and aggressive for the leisurely world of yachting. "Initially I was very skeptical," says Jonathan Beckett,
chief executive of London-based Burgess, the yacht broker. "When you
just see photos, it's a very strange-looking boat. But when I saw it
cruising in the Caribbean this year, I have to say I was impressed.
It's a very exciting boat to watch. It's simply unlike anything that's
ever been done before."

Crew members often joke about the Melnichenkos' penchant for the spontaneous, with frequent changes in itinerary or travel. The boat doesn't spend much time in any one port, since Mr. Melnichenko prefers
to roam the seas for weeks at a time. Last year he spent several months
in the Mediterranean; this year he's mainly in the Caribbean.

"The fun thing about working on 'A' is you never know what the next hour will bring," says Mr. Kloosterman, "A's" project manager. "This boat is all about the unexpected."