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SUPERYACHT #10
Autumn 2006

Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical articles, images and yachting news


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Article by
Fabio Petrone

WESTPORT 164'

Three decks plus flying bridge, hull in composite, top speed of 24 knots, 50 metres LOA, and built in an ad hoc yard, the third owned by the USA company Westport today.

 

TECHNICAL DATA
LOA 50.00 metres
beam 9.30 metres
draught 2.20 metres
displacement 498 t.
cruising speed 20 knots
top speed 24 knots
range 5.200 miles at 12 knots
engines 2 x 3.550 HP MTU 16V4000
transmission Twin Disc ZF 7550a 2.96:1
generators 2 x 99 Kw plus 1 x 55 Kw Northern Lights
fuel capacity 13.247 litres
water capacity 7.570 litres.

For information: Westport Yacht Sales - Fort Lauderdale 2957 State Road 84 - Tel. 954-316-6364 - Fax. 954-316-6365 - Westport Yacht Sales - Seattle 2601 W. Marina Place, Suite F - Tel. 206-298-3360 - Fax. 206-285-0342 - info@westportyachtsales.com

 
Built in 23 months and launched last February, this 164 footer has become the new flagship of Westport Yachts - the other boats currently in the range are superyachts of 98, 112 and 130 feet - whose headquarters are in Westport, Washington State, in the extreme north west of the USA, on the Pacific coast not far from Seattle. The company was set up in 1977 by brothers Rick and Randy Rust, two shipbuilders who began in 1964 constructing workboats, mainly for salmon fishing. That experience and the excellent Westport boats produced to date have gained the yard a reputation in the States for optimal vessels, high performers with tough hulls. The yard's facilities mean that it can build well and fast, but above all it is specialised in boats in composite. The type of construction employed by Westport Yachts is defined as modular in the sense that hull, individual decks and the flying bridge itself are stratified, prepared for housing systems and accessories but above all completed at the same time and then assembled, which means considerable reduction in production time for each individual yacht. This presupposes great organisational abilities and a background of wide engineering experience in order to handle millimetric work processes and produce modules that are easy and quick to assemble, but above all with optimal finished vessel quality. The use of technology and the investments made in recent years are an important sign that distinguishes the yard, a modern concern able to step successfully into the international foreground.

This Westport 164' is an emblem of the yard's design and construction philosophy. The hull was designed by specialist William Garden while Donald Starkey did the overall styling, both of them backed up by the shipyard's engineers and technicians. So let's start from the waterlines, designed to achieve optimum seakeeping in a wide performance range, from 12 knots economical cruising speed - at 5.200 miles she's an actual long range cruiser - to a top speed of 24 knots. In the latter case the range drops to 1.400 miles due to the powerful thrust of two MTU 16V4000 M90 engines, each delivering 2.720 kW (3.550 HP) at 2.100 rpm.

The abundant internal space has been exploited in some interesting ways, beginning with the location of the owner's cabin on the main deck. It stretches the whole width of the beam in the forward area where, moreover, the boat has a wide body type architecture. The double bed stands at the centre of a very large space with dressing table and a small sitting room with armchairs. There are two separate dressing rooms and a bathroom with tub and shower. The owner's area is completed by an adjacent office, furnished with sofa and armchairs.

Still on the main deck, practically amidships, there is a very spacious galley in pure American style, which is to say extremely functional and equipped with every imaginable accessory to satisfy even the most demanding chef. The fridge and freezer in a special room of their own are noteworthy, as is the great space avaialble for provisions. Accessible from the exterior the area includes a daytime bathroom, a pantry aft and two distinct foyers from which, by broad stairways, the area is linked to the deck above. The saloon consists of two distinct areas: a dining room with a table seating 12, and a living area with facing sofas and armchairs, the two areas being separated by an item of furniture containing the retractable TV. In the cockpit there's a second table for 12, positioned longitudinally and served by a handy bar. Here too there are two stairways, leading respectively to the upper and lower decks, in a control room with the electrical switchboards and a bathroom. Symmetrically, along the starboard side, beyond the garage for the tender, there's a well stocked equipment room which also has direct access to the exterior, on the bathing platform, and to the engine room which houses two powerful MTU engines. The rest of the deck forward is the guests' night zone: two cabins with double beds and two smaller cabins with twin beds, all excellently furnished and with bathrooms in proportion. The crew's quarters are well separated. The five cabins, each with private bathroom, sleep up to 10. The service galley is next to a large dinette, and there's an equally large, professionally equipped laundry.

The bridge deck features a spacious open air zone which includes a smaller dining area with a round table seating eight. Indoors, a fair sized sky lounge occupies the after part of the deck with a sofa along the starboard side, opposite a card table and a retractable TV. Also on the port side there's an L-shaped bar with chairs. Centrally, a great deal of space is occupied by a richly furnished VIP cabin, while the captain's cabin is next to the bridge.

Going up - we point out that the boat can be supplied with an optional central lift - the after part of the vast sundeck houses a second tender and two personal watercraft. Beneath the big hardtop there's a large semicircular sofa and an external bar of the same shape with a capacious service cabinet. At the bow, a heated mini swimming pool and a spacious half-moon sunbathing area.