It’s not often you get the chance to specify every imaginable detail of your new custom-built motor boat but MBY reader John Wolf is doing just that...
One of the nicest things about boating is that you can have two things for the price of one. Obviously you have all the fun of being at sea with friends and family but also you have the chance from time to time to analyse the huge range of craft available and make a personal choice, and perhaps even specify or build your own perfect boat. I had immense fun commissioning two semi-custom Fairline Squadron 78s, but that was in 2011 and 2013, so a change was due.
I learned a lot in 11 fabulous Mediterranean seasons aboard Squadron 78s, based in the South of France but cruising also to Corsica, Sardinia, the Balearics and Italy. I loved every single day on board and was never let down by the boats. If there was a guest book, it would have a couple of hundred names in it, while the second Squadron 78 was on Top Gear driven by Jeremy Clarkson and featured in a movie with YouTubers Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee. So I’m very keen to retain all the great features of those two boats while improving things even more on the next boat.
Anyone’s list of essential features in a new boat would be too long to write here but mine included high build quality and reliability, duplication of critical equipment, as professional a galley as possible, fabulous helm stations, enough cabins for family and friends (with laundry facilities to cope), good crew
accommodation, fin stabilisation, comfortable places to have lunch, a big swim platform, great mooring gear and much more. With larger boats it is worthwhile pausing to consider the regulatory rules and the implications for equipment and crewing. Summarising some rather complex regulations very briefly: a boat that is under both the 24m LLL (Load Line Length) and 24m LH (Length of Hull) limits means it can have a captain with only a straightforward licence such as Yachtmaster and be exempt from a number of additional legal requirements. Due to the rather odd way these figures are measured, this typically translates to an actual LOA of 95-100ft. Anything bigger requires an upgraded captain’s licence and for most recreational boaters the only feasible upgrade is from a Yachtmaster to a 200GT (Gross Ton) licence (in this context ‘tons’ refers to interior volume rather than weight). A 200GT boat will typically only be 6-10ft longer than a sub-24m craft yet requires much more regulation such as minimum crew levels and more complex rescue equipment.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
The answer for me was simple: I will have crew but I want to be the captain; I could get a 200GT licen
