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Superficially Sycara IV harks back to the days when the likes of Wallace Simpson and Noel Coward cruised in opulent style. In this case, however, looks are deceiving: “She is the same as any modern yacht built today except that she is ‘dressed for the ball’,” comments Captain Graeme Stoner. “Behind the old façade is a state-of-the-art yacht. The crew is exceptionally proud to be afforded the opportunity of working on this vision created by the owners.”
When asked of her best features, Captain Stoner comments: “The lines of the yacht speak volumes. Along with the traditional and exceptional lines, the interior is elegant and reminiscent of a bygone era. The fantail with the classic tender above is always a talking point with dockside observers; the aft deck is completely suspended above the water.”
 The bridge
The dimensions mean that the vessel has a hull shape similar to that of a sail yacht – the length at the waterline is some ten metres less than the LOA and there are only two interior decks. Therefore the design team had to work hard to utilise all the space cleverly onboard, as Captain Stoner notes: “This proved a real challenge for our project manager Steve Narcowicz and he rose ably to [it].”
 The galley has good natural light plus
stainless steel walls and granite worktops
What is the flow of traffic like on the yacht? “Good,” states the Captain. “Flow between the lower deck galley and the aft deck/dining salon is easy with wide walkways and only a small staircase. There is a large stewardess pantry midway to facilitate easy service.” The galley often suffers in terms of storage and work surfaces when interior space is not in abundance but the designers ensured this was not the case on Sycara IV. The galley is ultramodern with large ovens, a walk-in refrigerator, full stainless walls and granite worktops; there is reportedly good natural light in the galley.
 The crew mess is light and spacious with a high standard of finish
The crew accommodation is also noteworthy according to Captain Stoner: “[It] is exceptional: it is finished to guest standard, all cabins have state-of-the-art AV [systems] and there is natural lighting. All bunks have their own AV system.”
The 8.5-metre, 2.27-tonne ELCO classic tender and smaller RIB are launched via a 2.72-tonne-capacity Nautical Structures davit, which proved challenging to design due to the structural challenges and sheer weight of the custom tender.
What will make crew want to work onboard? “The owners first and the beauty of the yacht second,” says Captain Stoner, who also commented that he would not change
any features onboard if he were given the opportunity.
THE STATISTICS
Name: Sycara IV
Built by: Burger Boat Company
Place of build: Manitowoc, US
LOA: 46.1m (151ft 3in)
Beam: 8.3m (27ft 1in)
Draught: 1.9m (6ft 2in)
Hull/Superstructure: Alustar aluminium
Engines: Two 448kW (600BHP at 2,100 rpm) Caterpillar C-18, C rating (raw water cooled)
Speed: 14.0kn max; 12.0kn cruising
Range: 2,400nm at 10kn
Designer: Ken Freivokh Design & Burger Design Team
Naval Architects: Bruce King & Burger Design Team
Captain: Graeme Stoner
Number of crew: Six plus captain
Crew accommodation: Three double cabins, one captain’s cabin – all with ensuite
Guests: Six/seven
Toys onboard: 8.5-m ELCO custom classic wooden speedboat, a 4.3-m RIB and two kayaks
Intended use: Private
Port of registry: Bikini, Marshall Islands
With thanks to Burger Boat Company (burgerboat.com) and Captain Graeme Stoner.
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