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While there are even columns in the master head, making it feel more like a spa, the real knockout woodwork is on the forward bulkhead of the dining area. To be specific, it's a 12-foot-wide, sole-to-overhead wall of ebony doors that conceal crystal stowage and a bar. On many yachts this is simply a plain bulkhead or a few stacked cabinets. There are four doors in all, with the outermost two opening conventionally to reveal the crystal stowage; even when the center pocket doors are open to reveal the bar, the effect is still visually appealing.

To preserve that appeal in the rest of the room, a console--not full bulkheads--divides the dining area from the saloon. When people are gathered in the saloon's seating areas, they can activate the plasma-screen television that rises from the top of the console. The base of the console also contains an icemaker and wine chiller, ideal for catering to both the saloon and dining area. A signature feature of many Crescent yachts is the vaulted overhead treatment directly above the dining table; it's about two feet higher than the rest of the main deck, made possible by the raised pilothouse.

Despite the formal dining area, chances are everyone will gather--and linger--in the unusually large galley, choosing to sit either on one of the barstools lining the counter or at the large banquette forward. While they await the chef to work his or her culinary wizardry, they can catch up on world news sent via satellite to the 20-inch flat-screen television.

Come evening, the Very Important Person will feel exactly that way when he or she heads down the stair forward of the port-side day head to the VIP stateroom. A small foyer with inlaid marble presents a dramatic entrance, and the beam--and the fact that the en suite head contains a steam shower--makes it feel more like a second master stateroom. Instead of placing the bed on a raised platform, a traditional approach for a bow stateroom, and therefore fashioning a step or two to each side to access it, Crescent installed it practically on top of the stringers abaft the chain locker. Don't get the wrong idea--it's not inches off the sole. Rather, it's at a normal height, more like a land-based bed.

Many a yard and owner have found out the hard way that cramped crew's quarters means high turnover. If ever a crew member decides to leave Crescent Lady, it won't be for lack of room. The port-side captain's stateroom is large, with a foyer of sorts leading into it plus a full-size berth and en suite head. The other two staterooms are virtually the size of guest staterooms, containing bunks and sharing a head. The aft stairs leading down to the crew area lift to reveal a Freeman hatch, which yields access to the lazarette.

Crescent has come a long way since its days of building yachts at its original facility, where the small shed felt filled to the rafters with a single 120-footer inside and launchings were nail-biting experiences due to the slipway's proximity to the Crescent Beach Yacht Club's balcony. Its current yard, close to Vancouver, has much more room for launchings and construction, plus a complete repair and maintenance division equipped with a 220-ton TraveLift. While the craftspeople have always viewed each project as an opportunity to develop new technological approaches, the newer facilities are certainly bolstering the effort.

In fact, it just may be the only modern-day place where people can proudly say they developed a cave.

Tiemann Yachts Phone: (954) 255-0706. Fax: (954) 255-0805. www.crescentcustomyachts.com.

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