The Beginning:

From Concept to Drawing Board to Production

The Out Islander 64 is a new take on what a cruising yacht should be. Here, “form follows function,” if the function is living aboard, exploring, anchoring out, fishing and diving. Purpose-built to be an owner-operated cruising yacht, the Out Islander 64 has the speed to out-run bad weather, yet is an efficient long-range passage maker at more modest speeds. Her 5’ 3” draft is coupled with a long shallow keel (with prop pockets) for excellent directional stability. Maximum strength and hull integrity are achieved with low weight, by using hand laid solid structural fiberglass below the waterline and vacuum-bagged Core-Cell® structural components above the waterline.

Combining seemingly disparate functions, such as high speed/fuel efficiency, shallow draft/directional stability and weight savings/high strength, is what makes the Out Islander 64 stand out from the crowd – and worth a closer look.

The Beginning

The Out Islander story all begins with Greg Sturgis.

Well-known in the Florida yachting community, Sturgis was the east coast distributor for Offshore Yachts for 14 years. During this time, he was intimately involved with the building, outfitting and delivery of Offshore Yachts from 48 to 85-ft LOA. These William Crealock-designed pilothouse cruisers are aimed at the coastal cruising market, and are known for their advanced hull design and solid construction. (Offshore’s motto is “the softest ride on the water.”)

Sturgis’ experience over many years of representing Offshore Yachts, talking with owners – and most of all, enjoying his own cruising yachts with family and friends – have honed a keen interest in perfecting a certain kind of yacht specifically for the cruising lifestyle.

Together with his wife, Mindy (who is an experienced yacht decorator herself, having done more than sixty Offshore Yacht interiors since 1993), and their two sons, the Sturgis family has lived the cruising lifestyle. “Every year when our boys were growing up, Mindy and I would take off and basically spend the whole summer on the boat,” says Sturgis.

Whether cruising up the east coast or down in the Bahamas, to Sturgis, cruising means anchoring out more often than not. His is a more adventurous, more active style of cruising. You get the idea that his summers were full of swimming, snorkeling, fishing and exploring – definitely NOT being tied up in a marina!

Man O’War Cay, Bahamas, summer of 2006. L to R: Ryan Sturgis, Greg Sturgis and friend Michael Albury on the flybridge of an Offshore 62. The concept for the Out Islander 64 was formed by outings like this.

Perhaps many people are content with a yacht with attractive lines and lots of on-board amenities. But to Sturgis, that’s the starting point, not the finish line. He wanted more than good looks – he wanted a cruising yacht that would fit his lifestyle like a glove. He wanted a hearty vessel with extra safety margins. In short, a yacht that had it all, and would do it all.

The concept of a “perfect” cruising yacht remained in the back of his mind for years, shaped by his on-board experiences. “You notice little things after you live on board awhile,” he explains. “Like, that’s the third time I hit my elbow . . . why did the designer put THAT there?” At the same time, Sturgis was taking note of features that offered improved convenience or safety on board. Gradually, he saw that the best way to have the boat he really wanted, was to build it with all the features he had been thinking about for years.

For Sturgis, unlike most yachtsmen, this was no pipedream. For one thing, he has genuine on-the-water credentials. He holds a U.S.C.G.100-ton Masters license. He has made the Great Loop with his family and has extensively cruised in U.S. and Bahamian waters. Plus, he is very well versed in what it takes to build and deliver a boat to the U.S. market. Before Sturgis was the east coast distributor for Offshore Yachts, he was a dealer for Islander and Tartan sailboats in the early 1980’s; then was the largest dealer for Rampage sportfishing boats for five consecutive years.

Building his dream boat, the “best of the breed,” meant starting with a clean sheet of paper, his ideas for the perfect cruising yacht – and a phone call to Tom Fexas Yacht Design.

A Tom Fexas Design

A nationally known yacht designer based in Stuart, Florida, Tom Fexas had first won acclaim in 1978 with his “Midnight Lace” design. Based on a pre-war commuter boat, Midnight Lace was a strikingly retro-looking yacht, yet with high-speed performance and economical fuel consumption. It fostered a huge amount of interest when it debuted at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show and led to many other manufacturers coming to market with their versions of express-style cruisers.

After Midnight Lace brought national prominence to Fexas, he went on to design many, many custom and production yachts. Top yacht builders such as Cheoy Lee, Palmer Johnson, Burger, Grand Banks, Abeking & Rassmusin, Mikelson and others employed Fexas to design their yachts.

Tom Fexas was at the top of his game when Greg Sturgis first contacted him about designing the Out Islander 64. “I met with Tom (Fexas) about 15 years ago, at our home in Fort Lauderdale,” says Sturgis. “My idea (for the Out Islander 64) is really for a ‘niche’ boat and Tom ‘got that’ right away.” After that initial meeting and some informal talks, the project lay dormant for some years until Sturgis committed to going forward with the project in 2005.

The Out Islander 64 is the last yacht design that Fexas would work on before his untimely passing on November 29, 2006. For years, seeing a new Fexas design at the top boat shows was practically a given. The Out Islander 64 may be the last Tom Fexas-designed yacht to appear, when it is unveiled at the Miami Boat Show in 2009.

The appearance now, of one more of his innovative yacht designs, reminds us of what a huge talent Fexas was, and how influential his yacht designs have become. It’s sort of like finding an unreleased Beatles song in the tape archives of a recording studio, because this latest (and perhaps final) iteration shows Fexas’ deft touch at designing really nice boats that do their job really well.

The Concept

The job of the Out Islander 64 is to bring Greg Sturgis’ concept of a cruising yacht to life. It’s Swiss-army knife versatility and SUV-like ruggedness (with a yacht quality interior) is designed around the lifestyle and activities that Sturgis likes.

“I’ve incorporated space for (SCUBA) tanks and dive gear, because we like to dive,” says Sturgis. “The cockpit is big enough for a fighting chair.” On-deck cleats are recessed (to avoid the dreaded “cleat foot”), while wide side decks and high railings make line handling easier and safer. A Portuguese bridge and forward-sloping pilothouse windows are functional and give a seaworthy look to the craft. But the effect isn’t just for looks. It’s all part of his check list for the optimum cruising yacht. For instance, the forward sloping windows don’t reflect the instrument lights at night, for better night vision.

The Out Islander 64 is available with or without an enclosed flybridge. (Hull #1 is being built without an enclosed flybridge, Hull #2 with an enclosed flybridge.) Layouts are offered in either a three stateroom/two head or three stateroom/three head configuration. Here again, certain design options have been incorporated because of Sturgis’ knowledge of what the boat-buying public wants.

A pair of Caterpillar C-15 853hp diesel engines will supply power for Hull #1. (However, power options may change on future models. Caterpillar C-18 1000hp engines have been selected for Hull #2. Different options such as MAN, Lugger, and others may be specified for future Out Islander yachts). Tankage is positioned low in the hull, amidships for optimum trim. Multiple tanks can be filled from one filling tube, port or starboard.

Built By Camargue

Just as the decision to have Fexas design his yacht was an obvious one, so too was Sturgis’ decision to have the yacht built by the Camargue Yacht Co., Ltd in Taiwan. “I’ve known Henry Chiu (president of Camargue Yacht Co.) for years,” says Sturgis. “Ever since we started building Offshore Yachts there, over 14 years ago.” This manufacturer built more than 100 Offshore Yachts, and Offshore’s excellent reputation speaks well of Camargue’s standards of workmanship.

Knowing the consistency and quality of work performed at the manufacturing facility was a major factor in choosing Camargue. “I’ve seen how they do things, how they vacuum-bag very large components to infuse resin into the Core-Cell®, and how finely they finish the interior,” says Sturgis. Knowing how to build tremendous strength with light weight is an important consideration for the yacht’s design parameters.

The weight savings of the Out Islander 64 show that it is a design for today, because that promotes fuel economy. The efficient Fexas-designed underbody will provide an estimated top speed of 21 knots.

Putting It All Together

For Sturgis the Out Islander 64 isn’t a case of giving the concept to a designer, choosing a manufacturer – and walking away. His hands-on commitment to the project, including multiple trips to the Far East is growing in anticipation of the arrival of Hull #1 in Fall 2008.

Sturgis’ attention to detail and determination to get it right is exacting. His overview includes everything from the placement of light switches to specifying suppliers. He pored over lists of specifications during the design/build process and chose to source almost all the components in the U.S.

One example is the yacht’s rudders. Here again, the reasoning behind choosing the “best of the best” comes from Sturgis’ concept of the ideal cruising yacht. Unlike less expensive welded or “skinned” rudders that can fail in a grounding, the Out Islander 64 has rudders of solid stainless steel. They weigh in at 352 lbs each, are built by Western Branch Metals in Virginia and shipped to the manufacturing facility for installation.

Well-known brand names for systems components abound: Hynautic® steering, Reverso® pumps, Northern Light® generators, Miele® cooktops, Headhunter® heads are just a sampling. (Click here to see the complete specifications list on this website.)

The best part, according to Sturgis, is when the excellent workmanship of the Camargue yard is married to top-of-the-line components. It results in a very well made boat with no compromises in quality, and at a very competitive price.

Perhaps cruising yachtsmen will be even more impressed with the yacht’s performance and live-ability. Like very few other yachts, the Out Islander 64 is a rare combination of years of hands-on cruising experience, talented yacht design and solid construction.

The Out Islander 64 is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in the fall of 2008 for commissioning. It will be officially unveiled in the spring of 2009 at the Miami Boat Show. Sales inquiries should be directed to Ardell’s Fort Lauderdale or Newport Beach offices.