coming soon
Nordhavn 63
want two feet more,” Leishman said. Partially because of that tendency, the Nordhavn’s 60-foot range has five models, a 60, 62, 63, 64 and a 68. Like all late-model Nordhavns, the 63 carries her beam aft, with a hull shape that flattens as it nears the stern. This affords the 63 greater interior volume than otherwise possible, while enabling it to perform better at sea, according to Jim Leishman, Jeff’s brother and vicepresident of PAE. “With fuller stern sections, you get a bigger lazarette and bigger load carrying capacity. You get a better pitch motion with fuller stern sections. And if a guy has to have twin engines, he can,” Jim Leishman said. “We have totally proven to ourselves that the singles are superior to the twins in our boat applications in their economy—with twins you get 25 percent less—but the nice thing about twins is that if you lose an engine you can still proceed on the other at almost the same speed. If you lose your main engine on a single-engine boat, all you have is your wing engine, and you’re going to run at five or 5½ knots.”
A simply beautiful interior While the design of the Nordhavn 63 evokes the image of a stalwart little freighter, her updated styling—particularly the superstructure—is calculated to be more appealing to women, creating a better first impression to be reinforced by a “wow factor” on entering the saloon. The workmanship on the Nordhavn 63 is to the higher standard that evolved as Nordhavn began building boats over 70 feet (21.3 meters) LOA. The standard Nordhavn 63 interior features raised
Nordhavn 63 62 ft 6 in/19.05 m
LOAD WATERLINE
57 ft 3 in/17.45 m
BEAM
18 ft 0 in/5.49 m
How many will she sleep?
DRAFT
6 ft 8 in/2.03m
DISPLACEMENT
130,000 lb/58.97 metric tons
FUEL CAPACITY
2,500 gal US/9,463.5 l
WATER CAPACITY
600 gal US/2,271.2 l
The Nordhavn 63 has berths for 10. A master and two guest staterooms are down below and forward. The master is ideally placed for comfort under way; it is not too far forward of amidships and its queen-size island berth is aligned athwartships. That is, at right angles to the centerline of the boat. Just forward of the engine, a utility cabin with washer, dryer and second freezer doubles as crew quarters with berths for two. Behind the pilothouse, a fifth stateroom boasts a queen size bed, en suite head and a commanding view. One of the most useful features of the Nordhavn 63’s “freighter” design is a foredeck that can handle a 17-foot (5.2 meters) RIB. Anyone who has ever cruised in a full-displacement vessel— that is, a relatively slow boat—knows the value of a fast tender, especially when it’s big enough to carry the entire crew. To be able to quickly deploy that tender, the Nordhavn 63 comes equipped with a $40,000 telescoping crane able to lift 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms.) The faithful beating heart of the Nordhavn 63 is her 330 horsepower John Deere engine, which in the best Nordhavn tradition is keel cooled to enable a dry-stack exhaust. With tankage for 2,500 gallons (9,463 liters) of diesel fuel, she will have an estimated range of 3,000 nautical miles. Think about it: A true circumnavigator brought to market because one potential customer needed a slightly narrower beam. Amazing but true. IV
ENGINE John Deere #6081AFM diesel power output
330 hp @ 2,300 rpm
estimated RANGE
3,000 nm
CRUISING SPEED
8-9 KNOTS
eta
Mid-2010
panels of contrasting cherry wood. “It has a beautiful and quality interior. People are going to perceive it,” Jim said. “Those interiors are all stick built. Those cabinets are not built outside the boat. That’s the old way and the labor intensive way.” Besides the finish, another outstanding feature of the Nordhavn 63 is the price tag—well under $2 million. Anyone interested in this aft wheelhouse design should compare that number across the Nordhavn’s midsize models for a sense of the inherent value of a Nordhavn 63. The main elements of the saloon are two settees and an optional 42-inch flatscreen television that rises from a cabinet by an electric lift mechanism. Addition of a barrel chair makes seating for a total of 10 people. The U-shaped galley stands at the same level and is open to the saloon
SITE SEE To see the Nordhavn 63 under construction and download drawings, visit www.nordhavn.com/63/slideshow/
Continued from Page 71 the forward windows and the distinctive parallel curvature of bow and stern. Her two tenders nestled nicely beneath the sightlines over the foredeck, and the bulbous bow serve as reminders that this vessel, like the rest, is an ocean-crosser. The 120 deploys its anchors from pockets, making it the first Nordhavn without bow rollers for her ground tackle. As tall as a man standing at water level, the pockets are massive hunks of stainless steel and contribute to the boat’s shippy demeanor. Meanwhile, the “rakish” design of the Nordhavn 120 superstructure is a conscious effort to incorporate mega yacht styling 74
CIRCUMNAVIGATOR I 2010
from the counter upward, for social as well as culinary convenience.
LENGTH OVERALL
while hinting at the luxury within. “The owner wanted the expeditionary yacht concept updated a little bit,” Jeff said. “And my design trends in the bigger boats have been going away from the full industrial look.” Speaking of industry, here’s a recommendation. Go to the Nordhavn website and navigate to the slideshow on the Nordhavn 120’s hull mold, one of the biggest molds for a single piece of fiberglass ever built. Admittedly this may be a guy thing, but any boatbuilder would tell you this is exquisite tooling and worth millions. Over its long lifetime you can expect that this mold, technically a “female” mold, will give birth to an entire fleet of gleaming Nordhavn 120s. IV www.circumnavigatormag.com