| Moloka’i Strait 75 |  |
Years ago, Geoffrey White found himself staring at a small,
hardy trawler on a rainy day in Seattle, Washington. The boat had the sort of
bow and clean yet burly lines that would look comfortable riding out a
nor’easter off the Maine coast. White later learned it had indeed been a fishing
trawler, one built in Romsdahl, Norway. That epiphany later became the genesis
for Moloka’i Strait Yachts and the Moloka’i Strait 75.
Cabinets separate the salon and dining area in
the owner-designed teak interior. Photography by Shaw McCutcheon. (Click images to enlarge)
The 75 is the yacht version of that Romsdahl trawler.
Everything about the vessel speaks of heavy seagoing capability including the
company’s name, which refers to a particularly malicious strait in the Hawaiian
Islands. Then there’s the hull, designed by Sponberg Yacht Design. The Moloka’i
features a 12-foot-high bow to keep the green seas at bay, a rounded stern
aimed at comfort in following seas and a two-story superstructure amidships topped by a mast reaching 40 feet off the water. The rounded displacement hull
comes with skegs, oversize 16-square-foot Westmark stabilizers and a V-shape
Nabla-style bow bulb, all of which help soften roll and pitch. The
6,800-gallon fuel capacity feeds two 350-hp Cummins 8.3-liter diesel engines.
Top speed is 11 knots, with a 5,500-mile range at seven knots.
| Click on the Spec tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
Top: The yacht sleeps six guests in three
staterooms. Bottom: The galley spans most of the yacht’s
beam. Photography by Shaw McCutcheon. (Click images to enlarge)
The Moloka’i displaces 157.5 tons, including 17.5 tons of
ballast to lower the center of gravity and counter the destabilizing effects of
such a high superstructure. The result, according to Jeff Druek, one of the
partners in the company and the yacht’s owner, is a yacht that will right itself
from a flat knockdown attitude and will handle exceptionally well in virtually
any sea state.
Druek noticed one interesting characteristic recently when he
was forced to idle off a Bahamian marina for a couple of hours. He pointed the
bow into the sea, put the yacht in neutral, and instead of falling off into a
beam sea as a yacht normally would do, she remained headed into the waves with
nary a tweak from the helm. »
While she’s most comfortable in northern climates, her exterior
deck arrangement favors warm-weather cruising. The flybridge above the pilot
deck includes a helm station, a portside settee with a sizeable table and a wet
bar to starboard. Another deck, below and abaft the pilothouse, is large enough
to put a dining table and a flexible arrangement of chaise lounges and chairs.
On the main deck is a small covered aft deck. Forward of the superstructure is
space for a 14-foot inflatable and other water toys, all handled by a
2,500-pound MarQuipt boat crane.
For all her muscle, the Moloka’i 75 is a study in comfort
below, thanks to her tri-deck arrangement, her 23-foot beam and her unusual
interior configuration, which combines elements of both luxury yachts and
commercial vessels. All the portlights, for example, are round with ¾-inch
safety glass and left unpainted to provide a heavy-duty, ship-like flavor to the
otherwise softly appointed rooms. The main-deck overhead is cambered like a
sailboat’s, and belowdecks are two watertight doors in the passageway to the
staterooms. Special cofferdams enclose the stabilizers so should they shear off,
the yacht’s integrity isn’t threatened.
Druek, who is also a designer and residential developer,
arranged the teak-paneled interior, which was decorated by Anita’s Interiors of
Fort Lauderdale. The main-deck arrangement is unusual in that the salon aft is
separated from the dining and galley area by a teak cabinet.
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