A funny thing happened to Tom Lewis on his way to buy a yacht. He bought a boat company. Two years ago, Lewis, an attorney and successful real estate developer, bought South Florida’s venerable Broward Marine. He knew he hadn’t bought just any old boatyard. He had purchased one of the most recognizable brands in yachting. He wasted no time getting down to the business of building yachts. The first product of his efforts, a 120-foot raised pilothouse motor yacht, was launched late last year, and more are in the pipeline. Lewis committed to bringing back an American marque that had fallen on hard times. Based on his first progeny, he’s well on the way.

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Top: An LCD TV lurks behind artwork in the salon. Bottom: The formal dining room seats 10. (Click images to enlarge)

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Broward had not seen a great deal of activity since 1998, when founder Frank Denison’s family sold it to real estate developer Glenn Straub, yet it still had enough name recognition and respect that people wondered aloud from time to time, "What’s happening with Broward?"

Top: The wheelhouse has a nav area and an observer’s settee. Bottom: The galley, is designed for food prep and serving. (Click images to enlarge)

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Lewis returned to production with a raised pilothouse design. "The raised pilothouse had been the basic design in the Broward line," Lewis says. "I thought it was a logical starting point in bringing the yard back to full production."

Marshall delivered four slightly different drawings. "We took appealing elements from each and evolved the look of the 120 from them," Marshall says.

"I’m building the boat with these renderings, not fishing for a buyer," was Lewis’ response.There wasn’t a rush to finish the boat, but Lewis knew he had to get something in the water to show what the new Broward would look like. That assumption proved wrong, though, and two were sold prior to the launch of 601.

"We built the interior around Tom’s decision to go with the European approach of crew forward," Marshall says. Unlike many European boats that devote minimal space to crew quarters, the 120 reflects Lewis’ happy crew, happy owner philosophy. To that end the crew has three roomy ensuite cabins—two twins and a double. Adjacent is a comfortable mess/lounge. A watertight door in the bulkhead provides entry to the guest quarters through the closet in the VIP cabin, simplifying housekeeping access for the four ensuite guest cabins: one king, two queens and a double.

The majority of the semi-gloss cherry interior was fabricated in Italy. To deliver the level of luxury he sought, Lewis relied on Genesis Yachtline, the interior fabrication division of Genesis Yachts, which has shops in Viareggio and Pisa. A Genesis crew made templates at Broward, constructed the actual components in Italy, then shipped the numbered pieces to Broward’s Dania Beach yard for installation. It wasn’t all outsourced. Of the six-person carpentry fabrication team at Broward, half have been with the company for more than 20 years. They fabricated the pilothouse and the galley and crew quarters on-site.

The attention to detail insisted on by Lewis extends to the electronics, as evidenced by the Simon monitoring system. Concord Marine Electronics was tasked to spec and install the navigation, management and entertainment electronics.

On the electronics arch, two Furuno 96-mile radars are mounted between a pair of KVH domes. One is the Fleet 55 satellite communications antenna, and the other is a TracVision G6—delivering an HD-compatible signal from North American, European, Central American and South American satellites. Crescat-Q structured cable was used throughout 601 for immediate use and also for the pre-wiring. "That was something the yard agreed to right off the bat. It allows for expansion," says Ted Banning, Concord’s project manager. Guest and crew cabins, the galley and crew lounge include 20-inch Sharp LCD screens.

Information on the bridge is viewed on any of four 19-inch Nauticomp glass bridge daylight series flat-screen displays. A 16-inch, sunlight-viewable version of the same screen is at the flybridge helm. The navigation and radar video feeds are modulated for display only to all screens within the entertainment system. Each screen has its own DVD player and satellite TV receiver. The system also includes iPod integration at all stations.

Important to 601’s success was sound attenuation and vibration control. Since materials and techniques have improved over the years, expectations regarding the decibel levels acceptable while under way and at anchor have also risen. A quiet boat is not at all elusive. Soundown was enlisted to provide the latest in insulation and isolation engineering aboard 601.The gearboxes and 2,000-hp MTU engines received what Soundown Regional Manager Sam Smullin calls the "first yacht-quality Rubber Design engine isolation package." It comprises a flexible shaft coupling, semi-elastic gearbox mounting and high-deflection conical engine mount that isolates the low frequency. "The combination provides excellent isolation and smooth and quiet operation throughout the operating range," Smullin says.

The lower- and main-deck soles are Soundown QuietCore panels consisting of nine-millimeter-thick meranti plywood skins sandwiching a Tuff-Mass acoustic barrier core floating on six-millimeter-thick Sylomer, an engineered, vibration-absorbing foam. The material combinations delivered 65 decibels at cruising speed in the staterooms on the lower level; better than the expected 68 decibels was achieved in the salon.

The exhaust system uses Soundown Tower mufflers that reduce the low frequency exhaust pulse before it exits underwater. During low-speed operation a Soundown WaterDrop silencer silences the gases exiting through the above-water bypass. "The combination provides a package that is compact and quiet throughout the speed range," says Smullin.

In late summer, a U.S. owner will take delivery of 602, a 120 with walkaround decks and a high-gloss interior. Like 601, the second hull is ABS classed and MCA certified.

Build 603, which sold to a European client, and build 604 are scheduled for respective deliveries in February and May 2008. They are both 125-foot Global series yachts. The Euro version of the 125 features a den between the galley and the dining room. Both versions include a hull-side lazarette to store a tender and a PWC.

In 601 Lewis finally has the boat he set out to buy, in addition to a world class support network. Although he will sell it if someone is interested, until that time it’s quite the calling card.