ig-gamefishingwasnevermoreglamorisedthan
byErnestHemingway’svividdispatchesfrom
Cubaaboutmano-a-manobattleswithgreatfish- “rising,shiningdarkblueandsilver,seemingto
comeendlesslyoutofthewater.”Hisbeloved
11.6-metrePilar,purchasedwiththecashadvance
foranEsquirearticle,becametheprototypical
fishingmachine,“sweetinanykindofsea”.
Sincethattime,sportfishingboatshaveevolved
intoadistincttype,sometimesexaggeratedinto
caricature.MichaelPeters,whohasdesigned
manyofthebreed,takesatongue-in-cheekpokeatthe“voodoo”thathas
evolved:acresofforedeckwithoutnon-skidsurfaces;nobowrails(they’re
forsofties);andtowerssotallthere’sariskofnosebleeds.
Petersnotesthathalfofallsportfishingboatsareboughtwithnointention
ofevergoingfishing.“Theygetboughtfortheirimageandmanlylooks,”he
says.“It’stherichman’spickuptruckandnothinglooksbadderatthedock.”
WiththelaunchofLanakai–a39.5metresporting6,300hpofgruntunder
thehood,18-metreRuppoutriggersandbristlingwithmechanicaland
electronicdevicestohuntdenizensofthedeep–itmaybetemptingtomock
Petersfordrawingthebaddestsportfisherofthemall.
Builtentirelyofcarbonfibre,this30-knotfishingmachineisnoidledock-
boundposer,however.Injust 15 months,shehaslogged8,500nauticalmiles
andputaround1,000hoursonhertwinMTU 4000 seriesengines.
Whentheownerfliesinwithfamilyandfriendstorendezvousatsome
remotelocation,theenginesarealreadywarmedupandreadytogo.Asthey
stepaboard,thelinesarecastoffandthechaseison.
“Thescheduleisprettyhectic,”skipperDannyBossays.“Betweenthe
fishingtripsandmaintenance,weare
alwaysbusy.Weareontracktocomplete
about 110 daysatseaevery 12 months,so
weclockupalotofmiles.”
“Thisismyprimarypassion,”theowner
says.Lanakai,whichwasbuiltatYachting
DevelopmentsinNewZealand,ishis
fourthboat,andtheseconddesignedby
Peters.Foratime,theownerdidconsider
adisplacement-typesuperyacht,buthis
familyquicklydisabusedhimofthat
notion.“Theyknewitwoulddrivemenuts,
justfloatingabout.Sowetriedtocreate
something approaching superyacht
standard,withalltheluxurybellsand
whistles,butbasicallyasportfishingstyle.”
Achievingthisgoalinvolvedadisciplinedcollaborationbetweenthe
owner,designstudioandyard.Intheprocesstheoveralllengthgrewfrom
34 metresto39.5metres,primarilytoaccommodatelargerenginesand
upgradefromfinstabiliserstotwinVeemgyrostabiliserunits.
“IexperiencedgyrostabilisationonaboatIoncecharteredinTahiti,”the
ownerexplains.“Iwassoimpressed,Idecidedwehadtomaketheswitch.”
“Thatcomeswithalotofextraweight,”Petersnotes.Thisadditional
burdenatthebackoftheboatwasaccommodatedbylengtheningthecockpit
andrearrangingsomeoftheinternaltankage.
“Wedidweightstudies,whichsetthebenchmarktoachievethekind
ofperformancetheownerwaslookingfor,”Peterssays.“Thenitwasupto
theyardtodotheengineeringtomakesureitallworkedout.”
Initially,theintentionwastobuildLanakaiinaluminium.“Wespoketo
acoupleofyards,”theownersays,“buttheirestimatescameinalotheavier
thanthetarget.MichaelPeterswarnedusitwouldnevergetoutofthewater.”
EnterYachtingDevelopments,basedinAuckland,NewZealand,which
hasgainedareputationforcompositeconstruction.Itsportfolioisprimarily
focusedonfastsailingsuperyachts,butalsoincludesthe27-metresportfisher
Satu,builtin2012,anda33-metreWarwicksportfishercurrentlyinbuild.
“Thedecisiontogoforanall-carbonconstructioncameaboutbecausewe
hadtomakeacontractcommitmenttoweight,”saysIanCook,Yachting
Developments’managingdirector.
“Intheprocessofanextensiveanalysisofhowtoachievethat,ittranspired
thatitwasactuallymoreeconomicaltobuildincarbonthaninstandardglassB
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