Westport 164

Three years ago, the company announced a similar program for 50-meter (164-foot) boats. The reaction was the same, this time with the detractors’ rationale being that buyers of larger yachts could not be enticed by a production-built product. Wrong again.

On February 6, 2006, Westport Hull No. 5001 was launched in Port Angeles, Washington. Called Vango (van-GOH’), the boat is replacing the owner’s 130-foot (39.6-meter) Westport of the same name, and the differences in quality, styling and finish between the two models are so striking that even the most ardent naysayers are sure to be converted.

In the world of production yachtbuilding, design and quality are the cornerstones on which success is built. Price, while extremely important, only comes into play after the first two pieces of the foundation are in place. Company president Daryl Wakefield noted that Westport knew from Day One that the 164-footer was an ambitious project made even more so by the fact that as boats get bigger, the number of potential customers becomes smaller by a factor of two or three. Therefore, it was imperative that the new model be as close to perfect as possible, not only from a design standpoint, but from the perspective of price point as well. (Click image to enlarge)

The 164-foot project reunited a group that had worked successfully on an award-winning project in the early nineties. At the time, Orin Edson, who is now a majority shareholder in Westport, had commissioned William Garden to draw the lines for Evviva, with styling and interior design by Donald Starkey. The boat was built by Admiral Marine, a company run at the time by Wakefield.

Vango shares much of this heritage, but in this case, structural calculations, weight studies and other critical engineering functions were under the purview of Taylor Olson, Westport’s in-house naval architect, and his staff. Furthermore, the production planning needed for the 164-foot project required that Starkey create a set of standard interior details that would at once be attractive, luxurious and able to be produced with the high degree of repeatability that is designed into all joinery built by Westport’s furniture plant, located at the Port Angeles airport.

Vango is proof positive that, where the 164-foot project is concerned, standardization does not equate to lesser quality. Starkey’s design details are complex and manifold and, as is certainly most important from the customer’s point of view, they are executed with precision and finished to perfection. Throughout the boat, various combinations of mahogany and pommele sapele are employed in the furnishings and bulkhead panels. Here and there, high-gloss lacquer is used to provide accents and lighten the overall look of some furniture pieces. Rich, upholstered panels are also used throughout the luxury accommodations to add texture, color and softness as well as to help attenuate noise. Stone soles, countertops and bulkhead facings were installed by Jeff Homchick, and each of the choices is memorable. (Click image to enlarge)

In addition to space planning and joinery details, Starkey is also responsible for décor on each of the 164-foot boats. Owners work with him to specify various wood species and soft goods as well as movable furniture.

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