P
acific Asian Enterprises has an uncanny knack for identifying a market niche and then building a yacht that becomes the standard for that niche. The original Nordhavn 46 defined the oceancrossing power yacht, the Nordhavn 56 Motorsailer brought luxury, speed and comfort to an all-but-forgotten segment of the yacht market. Two new additions include the Nordhavn 75 Expedition Yacht Fisher for people who like to go a long way—like the middle of an ocean—and fish, and the Nordhavn 120, which is certain to become the benchmark for large yachts. The Nordhavn 52 Aft Cabin is the latest example of this talent. Trawler yachts have been around for decades, but no one has quite combined the ingredients the way PAE’s chief designer and naval architect Jeff Leishman has. Based on a request by a client, Leishman took the best features of coastal cruising trawler yachts, including a saloon, galley and steering station all on one level, and added them to the Nordhavn 52, with its passage-making fuel capacity and proven seaworthiness. The result is a yacht, whose capabilities may very well make it the new standard for performance and comfort in its class.
“The boat is capable of doing anything you want,” says Leishman. “It’s got the fuel capacity to get across any ocean, but probably, I’m thinking of it as more of a coastal type boat, where you go up and do Alaska, then go down the coast into Mexico. Possibly not making a lot of overnight runs or minimizing those because you don’t have a separate wheelhouse. That’s the only compromise.” Generally coastal cruising yachts, with their semi-displacement hulls and lower displacement/length ratios, are designed and built on the premise that the owner will run for a safe harbor and sit out bad weather. It’s good to know, however, that if you do get “caught out” in the Nordhavn 52 Aft Cabin, you’ve got a boat that has already proven it can pretty well handle anything nature can throw at it. Jeff and brother Jim, co-founder and vicepresident of PAE, both had a hand in the N52 Aft Cabin’s layout and design. The exterior styling is distinctly Nordhavn, with the more contemporary look that later models have adopted. “We both really liked it once we drew it up,” says Jeff. “It’s something different that we hadn’t done before, so that’s kind of where it came
In profile, the Nordhavn 52 Aft Cabin doesn’t look that much different from the standard 52, but turn the page to see the all-new interior arrangement.
www.nordhavn.com
2012 I CIRCUMNAVIGATOR
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