New & Notable: World Series
Mark T. Masciarotte
11/01/2007

Since its founding in 1995, Northern Marine has built its reputation on custom builds targeted at yachtsmen who prefer long-range, bluewater yachts in what is known as the expedition style. With the successful launch of Pete and Lynn Murphy’s 152-foot motor yacht Lia Fail in 2005, the company firmly positioned itself to bring to the market larger, world-girdling boats of not only an entirely different type, but as a line that would be manufactured on a series-production model that would steer the company away from custom building. While somewhat risky from a financial perspective, this move follows a trend very much in play at other Pacific Northwestern composite yards as well as at highly respected yards across Europe.

Large areas of glazing bathe the interior in natural light. Extra volume allows public spaces to handle residential-scale furniture. (Click images to enlarge)

Over the last several years, Northern has continued to expand its production capacity at its facility in Anacortes, Washington, while at the same time consolidating the operation into a more compact footprint. When the decision was made to design a new series, the company turned to Jonathan Barnett, who began work on a boat that eventually came in at 151 feet (46 meters). The first yacht of the new range, After Eight, was launched last spring, and there is little doubt that she holds great promise for the company’s future.

Click on the Specs tab at top to see complete list of resources.

Yacht broker Peter Kehoe represented the owner in the purchase of the boat and remained active throughout the course of the project. He said that although the owner has bought and sold a number of boats, the latest of which was a 118-foot Shaw motor yacht, no boat purchase that he or Kehoe had ever experienced was as complex as the deal at Northern, primarily because the shipyard was being sold to its current owner at the same time as the After Eight deal was being inked.

"There were so many moving parts," Kehoe explained, adding that the deal dovetailed together thanks to an effort by the parties’ attorneys, the owner and his son. "In the end," said Kehoe, "it…moved forward because everyone was at the top of their game."

Dockside, what is immediately apparent is Barnett’s exterior styling, which is even more of a departure from Northern’s signature workboat look than were Lia Fail and Magic. After Eight is far more contemporary, with bold, unbroken, horizontal lines in the brows and sheer, crisp edges on the knuckle, bulwarks, fashion boards and pilasters, all of which combine to make the boat look longer and hint at Barnett’s roots as an automobile designer. The use of black glazing and a judicious application of metallic paintwork further add to the sculpted, automotive effect. (Click image to enlarge)

To produce the new product range, Northern developed entirely new tooling while further perfecting the resin-infusion processes that are now employed for all parts, including hulls and superstructures. According to Bud LeMieux, one of the company’s founders and the executive in charge of production, one of the many advantages of the infusion process is its ability to retain the definition called for by the designer without having to resort to a great deal of costly and time-consuming fairing by hand.

Once on board, one is pleasantly surprised at the interior volume. Barnett explained that one of his goals in designing the new series was to maximize the amount of usable space within the specific size constraints set forth by the builder, adding that the profile and general arrangement were produced before the hull lines were drawn in a process that LeMieux said began nearly four years ago."For once in my career, I was given a category and asked to develop a vessel that would fit that category and given a free hand, in many cases, to do what I felt would be right to fit that at a reasonable budget. So, instead of [a specific] buyer, I was dealing with the entire cross section of potential clients that would be interested in this type of boat.

After Eight’s interior styling pays homage to the classic work of early twentieth century architect Edward Lutyens. (Click images to enlarge)

"I [talked] to many different customers I worked with in the past…took all their feedback and tried to analyze where the strengths and weaknesses are of many of the designs, then asked myself, first and foremost, ‘What are the most recurring things that people are always asking for? Could I incorporate those things into this boat and still retain the freshness and maybe the younger lifestyle appeal that I feel is coming down the pike, so the boat doesn’t date in two years or look passé at next season’s boat show?’

"You know, I’ve never known a client who didn’t ask for more; a boat that wasn’t asked to be longer, wider, bigger. So I tried to start with the largest possible volume under 500 gross tons.

"After all," Barnett concluded, "space is luxury."

The arrangement is one that is not uncommon in boats of this size for a very simple reason: It is eminently workable for both private use and for charter. The difference is that on this boat there is simply a lot more room in many of the spaces throughout the accommodations. (Click image to enlarge)

Kehoe noted that it was the generous spaces that attracted his client, an elderly Canadian businessman who was immediately impressed by the boat’s wide passageways, doorways and, most important, the elevator.

"The other thing was the interior. It didn’t have high-gloss lacquer, and it just suited [him and his family] to a T."

Barnett, who with his lead design project manager, Erica Lichty, already had chosen most of the items for final outfitting before the owner became involved, concurred."It couldn’t have been a better fit," he stated emphatically. "They just seemed like the perfect clients for this boat." Interior space, however, was not the only force driving the project, noted Barnett.

Interior/exterior lounges benefit from the generous beam. Seating arrangements are larger than one might expect. (Click images to enlarge)

"We were also hoping to kick some goals as far as performance was concerned in [a boat with] that kind of beam. I drew the boat with as much beam as I possibly could put on there and was very concerned that it would not be a pig.

"The beauty of a design is not only how it looks, but its performance numbers and that it actually carries all that volume elegantly in such a way that we can compete with smaller boats that look faster.

"This boat doesn’t have a go-fast look. It has an aggressive, world-cruising, big-ship feel to it, but I still wanted it to be a performer and not have trawler-type performance."

LeMieux, who was the impetus behind the concept of stowing the tenders on the foredeck to increase private space for the owner, noted that the new hull, whose lines were produced by Canadian naval architect George Roddan, performed admirably during trials. He and Barnett noted that before tooling was produced, two models were tank-tested to a speed of 24 knots. The chosen design, fitted with a bulbous bow, had a five percent speed advantage as well as a better ride and a cleaner, lower wake. (Click image to enlarge)

"We made a speed of 20.6 knots during sea trials," said LeMieux, "and the conditions were pretty bumpy. The boat really is impressive: quiet, fast and comfortable."

Contact Northern Marine at 360-299-8400. www.northernmarine.com
Yacht Specs

Yacht Name: After Eight
Yacht Type: Motor Yacht
Builder: Northern Marine
Draft: 6' 6" (1.98m)
LOA (Actual length): 151' 8" (46.23m)
Displacement: 230 (half load) tons
Power: 2x 2,250-hp Cat 3512B
Max Speed: 21 kts
Cruise Speed: 18 kts
Range: 3,000 nm  @ 12 kts
Beam: 30' 9" (9.37m)