Mark T. Masciarotte
04/01/2005
When it comes to Christensen motor yachts, Henry Luken is an
expert. He should be, having recently taken delivery of his third, 157-foot
Liquidity. Launched in January, the boat is Henry and Kelly Luken’s
second new build with the Washington-based shipyard.
"This boat’s only two feet longer and two feet wider than our
last boat," Luken said, "but that translates to over 1,200 square feet more
usable space. And even though the old boat was pretty close to perfect for us,
we now have more space in the skylounge and VIP cabin, and I was able to
fine-tune some of the design decisions that we made the first time."
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By Luken’s count, he and the builder made 300 changes from his old boat, 155-foot Liquidity. Most, he admits, were small, but all were consequential. "We added more fuel," he noted, "going from 12,000 to 15,600 gallons. We also added 22,000 pounds of ballast in the keel for extra stability. With the extra beam, we’re only a few inches deeper."
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Other changes included structural and system upgrades to simplify maintenance and increase safety and functionality – all important points for Luken.
Despite upsizing 37 feet over his original Christensen, Cacique, which he purchased in 1998, Luken still chooses to operate his boat himself. He has little regard for some of the trends, such as the push toward MCA compliance, that have affected yacht building in the past few years. Luken believes that the latest mandatory regulations and reporting requirements make flying a U.S. flag not only more patriotic, but also more sensible.
"I don’t really care what the next buyer wants. I’m building boats for myself, so I’m just going to go do what I want to do, which is go around the world and enjoy myself. The first time I get some grief, I’ll deal with it. I think that what’s going to happen is that you are going to see more and more U.S. flags."
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Absent any evidence to the contrary, the new Liquidity might well be the largest recreational vessel in the United States to carry a state registration. In fact, the registration system in Tennessee, where Luken lives, was never set up to accept three-digit length designations, and therefore classifies the yacht as a 57-foot cabin cruiser.
Luken laughed, displaying the registration card. "We’re trying to figure out the best place to display the numbers and stickers."
A telecommunications entrepreneur, he has a greater-than-average interest in things electronic. Liquidity is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation electronics, a highly complex entertainment system and some of the fastest communications available, including full-time broadband voice-over-Internet capability via satellite.
The interior theme is similar in many respects to the couple’s previous boat. Both feature flawless, raised-panel joinery of American walnut finished to a high gloss. The wood panels and veneers are grain- and color-matched to an almost obsessive degree. It is yacht-quality craftsmanship in the truest sense of the word and showcases the remarkable level of detail that the Christensen joinery shop is capable of producing.
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The general arrangement, too, is nearly identical to the smaller Liquidity, with changes based more on the extra available space than a desire on the owners’ part to alter the room placements or deck configurations.
The most obvious difference between the two boats is the décor. Carol Williamson, who coordinated the interior design, points to subtle changes that make the new boat more inviting, refinements she worked on with the Lukens.
"We stepped away from dark upholstery and moved toward lighter tones and more texture, placing a lot of emphasis on fine detail," she said. "The result gives a more luxurious impression at first glance, because it opens the spaces while tying them together architecturally." Williamson also noted that more attention was given to the lighting and accessorizing, including the installation of artwork.
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The interior overheads are another departure from the previous design. A complex grouping of smoothly textured, leather-wrapped panels contributes to the sumptuous feel, mimicking the carpet color and complementing the walnut’s color and grain.
The masonry is another major design upgrade. The first Liquidity used a green marble almost exclusively. This project employs a wide variation of stones – many of which are semi-precious – set in elaborate designs that are testament to the exceptional ability of stonework designer and installer Jeff Homchick of Seattle. The result of the collaboration between designer and clients is a richer, more sophisticated look that retains the comfortable, residential feel that the Lukens prefer.
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While the interior received a great deal of attention, it is the utility of the boat that interests this owner, particularly as it relates to one of his great passions: fishing. Ask anyone who has cast a fly with Henry Luken to describe the experience in a word, and the answer is usually, "Wild!"
"I’m not sure it’s so wild," answered Luken. "I like to fly fish when we’re up in Southeast Alaska. So, when the tide’s high, we put on waders, strap a shotgun across our backs (for protection against bears), grab a rod and jump on a Jet Ski. Then, we run as high up a river as we can go, and when we’re out of water and we’re sucking rocks, we beach the ’Skis and start fishing for salmon. Actually, it’s not fishing, it’s fish catching; we’re there to get dinner."
To facilitate his addiction, Luken had Liquidity equipped with a specially designed tackle locker on the aft deck (see TechTalk). Another weapon in his piscatorial arsenal is his tender, a 24-foot Nautica catamaran RIB, whose articulating bow ramp allows the boat to be used as a landing craft to launch an ATV or simply to make embarking and disembarking from a beach as easy as walking down a sidewalk. The RIB was built on the tooling for Nautica’s 29-footer, so she has the 10-foot beam and wider ramp of the larger boat while being small enough to fit aboard Liquidity. A pair of 115-hp Yamahas give the tender a good turn of speed, and the twin hulls make her stable for deep-sea fishing for halibut in Alaska, diving in the Caribbean or transporting large loads of stores from shore.
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Liquidity’s exterior spaces are well planned
and provide a variety of seating options. A settee on the Portuguese bridge and
seating on the foredeck are ideal vantage points while cruising in calm weather. Photograph by Neil Rabinowitz. (Click image to enlarge) Christensen’s president, Joe Foggia, explained that Luken periodically invites groups of shipyard managers on fishing trips to Alaska. In addition to memories of unforgettable wilderness adventures, they return home with a better appreciation for real-world yacht use, which usually helps them generate ideas for new builds.
"I try to turn them into users, to a certain extent, and it makes them better [at their jobs]," said Luken.
So, is the couple’s third Christensen the charm? Henry Luken won’t say, but he and Christensen have a bigger boat already on the drawing board and a lot more ideas to develop.
"On a go-forward basis," he stated, "we’re doing whatever we can to make the boats better and easier to maintain."
| Yacht Name: | Liquidity |
| Yacht Year: | 2004 |
| Yacht Type: | Motor Yacht |
| Builder: | Christensen |
| Interior Design: | Carol Williamson & Associates |
| Draft: | 8' (2.44m) |
| LOA (Actual length): | 157' (47.85m) |
| LWL (Length of water line): | 140' (42.67m) |
| Displacement: | 355 (full load) tons |
| Max Speed: | 17.5 kts |
| Cruise Speed: | 16 kts |
| Range: | 3,910 nm |
| Beam: | 29' 6" (8.99m) |
| Architecture: | Christensen |
| Hull Material: | Composite |
| Superstructure Material: | Composite |
| Fuel Capacity: | 15,800g (59,809.51L) |
| Water Capacity: | 2,000g (7,570.82L) |
| Classification: | ABS |
| Engines: | 2x MTU M6012V |
| Generators: | 3x Northern Lights |
| Air conditioning: | Cruisair |
| Watermarker: | 2x Village Marine |
| Bow thruster: | American Bow Thruster |
| Paint: | Awlgrip |
| Deck Windlass: | 2x Muir |
| Tenders: | Nautica |
| Black Water Treatment: | FAST system |
| Toilet: | Microflush |
| Radar: | Furuno |
| Autopilot: | Anschutz Pilotstar D |
| GPS: | Northstar |
| SatCom: | Iridium |
| Depth Sounder: | Raymarine |
| Wind Instruments: | B&G |
| Sat TV: | SeaTel |
| Sat TV receiver: | SeaTel |
