Boat International US Edition – May 2019

boatinternational.com• 052019

here’ssomethingofafairytalequalitytothe
storyofthisgenre-bustingyacht.Rockhas
appearedfromnowhere,courtesyofalittle-
knownTurkishyardcalledEvadneYachts,
whichhashithertospecializedinbeamy,traditionalTurkish
sailingboats.Theowner,AliSayakci,wasgiftedtheyardbyhis
wifeandhasbeenrunningitasadistractionfromhismain
occupation:quarryingforstoneinthehillsofnorth-westTurkey.
Andyet,hereis78ftofsublimelyfinished,sophisticatedboy’s
toy.It’squitehardtotakeinovercoffeeinthemountingdinof
themorningdockatthe 2018 CannesYachtingFestival.
Sayakciisjustifiablyproudofhisnewplaything,whichhas
createdquiteastirsinceitsdebut.“Ilearnedanewwordtoday,”
hetellsmewhenIstepaboardforthetour.“‘Eyecatcher.’I’ve
hadsomeverygoodfeedbackfromthepublic.”
Theangular,masculinelookandthebrandingasa“SeaUtility
Vehicle”arerightontrend,whileherlengthof77ftatthe
waterlineneatlyavoidsaworldofextraregulationkickinginat
24 meters(79ft).“Iseethereisalatentdemandforthistypeof
product,”Sayakcicontinues.“Thissizeofboatwiththe
characteristicsofapropership.Wewereexpectingsuccess,but
wewerenotexpectingthismuchappreciationfromthemarket.”
Rockhasexplorer-boatlooks,withherhighbow,reverse-
slopingwindscreenonthebridgedeckandcutawaybulwarks
aft.Andsheisdesignedtocrossoceans:2,000hpfromhertwin
CATC12.9enginescanpushthefastdisplacementhullalongat

15 knots,butatnineknotsshehasa

rangeof3,000nauticalmiles.For

me,though,hermissionismore

about creeping into far-flung

cornersoftheMedorBahamaswith

herdraftjustunder6ft,orexploring

off the beaten track in the

Caribbean.That’swhytheSUV

moniker sits so well. She is

somethingofahybrid–acrossover.

BeforeIcandrinkmycoffee,

we’re joinedby designer Bart

Bouwhuis,partneratDutchdesign

studioVripack,whichtransformed

Sayakci’sideasintoaship.“We’d

donesomesmalltrawleryachtswith

them before, so we knew the

shipyard,”Bouwhuissays.“Wegave

Sayakciafreshconceptand,tohiscredit,hegotitfromdayone.”

TheVripackinteriorisallaboutspaceandcomfort–muted

fabricsandmaplewoodcontrastingwiththemineralgeometry.

“Becauseoftheowner’snaturalstonebusiness,ourbriefwas‘a

rockofthesea,’”Bouwhuisexplains.Andwhenyouknowthis,

youstarttospotendlesslittlereflectionsofthisideainthe

interiorstyling:adoorhandlewhoselengthiscarvedintofacets;

agray-and-whiterugwithgeometricpatternsonit;atablewith

T