n75eyf under construction
Interior features such as these are impossible to achieve on conventional sportfishing boats because of their sensitivity to weight. Note the number of berths and heads—plenty of privacy for passagemaking with friends, family and professional crew.
ocean passage in luxurious comfort. Leishman owns a 30-foot Rampage, which he fishes off the California coast with his sons. “Here we catch a few dorado and have to work at it, but there are far-off places where you can catch more fish in one day than in an entire season of sportfishing here. I’d want to be out in Costa Rica in November and then off to the Marquesas in January,” Leishman says. Why not time the voyage to arrive in time for Alaska’s summer season, and an entirely different style of fishing? With six heads and berths for nine in five staterooms, including one with bunk beds abaft the wheelhouse, the Expedition Yachtfisher has plenty of room for family, friends 46
circumnavigator | 2008-2009
and hired hands. Leishman insists, however, that a knowledgeable couple would have no problem managing the boat without a professional captain. For one thing, much of the stress has been taken out of docking because of the Expedition Yachtfisher’s 50-horsepower bow and stern thrusters. These thrusters allow the skipper to come parallel to a dock and move the vessel sideways until hard alongside, then hold her there gently while lines are made fast. Control of the boat for docking and other close maneuvers (such as backing down on a fish) can be achieved not only from the wheelhouse and flying bridge but also from stations at the upper and lower aft decks. Such are the
wonders of electronic controls. With a fuel burn at cruise of 12 to 15 gallons an hour, the Nordhavn Expedition Yachtfisher also represents an alternative to fossil fuel gluttony. Compare it to a Battlewagon 74 on plane guzzling in excess of 100 gallons during that same hour. Leishman believes the market in the U.S. is right for an economical big sportfisher as stigma attaches to frivolous fuel consumption while the nation sheds blood for oil. Jeff Leishman, PAE principal and lead naval architect, says the genesis of the Expedition Yachtfisher began with brother Jim’s passion for sportfishing, and it was inevitable that Jim brought this passion to work with him. The first thought was www.circumnavigatormag .com