| Hargrave 108 |  |
While the tender rides securely in its little bay, the
surrounding clean space forms a handy lazarette, laundry and workshop adjacent
to the engine room. And unlike many boats of this size, access to this space and
thus the engine room is via staircase from the aft main deck rather than the
swim platform. The garage isn’t the only upgrade at the back of the boat, however. Hargrave typically would have installed Cat
3412s on a boat of Freedom’s size and weight, but Forrest opted for
the more powerful, cleaner-burning C32s, which pump out an added 275 horses
each. "It wasn’t about increasing the top end, but with these engines we’ll be
cruising at reduced rpm, and the cost to upgrade the engine ($118,000) will be
returned in fuel savings in just two years," said Forrest.
Stowing Freedom’s tender on the lower deck preserves the
spacious flying bridge—it extends as far aft as the main deck—for open-air
living. Underneath a slim hardtop are three Stidd helm chairs fronting the helm
console to port and a forward-facing observation seat for two to starboard.
Next comes a curved Corian-topped service bar accommodating four stools. For
meals, there are large and small tables fronting large and small L-shaped
settees. Aft of the seating area are chocks for a pair of Jet Skis and a
stairway to the aft main deck. Farthest aft are three double sun chaises atop
commodious stowage lockers. The sun deck’s spaciousness is partly due to the yacht’s beam
of more than 22 feet, as well as Forrest’s suggestion that the side-deck
combings be pushed out to the beam. "Eliminating that combing step probably
gained us at least seventy-five square feet of useful space without compromise,"
said Forrest. The shaded aft main deck is the prime spot for dining and is
accented with a gloss-finished teak overhead feature that incorporates lighting
and mirrors the shape of the eight-seat table. "Feadships have teak overhead
details on their aft decks, and we think they are a nice touch and tie nicely
with the teak cap rails. The owner’s father has an affinity for classic Burgers,
and he thought that style of cap rail would be a nice way to finish the yacht,"
said Forrest. As Freedom is not intended for charter use, the
Levys and designer Shelley DiCondina were free to personalize the yacht in all
its details. "We went through a lot of magazines," said Levy. "I mean
a lot,
culling our ideas. We wanted something clean and elegant." To the Levys, elegant means modern, high quality and probably
leather. "Leather is certainly something we understand and appreciate," said
Levy, whose family company The Levy Group, one of the largest outerwear
manufacturers in the United States, is experienced in leather coats and jackets.
As a result, beautiful, contemporary red leather Italian sofas from Poltrona
Frau dominate Freedom’s salon. Settees in the country kitchen
and pilothouse are upholstered in similar-looking but more durable Majilite and
Ultraleather products, respectively.
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