This article appeard in the January 2007 edition of

Reproduced with kind permission

Are you young at heart?’ Coming from an 80 year-old, that question could be taken as provocative, but David Lewis does like to tease. After all, not many men of his age still fly their own executive jet or are very actively involved in business. He was really asking if I would like to visit the crow’s nest of his brand-new 36.2m CBI motor yacht Metsuyan IV, with him leading the way up the vertical steel ladder. So up we went.

‘I have always had a boat’ said Mr Lewis ‘apart from a short period when I was exceptionally busy with business.’ He might have added that there was another short period when he was very busy fighting Adolf Hitler on our behalf. The painting of a Lancaster bomber over his desk tells the story. Next he reels off a long list of boats that began with a sailing dinghy in Poole Harbour and ended with a Spanish-built 27.5m fast motor yacht. ‘These were all off-the-shelf designs’ he continued ‘but eventually I decided to build a yacht to my own specification, that I could be really comfortable with.’

In defining his dream yacht, Mr Lewis found it easier to begin with the negatives: ‘It was not to be a gin palace’ he said ‘and neither was it to be sleek or sexy.’ The positive description was of a practical, comfortable, sensible, seaworthy, long-range family boat. And if that sounds just a teeny bit on the dull side, he was quick to point out that the family includes several teenage grandchildren who were on his mind when he specified two large tenders, both fast enough for water-skiing, two jet-skis, SCUBA gear and lots of other water-sports equipment including a diving-board that fits onto the side of the sun-deck about 4 metres above the waterline. Although essentially personal, Metsuyan IV will be available for charter about 50% of the time and has all the features to make this legal and practical.

The first step was to appoint Jaron Ginton as naval architect and Miki Gull as consultant, with Cees Akermann as build supervisor. It was good to hear Jaron Ginton run through some really worthwhile design features including a bulbous bow which achieves a 7% reduction in running resistance. The hull is shallow aft allowing large propellers with good separation to reduce noise and vibration while the shaft line is as flat as possible for optimum efficiency.

Ginton made a special study of the Quantum ‘zero speed’ stabilizers and found they work best if the yacht’s natural roll period is at least six seconds. He therefore modified the hull beam and recalculated until the desired roll period was achieved, while ensuring that stability remained within the Lloyd’s/MCA requirements. As a result Metsuyan IV is exceptionally stable under way, while at anchor it is so well damped by the zero speed stabilisers that it is seen to be the yacht with least movement in an anchorage. In addition he had the Marin Institute in Holland run a CFD analysis or ‘electronic tank test’ on the hull to ensure the lowest possible resistance and accurate positioning of appendages.

Ginton is critical of owners who specify over-sized engines which then run inefficiently because their power loading is too low. Metsuyan’s twin 535hp MTU diesels can push her up to the hull maximum of around 13 knots at full power and are running in their ideal power range at the 12 knot cruising speed, consuming only 125 litres of fuel per hour. With tankage for 46,000 litres, fuel can be bought at the best price and will last for most of a season, with a cruising range of over 4,000 miles.

Mr Lewis had a number of technical requirements of his own. He hates the inadequate anchors found on most fast boats and insisted on ground tackle well in excess of Lloyds requirements: two anchors of 285kg, each having 150m of extra-heavy studlink chain to ensure that nights spent at anchor will be worry-free. For ease of maneuvering, there is a stern thruster as well as the usual bow thruster and there are five helm positions (wheelhouse, two wing stations, sun-deck and aft deck). From the main helm position in the wheelhouse, there is a clear view over better than 180 degrees plus an aft-facing TV camera to back up the radar picture.

Finding space for two tenders and two jetskiis on this relatively short boat was not easy but has been achieved neatly. The jet-skis fit into tailored lockers on the foredeck and are lifted overside by a small crane. The main tender sits athwartships on the upper deck and can be launched as soon as the yacht comes to anchor in order to free up space on this deck. The second boat fits tightly into an aft garage which is revealed when the transom lifts up. No crane is needed as the boat is pulled in over rollers by a winch. The close fit of the garage ensures that there are good store rooms on either side.

The builder of choice was CBI Navi of Viareggio but half way through the build, it became apparent that they were getting into financial difficulties. Fortunately the FIPA Group from Italy, builders of the Maiora range of motor yachts, stepped in and acquired the company with the result that they became responsible for the completion. As usual in Viareggio, much of the fitting-out work was done by sub-contractors who appear to have done an excellent job in this case.

David Lewis loves fine craftsmanship in wood and accordingly, the interior was designed by Ken Freivokh in a relaxed traditional style with some very nice woodwork and marble details. According to Freivokh, the great appeal of building in Viareggio is that you can always find an appropriate specialist craftsman. The layout follows a conventional pattern with minor variations. On the main deck, the saloon and dining room form one large space with a large sofa acting as divider. The keynote timber is cherry, with quartered panels. The beautiful oval dining table is made from sycamore with a radiating pattern of dark lines which fade to one side to create a spinning propeller effect. A coffee table in the saloon is a smaller version of the same design. Double glass doors slide open to the aft deck where a further table, set against a curved settee, offers an alternative dining table in the open air.

Amidships on the starboard side is a marble-floored hallway which is the hub of the yacht with stairs up and down, a door to the deck, another to the crew area and another into a day head. Moving forward, a door opens into the owner’s study with leather-topped desk and ‘executive’ armchair. Beyond the study lies the master cabin which is not huge but very pleasant and comfortable with a forward-facing double bed slightly offset to port. This is because the starboard side is occupied by a walk-in wardrobe which obstructs one of the windows with the result that the cabin receives more daylight from the port side than starboard.

Stretching right across the superstructure ahead of the cabin is a very fine marble bathroom with basins on either side of the central shower compartment, a whirlpool bath to starboard and a separate w.c. compartment to port.

The upper saloon feels very spacious as the superstructure uses the full width of the hull at that point, without side-decks. As well as seating arranged for comfortable viewing of the large TV screen there is a bar which also serves as a pantry and is fitted with a ‘dumb-waiter’ lift from the galley on the main deck. This makes it convenient for the crew to serve to the outdoor dining table beyond the glass doors. This deck is very spacious so there is plenty of room for up to ten diners at the extending table, even if the main tender is in place.

There is not quite enough room for a captain’s cabin between the upper saloon and the wheelhouse but space was found for a small ship’s office. The wheelhouse itself is both spacious and quite social with a slightly raised sofa and coffee table which is placed so that visitors can look over or past the helmsman at the instrument displays and through the vertical windows. It is no great surprise to find that in addition to an electronic chart display, there is a full-size chart table with drawers of paper charts. A Portuguese bridge provides a route from either side of the wheelhouse to a central walkway down to the foredeck where Muir stainless steel windlasses handle the massive anchor chains.

Four guests cabins are placed in the exact centre of the lower deck with a lozenge-shaped lobby between them. The two forward cabins - double to port and twin to starboard - have connecting doors which would make them especially suitable for parents of one or two young children or in other circumstances can form a VIP suite with two bathrooms. The other two cabins are not quite mirror images as they are not connected and the double has a bath-tub rather than a shower. All the cabins have access to a full video and music outfit and have telephones with world-wide direct dialling.

For a yacht of this size, there is a very good selection of outdoor space and the top or sun deck has been utilized to the absolute maximum with an outside steering position and forward-facing bench seats in addition to the more usual features such as a barbecue and bar plus a selection of settees, small tables and moveable loungers which can be placed in the sun or shade. In the unshaded area aft, a spa pool is flanked by a broad spread of sunbathing cushions. An unusual feature is a direct stair access from the sundeck to the wheelhouse, rather like an American-style ‘raised pilothouse’ layout. The reason for this is that if the owner or captain decides to steer from the upper position, he can always nip down to the wheelhouse to look at the radar or the full instrument panel.

Having run through this description of Metsuyan IV, one needs to be reminded that the yacht is only 36.20m overall, in spite of which she seems to have virtually all the features of a typical 50m motor yacht. It is apparent that David Lewis and his designers have done an astonishing job of fitting in so much very agreeable accommodation and deck space into a limited volume. She is a compact superyacht and if her outboard appearance is a little on the chunky side, that will not reduce the enjoyment of those on board in the slightest, and will be exactly what David Lewis wanted as he prefers functional design to the purely cosmetic.

And then there is the already-mentioned crow’s nest. This is a small platform with handrails around it, on top of the radar arch, between the two satellite domes. It cannot be used if the radars are operating, as their powerful beams of radiation would be too close for safety but when the yacht is at anchor it does provide an absolutely stunning view, which, best of all, can only be appreciated by the young at heart.