The yacht’s owner, Hugh Westbrook, owner of Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock in Miami, Florida, wanted comfortable accommodations for his captain of 20 years and the crew. He wouldn’t be satisfied with a few bunks in the lazarette. When Westbrook decided he needed a new boat, he didn’t look too far. Westbrook, who then owned a Marlow 78, went right back to the same company, which builds its boats in Xiamen, China. His decision speaks to yard founder David Marlow’s philosophy of delivering the best boat possible and keeping the customer satisfied. (At the time, the largest boat in the line was an 82-footer.)

Westbrook’s path to buying another first hull model started with his first Marlow. Going on the advice of his captain and his broker, Westbrook looked at the Marlow line. Based on his considerable experience—he still owns a Little Harbor 75 sailboat and a center-console sportfishing boat—he liked what he saw and purchased Hull No. 1 of the 78-foot model from the original owner upon its delivery in 2003.

"The clincher was when we bought it," Westbrook says. "David asked me to bring it over [to Snead Island, Florida] to change some hatches and make a few other modifications, at the yard’s expense."

Marlow isn’t one to add a boat to his namesake line just because it will be bigger. There has to be an improvement. The 86 follows that philosophy.

"We looked at things we wanted to do differently," Westbrook says. Marlow gave him a free hand to do anything he wanted, save moving the engine room bulkheads.

"We particularly wanted to use the space for crew quarters with three cabins," he adds.

The three crew cabins are located full beam abaft the master suite. By location, they also serve to separate the suite from the engine room. Two single cabins are arranged athwartships on the starboard side. The captain’s cabin is a double to port. Each has a sink, an LCD screen and storage. A common shower and water closet are along the aft bulkhead. A wet locker is located on the turn of the stairs, and office space is built into the bulkhead at the bottom. To ease entry during rough weather, the crew stairway also has a door inside, directly across from the dining table on the salon level.

Westbrook values the exterior spaces as well. "Being outdoors is part and parcel of boating," he notes. To that end, there is a large swim platform and a large cockpit. The fishing amenities include an ice maker under the portside stairs, a fish cleaning station and a live-bait well. A large icebox is in the cockpit sole. The swim platform, which has hull beneath it, contains a storage well that is four feet deep.

A dayhead with a deck entry is in the aft port corner of the cabin. The longer cabin permitted the addition of an open office in the aft starboard corner. Below, the large master is full beam with his-and-hers heads separated by a shower. A personal washer and dryer are also in the suite.

"We put in a pilot berth on each side over the queen-size bunk in the forward VIP," Westbrook says. Due to the flair of the hull, they don’t intrude on the space for the queen berth. Twin cabins, sharing a bath, are on either side of the lower foyer.

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