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That
extra ton probably caused Robert some concern. His target for Hull No.
1 was 28 knots, a fair accomplishment for a fully found, 100-plus-footer
powered by a pair of 1,800-hp diesels. But any concern quickly turned
to elation, an emotion still apparent when I spoke with him by telephone
a month later. Robert reported that after tweaking the props, the moderately
loaded (90 tons) 105 hit 31.8 knots. He also says her running angle changes
little more than one degree from rest to plane and at a 19-knot cruise
she is whisper quiet.
I knew
none of this when I first laid eyes on the 105 at the Southampton Boat
Show in October. All I knew was that she looked every bit a Sunseeker—fast—and
yet different. John had borrowed just enough of the Sunseeker look to
maintain a clear family resemblance yet toned things down enough to make
her look distinctly like a megayacht. I remembered wondering if she seemed
so beautifully proportioned because of the angle from which I viewed her,
until a month later when on reviewing the photography for this issue,
Sara Hylan, PMY’s art director, commented on what a beautiful boat
this was.
An important
part of Robert’s vision for the 105 was almost unlimited design
flexibility, and the layout of Hull No. 1 (as of this writing, six 105s
have been sold) illustrates just one of many options. The Snapper, as
her U.K. owner (a former Sunseeker owner) christened her, is arranged
with a VIP stateroom fully forward on the main deck, complete with flat-screen
television, desk, and en suite head with shower. A starboard stair leads
to an atrium on the lower level, from which you can access a pair of twin-bed
guest staterooms forward, each with en suite facilities, and an owner’s
stateroom aft. The latter has a retracting flat-screen TV, refrigerator,
desk/vanity, and, separating the sleeping space from the engine room,
a walk-in closet and head with shower, twin sinks, toilet, and bidet.
The
rather roomy crew’s and captain’s quarters are fully forward
and below, accessed from the port-side galley via a stairway. Here are
accommodations for four, a dinette, stereo, TV, cooktop, microwave, sink,
refrigerator, and washer and dryer. Rounding out the design, The Snapper
has a large transom garage capable of holding both a RIB and a PWC.
To give
you some idea of the flexibility inherent in the 105, compare this layout
to Hull No. 2, currently being built for a U.S. owner, also a Sunseeker
customer. Here the crew’s quarters have been moved aft, replacing
the garage, and tender stowage has been shifted to the aft section of
the flying bridge. The owner’s stateroom now occupies the forwardmost
part of the main deck, and a stairway leads down from it to a huge head
where the crew’s quarters are on The Snapper.
Offering
a wide range of accommodation options is by no means a unique concept
in a vessel of this size, but this degree of flexibility does seems to
set new standards. The Snapper has a large pilothouse, well forward and
one flight up from the main level for superb visibility, and a large flying
bridge accessed only from the cockpit. Here are a Jacuzzi, wetbar, refrigerator,
icemaker, electric griddle, sunpad, and six-person dining table, plus
a helm with instrumentation nearly as complete as the pilothouse beneath
it, right down to the MTU alarm panels and Raytheon GPS/chartplotter.
Hull No. 3, also currently in build and going to a Swiss who is new to
Sunseeker, will raise the pilothouse to this level, significantly changing
the yacht’s exterior lines (Robert says he’s quite pleased
with the result), and turn the erstwhile pilothouse into a master stateroom.
To top it off, this yacht will be painted metallic silver with a dark-blue
bootstripe and silver-tinted windows to match.
Such
willingness and ability to accommodate customers’ every whim sets
this yacht apart in this size range, which it just so happens was also
part of Robert’s vision. Helping to ensure that the 105 will lure
away its share of buyers from considering pure custom projects is a surprising
(for this kind of style, quality, and performance) base price of about
$5.8 million.
How
does Robert feel about seeing his vision transmuted so faithfully into
reality? He’s not saying. He’s too busy mulling over his next
vision: a 125-footer.
Sunseeker
USA Phone: (954) 984-2911. Fax: (954) 984-2913. www.sunseeker.com.
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