In 2005 a gentleman called David Berkman contacted NRW and said he was interested in having us design and build he and his wife Adrienne a custom pleasure boat. At the time David was also considering a Palm Beach Motor Yacht. Our design brief was to create a vessel that could travel safely and speedily from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Lord Howe was David’s favourite destination, he loved diving and fishing in and around the island.
Our Lead Designer Adam developed an immediate rapport with David and Adrienne and quickly developed an understanding of their specific requirements. We did the initial designs for a 55 foot boat, basing the hull design on a pilot boat that we knew would offer great seakeeping, with a hull that was well tasked to manage all conditions and the occasional conditions they would have encountered when venturing to and from Lord Howe.
Adam did an amazing job, styling and designing the boat developing a lovely fit-out in conjunction with Adrienne. He really did feel like this boat was his baby. The boat was then priced, which David and Adrienne agreed to and contracts were signed.
The start of the project involved finishing a detailed hull design and weight estimate, which we completed and then conducted tank testing. The tank testing was successful with the model running beautifully. From the testing we were confident the vessel would achieve a maximum speed of 22 knots fully laden and would be able to cruise at a sustained speed of 16 knots in most conditions.
From this point on Adam did all of the design work and ran the project, he did a fabulous job.
The hull had a chine aft with round bilge forward with a pronounced built-in spray chine. It was strip planked and glassed inside and out.
The layout was designed for easy living with a very large cockpit, which led into a large open lounge/galley area with a console forward. All of the accommodation was forward.
The superstructure was varnished teak with a teak deck and a white hull.
The fit-out was beautifully finished by our boatbuilders and joiners, everything was designed for functionality at sea.
As the boat took shape I could see Adam had created something quite unique. The hull lines and superstructure were absolutely beautiful, the structure was extremely strong, which made us feel at ease knowing the potential for running into bad weather when on the way to and from Lord Howe.
One of the unique features of the boat was the aft deck in the cockpit, which would open entirely allowing for storage of a dinghy, outboard, fishing and dive gear etc. Adam had also designed an on-deck toilet/shower which was very handy after a big day of fishing or diving.
On completion of the build we did a weight and balance check, to our delight she was on weight and the LCG was in the correct position.
David and Adrienne named the boat “Anuha”. She was launched and trialled and as we hoped performed to all of our expectations. A further sea trial was undertaken to the reef by David, Adam and Ian Wright and Ian reported that the hull performed very well.
On handover David and Adrienne started using Anuha for the purposes she was designed for. After a couple of enjoyable years David contacted us and asked if it was possible for Anuha to be extended by 1.2 metres, so we did some basic calculations and confirmed it was possible. Adam once again did a great job designing the extension to ensure it was functional and fitted in seamlessly to the classic design.
Unfortunately, our yard was at capacity at the time and we couldn’t undertake the extension, so we contacted our friend and fellow boat builder Pat Catterson. Pat was a fine boat builder who had a shed at Gold Coast City Marina, and he agreed to do the job for us.
As always Pat did a great job and on completion, we sea trialled her again and to our surprise, she was performing slightly better than when originally built. David picked up Anuha on completion and was very pleased with the outcome.
David and Adrienne enjoyed Anuha for a number of years until selling her to a new owner based on Sydney’s Pittwater, where she is adored and well cared for by her new owner. Anuha was a wonderful project for great clients and we remain in contact today.
