The salty and distinctive lines of Down East-style cruisers are admired around the world, and often copied by builders from Turkey to Australia. These designs take their lead from Maine lobster boats that have plied the New England coast for generations, and are known for their speed, stability, seaworthiness and large cockpits. Adapted into refined yacht-style cruisers, these lobster-boat hulls offer a very special platform for coastal cruising.
In 2018, Newport Yacht Builders in Newport, Rhode Island, were approached by an experienced client to develop and build a cruising boat for his young family based off of the Mussel Ridge 54 hull. An extended version of Hutchinson Composites’ (Cushing, Maine) very successful Mussel Ridge 48 lobster hull, the 54 would provide a large, stable platform with proven seakeeping qualities and economy.
Recently, I had the chance to see the new boat with yacht designer Ezra Smith, who is a partner in NYB. The boat, named Pretti Rose, was moored at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard and, at first look, I could see that this fine-looking Down East cruiser was a sturdy, capable lobster boat that had been transformed into a finely finished but practical yacht.
Ezra noted, as we stood in the huge cockpit, that his client “wanted a boat that was very stable, comfortable in a choppy sea and able to cruise at 22 to 24 knots and top out at around 30 knots. So that’s what we built for him.”
Pretti Rose has a 17-foot beam and hard chines so it has a lot of what designers call “initial stability.” That means that it is very flat on the water and will not roll in a beam sea. To augment the hull’s stability, the client added a Seakeeper gyro stabilizer.
The engine compartment, housing the 12-cylinder, 1500-hp MAN diesel, sits at the forward end of the cockpit and has a wide sunning bed on top of it.
Ezra explained the engine’s position. “Lobster boats are designed to carry a heavy stack of lobster pots in the cockpit so the engines are usually mounted forward under the cabin sole, counter-balancing their weight. In Pretti Rose, our client wanted to shift the engine aft, under the cockpit, both to redistribute the balance of the boat and to keep engine noise out of the living areas. To accomplish this, we went with a V-drive transmission.” It has worked out very well, with the boat trimming perfectly and impressively low engine noise in the pilothouse and forward accommodation spaces.
The cockpit does not have a swim platform aft, which wouldn’t look authentic on a lobster boat. Instead, the transom and bench built into it slide forward on tracks in the cockpit sole, which transforms the stern into a useful platform for swimming and climbing in and out of a dinghy.
Facing forward, the door to the salon is to starboard and, to port, there is a smaller door that leads down a ladder into a “pocket cabin” that was tucked under the salon. This was immediately chosen by the client’s oldest daughter. She didn’t want to bunk with her two younger siblings.
The salon has huge windows and, instead of glass, the windows on the starboard side and aft are flexible acrylic panels that can be removed, creating an indoor-outdoor living area. The L-shaped dinette is right by the entrance and the large U-shaped galley is to port. Forward, the inside helm is to starboard, while the raised helm seat with all the nav instruments and the autopilot are to port.
Ezra explained that “The inside steering station is much like the cockpit steering station on a lobster boat. It is only used for docking or tight maneuvers because, like most cruisers, the client will steer the boat with the autopilot on most passages.”
There are two sleeping cabins forward with a head and separate shower compartment. A door in the shower leads to a utility engineering space under the salon sole where the Seakeeper gyro, inverters, batteries and air conditioning are easily accessible.
The kids’ cabin to port has two bunks and plenty of storage. The master cabin forward has a walk-around, full-size queen berth on the centerline, and again, plenty of storage.
The finish work in the interior is an adaptation of Herreshoff yacht-style with white bulkheads and varnished mahogany cabinets, tables and trim. The joinery is impeccable.
Newport Yacht Builders has done an admirable job combining the great seakeeping and speed characteristics of a classic lobster boat with the accommodations and systems of a very high-end yacht. It is safe to say that Pretti Rose has deep Down East roots but is very much a unique and modern custom coastal cruiser.
Specs.: LOA: 53’11”; Beam: 17’4″; Draft: 6’0″; Disp.: 50,000 lbs.; Fuel: 1,050 gals.; Water: 500 gals,; Power: 1×1500-hp MAN diesel.
Read more: http://newportyachtbuilders.com
