This expectation of performance during the buying process begins and ends with speed. No matter that most yachts spend less than one percent of their operating hours at wide open throttle, a common question heard on the docks at many boat shows is, “How fast is she?” The answer to that question is undoubtedly important, but the people who ask the question are likely doing several layers of calculations in their heads at one time. So while there is definitely more to performance than this one metric, and how it fits into owners’ expectations, the understanding of why the question is asked lets us address the design considerations that go into all Summit Motoryachts.
First and foremost, everyone knows it’s how the yacht handles at all speeds is the most important consideration, since any yacht that has large swaths of discomfort on its speed curve will be a yacht that the owner must learn to operate single-handed, or at the very least shorthanded. That will get old fast and certainly enter into the equation when an owner starts calculating how happy he is.
When experienced yachting owners first review the goals they have for their next yacht, many factors come into the equation. One consideration that is often given substantial weight is their schedule and how much time they have for cruising. The best performance cruisers offer a combination of speed, comfort, and efficiency that will fit in with the way the prospective owners will want to use their boat.
As we considered the launch of Summit Motoryachts at the company’s launch, we thought a lot about the owners we knew well who were fans of Kadey-Krogen’s line of pure-full-displacement bluewater cruising trawlers, and also how many people we encountered who could see themselves appreciating those yachts, but later in life, when they could truly escape from their landbound existence with its familial and professional responsibilities.
The goal we set for ourselves was to understand how these yacht buyers could be welcomed to the family now and graduate into the trawlers—or a larger yacht—when the time came.
The Summit 54 Motoryacht offers a cruising speed of 21 knots, a speed that will open up a sizeable cruising radius to those looking to make the most of a weekend or three-days-at-a-time schedule. That model also offers a top speed of 25 knots, allowing her owners to change the schedule to their liking, whether they are looking to outfox the weather or make port before nightfall.
Because we understand that the underlying design of a yacht, including the classification of hull, will determine how it performs we had some serious decisions to make. We decided that, if you want to be able to go fast you want a planing hull. And if you want to go fast, and be efficient and well-mannered while you do it, you call Michael Peters Yacht Design.
Michael Peters made his name designing champion race boats. He got his start as a one-man firm, and his designs were proven in the crucible of intense international racing, which demands measurable, quantifiable performance. These same exacting standards apply to the performance and aesthetic criteria that drive the design of every boat that bears the name of Michael Peters Yacht Design. We chose to work with Michael Peters Yacht Design because we wanted Summit Motoryachts to be the best performance yacht we could build. Because the fundamental belief held by Michael Peters that all design should exemplify the fusion of art and science, a belief that we share.