The sleek, new Maritimo S70 sedan cruiser, revealed for the first time at the recent Sydney International Boat Show, came into being after the buyer of the first of the model travelled the world studying a variety of brands at international boat shows.
The New Zealand businessman, who is nearing retirement, was originally leaning towards a large displacement cruiser in the Nordhaven or Flemming style and even considered building a one-off boat to their specification in New Zealand.
“After years of sailing our own yacht we decided that as we entered the retirement phase of our lives we were more interested in cruising in a launch rather than standing in the wind, on an angle to get anywhere slowly,” said the businessman. “We went to the Auckland International Boat Show, the Sydney International Boat Show and the world’s largest boat show in Fort Lauderdale and we found the whole experience to be an ‘over-load’.”
He said what surprised them in their global search was that the brands of boats they preferred for the New Zealand environment were Australian build vessels.
“The boat we fell in love with was the Maritimo M65,” he said. ” The stunning kitchen, saloon and master cabin and bathroom impressed my wife and I and a quick trip out into large seas off the Gold Coast supported our belief that the M65 could go anywhere we wanted on the Australian coastline, throughout the Pacific and around New Zealand. “The issue was we were not wanting a flybridge cruiser, but Maritimo were quick to offer to design and build a sport cabriolet version of the M65 and they presented a design to us in 3D that had us sold.”
The couple plans to spend a year cruising the coastline around Australia before taking the boat back home to New Zealand after they take possession early next year.
Maritimo’s Australasian Sales Manager Ormonde Britton said the buyer started discussions with Maritimo’s New Zealand representative Don Senior about 15 months ago and the concept of the S70 sedan stemmed from there.
“He knew what he wanted and we kept fine tuning and adding things here and there until the eventual design surfaced and he signed-up,” he said. “He wanted a single level boat and he wanted some serious volume so we were able to keep working on the vessel until we got exactly what he was looking for.”
Britton said the buyer of S70 hull number one spent a lot of time sea trialing the M61 and the M65 and he ‘loved the design of the S58’.
“It was a case of us listening to him and understanding what he wanted and then delivering a product that ticked all the boxes he felt were crucial for his next boat,” said Britton.
Maritimo’s Marketing and International Sales Manager, Greg Haines, said the M65 had been a runaway success for the company with twelve vessels now sold to buyers throughout Australia and as further afield as New Zealand, Texas, Florida, France and Singapore.
“This is a big volume, serious passage maker and the S70 will deliver all that the M65 does and more on a single level,” he said.
The vessel will have four cabins and three bathrooms and an exceptionally large saloon and helm area. The first boat will probably be powered by 900hp Scania motors, but a final decision is yet to be made.
Britton said the customer came to the recent Sydney International Boat Show and spent a great deal of time with Maritimo’s interior design team. “He is planning on really going to town on the interior fit out and design of the vessel as it wants it to be proudly his own,” said Britton. “He wants to spend twelve months cruising the South Pacific area and we hope to have the vessel ready in time for the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May 2017.”
Haines said with the recently released M61, the highly successful M65 and now a sedan version 70 footer Maritimo could offer the boat buying public some ‘seriously large’ bluewater passage makers in both one and two level configurations.
