Blog - What's New at Dick Simon Yachts?

The red-hot (35-mph) Bertram 43 got its feet wet in the annual Reef Cup Sailfish Tournament.  The 43 Convertible is the newest of the "new" Bertrams patterned after the popular 54 Convertible. Last year the Miami firm that pioneered fiberglass offshore sportfishermen in the early '60s introduced the 50 Convertible, and the year before, the 37. Now, in the wake of these two success stories, comes the new 43. And out go the venerable 42- and 46-foot models, veterans of thousands of billfish battles over the past two decades. 

Some boats are built to look like cruising boats, while others truly are built to cruise. Here's one from the latter category, with the kinds of systems, construction and detailing to prove it. In fact, throughout this 31-footer it is easy to recognize that she's built for the reality of cruising rather than the illusion. Too few modern cruising yachts are designed and built by people who actually go cruising, but the Pacific Seacraft 31 is a delightful exception to the rule, with this background and knowledge showing everywhere you look.

Tucked In And Stalking - Our fully rigged Hatteras is clearly one of the mightiest tigers in any jungle.  The scene was the Ft. Lauderdale boat show in November. Not surprisingly, the Hatteras display was impressive, especially all convertibles docked side by side, stern-to. All clean, all with the Hatteras-family styling and color. Want a bigger one? Take five giant steps to the right. Something a bit less expensive? Step to the left. Your choice of seven models labeled "convertible" (from 38' to 65'). This time out, the focus of our attention is the newest addition to the fleet, the 48 Convertible.

A Yankee yacht that’s comfortable, fast and, above all, practical. You may already know about Ocean Super Sport convertibles. They’re those fishboats out there on the big-time marlin circuit that always seem to go a little faster and a little farther than most. Belowdecks on these boats, you might feel you are in decorator heaven. Ocean, in fact, helped redefine the idea of luxury in a sportfisherman, showing its competitors (rushed to catch up) that vinyl isn't the only material around. Pretty boats, these Oceans.

There is a basic, far-too-often fundamental rule about designs that offer a center-cockpit configuration. That is, the view from them is, in many cases, worlds better than the view of them.

"Fantastic performance... Everything works perfectly!" John Murphy, design engineer from Massachusetts, has been cruising on one boat or another for more than forty years. During that time, he has owned nine boats. Last August, John and his wife Joan purchased number ten: a Crealock 34 from Pacific Seacraft. On all counts, this knowledgeable and demanding sailing couple couldn't be happier. .. I've been through every nook and cranny on the boat and I haven't found a single area with anything less than just class workmanship. " Their brand new Crealock 34 presented absolutely no problems. "Right from the start, everything worked perfectly," John said. "No bugs at all. We put her in the water and we never had a single problem."

''Even with a lot more experience now, we'd still choose the Pacific Seacraft 31. Only now we'd know why we chose it!'' Have you ever thought about going cruising, but decided you weren't experienced enough? Well, meet Chip and Kris Martin of Minneapolis, Minnesota. About a year ago Chip decided to go cruising. This was rather amazing in that he and Kris didn't own a boat, in fact they had never even been on a cruising sailboat before.

KaMeWa waterjets are an excellent alternative to conventional propulsion on medium or high-speed yachts, particularly those that have to operate in shallow-water situations or in waters contaminated with floating debris. Their assets are excellent maneuverability, good acceleration and deceleration, lower noise and vibration levels, fuel savings (nine to ten percent is claimed) over conventional propeller systems, especially above the 20-knot speed range.

How strong can a cruising boat be? Delivery captain puts Crealock 37 through the ultimate test. "Awesome-just amazing..." The locals had never seen anything like it before. Experience told them that when a boat hits the reef at Diamond Head, it's gone. Period. In the last few years twelve boats had been lost there - all ground to a pulp before touching the beach. So when Rick von Stein's Crealock 37 Aldabra, smashed over the reef and came to rest on the beach nearly unscathed, the locals were understandably surprised. But not as surprised as Rick" "What this boat put up with is awesome - just amazing."

You say you want a big sportfish with hot performance and the latest technology? But you want classic looks a la Rybovich and Merritt? And your bank account is healthy? Well, North Carolinian Buddy Davis would like to talk to you. 

The large Hatteras fleet has grown yet again, and a most impressive addition it is. Lots of new boats from Hatteras recently. Just one model is news, but we've had a 40 double cabin, a 41 convertible, and now a 65 convertible. Hatteras calls this newest family member a "maxi sportfisherman," which seems reasonable enough. There are a few larger sportfish out there, but very few. Whether 65' or 70', you have to admit this new Hatt is a chunk.

Bertram's new 37 bears more than a family resemblance to the prize-winning 54- and is proving just as popular After 25 years, the diminutive warhorse that started it all, the venerable, if occasionally wet Bertram 31, has been retired. Certainly there were practical reasons- too costly, too dated, too predictable. But the move has its symbolic origins as well, as in "out with the old and in with the new": a new corporate masthead, new lizard skin and Novasuede, new laser discs, stereo TVs and digital tachs, new core materials, new colors and new computerized routers. The little gem that launched the Bertram line and paved the way for successively larger Bertrams has died, but its spirit lives on in the new midsized jewel that will dictate the direction of the Bertram "empire" through the 1990s and reassert Bertram's tradition as a trendsetter-the 37 Convertible.

Cheoy Lee's new 103-footer steams from the far reaches of Hong Kong's out-islands and into our pantheon of gold-platers.  " . .. but it doesn't feel like we're on a boat, darling." Indeed. It felt like a salon, a chic pied-a-terre, a gracious Beverly Hills condo. But not a boat ... unless you were tuned to the slight rise and fall of her motion. What Cheoy Lee has done so well in its decades of yacht building has been to save material, build relatively light, and produce strong structures. Their experience at this puts them near the top of the ladder among the world's boatbuilders. Nothing beats execution as a strategy toward excellence.

From the Jersey swamp come two more sportfishing supersleds. If you want a big sportfisherman built by regular boatbuilders - you remember the old boys, smoking pipes and digging around in old wooden toolboxes after spokeshaves they "put someplace" - then consider an Ocean Yacht.  Here, you get Fred Metz and his boys, all of whom have been building boats for Jack Leek down in this South Jersey swamp for years now. And for his father before him. From the halls of Egg Harbor and Pacemaker they have come. They have gathered here to take a piece of the action. And, boy, has there been action.

Denison Marine's stunning 100-footer has jet power, German iron, and moves like a middleweight contender. If the cost of their toys really divides men from boys, John Staluppi should bottle his virility and sell it to the wimps and limpwrists of this world. John's pastime is speed, and his toys include not only a stable full of automobiles, but a Fountain sportboat with hand-grenade motors and a snowmobile that, by his estimate, is capable of 105 mph. His high-velocity selection also includes a 100', 70-ton Denison motor yacht that planes in ten seconds, reaches a top speed of nearly 36 mph in three-quarters of a minute, and pirouettes like a runabout.

From a line of custom legends comes a production-built jewel.  Since Buddy Davis logged his time in the turbulent, unpredictable waters off North Carolina, you'd expect him to build an exceptional sea boat. That's precisely what he did. I had the pleasure of running the 47 just after one of those classic northers that magnetically attracts fish and fishermen to south Florida, and in spite of a melange of multidirectional seas, found her to be flawless on all points and at all speeds. She responds as a light boat would, accelerating briskly, turning smartly, and backing down sharply. All this, and she effortlessly tops 30 knots with a tower.

From the folks who brought you the Party Barge, here's an honest effort at cruising luxury that succeeds. Boats are like children: you don't always have to know their names to know what family they come from. As surely as if they were laying up strands of DNA instead of glass mat, nearly all boat companies indelibly and unmistakably mold the company identity into each boat. That isn't surprising; once you learn to build a product and have confidence in it, where's the motivation to change?

With its new 63 Cockpit Motor Yacht joining the 77, Hatteras reaffirms its position as one of the world's most diverse yacht manufacturers. Last March, we featured a story entitled "The Best Of Both Worlds" in which John Owens explored the rarefied world of cockpit motor yachts by providing a look at some delicious examples of the breed. The title pretty much sums up these boats - they allow the owners the opportunity of being simultaneously near to, and involved with, the water, yet isolated from it when they wish.

With anglers in mind, Hatteras expands the cockpits of its newest models for increased fishability.  If, for a moment, you conceive of a sportfishing boat as an amalgam of his and hers – “his” being the exterior fishing part, including the bridge, and “hers” being the interior accommodations, appliances and décor – recent history has been far kinder to her than to him.

3 FISHING MACHINES WITH CREATURE COMFORT: Egg Harbor 48, Jersey 48, and Post 42. When it comes to luxury interiors, these custom-care traditionalists from the Garden State are in the business of wish-fulfillment. Post 42: He is a bigwig in the flamboyant Seventh Avenue fashion world; she has her own decorating firm, and together they make the perfect cosmopolitan couple: elegant, up-to-date, and established. And what does a terrific twosome like this do for entertainment besides attend fashion extravaganzas with the likes of Halston and Anne Klein? Dash off to Aspen for a week of skiing? Mingle with socialities in Monaco? Polo in Palm Beach? None of the above. Stuart and Marcia Kaye would rather have a good ol' time onboard their Post 42, Good Times 4 Ever, off Sandy Hook hunting the Canyon for tuna and marlin.