Heywood, as well as Zinser and the owner, are also pleased with the execution of the boathouse, otherwise known as the tender garage. It needed to be large enough to hold three custom tenders, several PWCs and a few other water toys, plus meet Lloyd’s and SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) standards. Measuring 47 feet by 40 feet, it houses two overhead cranes that slide out about 10 feet. Each can launch and retrieve a classic limited-edition Riva Aquariva 100 Cento, an Intrepid Custom 350 Open and a Vikal limo tender designed by Heywood to match Cakewalk. The tenders sit in custom-built cradles, and Derecktor also constructed the electric/hydraulic side doors, designed by Freeman Marine, through which they depart and return.
Just as much attention was paid to the general arrangement of the interior. “They got how [the owners] like to live,” Kennedy explains. Entertaining is a priority, as is chartering, so the galley spans three decks, all tucked to port. Most of the cooking takes place on the main deck, as you’d expect, and a good-size pantry allows the stewardesses to stage platters and exit and enter the dining room without getting in each other’s way. But the owner’s deck, one level up, plus the bridge deck above that feature additional pantries, which really are akin to extra galleys. They contain microwaves and other appliances, plus far more counter space than the primary galleys aboard most other megayachts — even ones in the same size range.
They’re all steps away from rooms that will get significant use, whether the owner and his family are aboard or charter guests have booked Cakewalk. The main-deck salon is fashioned as a library, with a majestic fireplace amidships. Up one deck, “the owner’s salon is really cool — it’s got a lot of jazz to it,” says Liz Dalton, the owner’s longtime interior designer. Rather than looking around the room, guests should really look up: Ropelike circles repeat across the overhead. All the joinery in the salon was executed by Merritt Woodwork, an Ohio-based firm. (Yet another American firm, Zepsa Architectural Woodwork, took on the joinery on the main and bridge decks, with Derecktor New York completing the teak cap rails and decks.) The bridge-deck lounge has the most casual atmosphere, with shutter-like blinds, a card table and seating situated in front of the TV.
Even with their distinctly different looks, the three primary lounges, as well as other gathering areas, are all in proportion. Nowhere do you feel as if you’re aboard a sprawling ship. That’s a feat unto itself, considering that everything about Cakewalk is huge. Her beam is nearly 47 feet. She rises six decks high. She employs a 400 kW bow thruster. Two of her four main gensets are MTU 12-volt 2000 M40Bs, more commonly found aboard ferries.
Nor was she easy to build. “Needless to say, as with any project of this scale and sophistication, there were some growing pains along the way,” Paul Derecktor says, “but we think the result speaks for herself.” Indeed, the design and build teams speak highly of one another and of what has been accomplished. “I cannot say anything less than that the owner and captain are a very experienced, close team with the utmost dedication to building a perfect boat as well as to fully enjoying cruising the world,” van Wieringen says. “Their determination to get things right is tremendous.” Zinser sums it up this way: “I think we’ve exceeded the quality I’m accustomed to.” As for Derecktor, he believes that “Cakewalk is a new benchmark for American-built yachts.” Heywood agrees: “It’s an enormous feather in the yard’s cap to say, ‘This is what we have done. There are thousands of shipyards that will tell you what they can do, but this is what we have done.’”
And it was all done right here, in the United States.
LOA: 281’0”
Beam: 46’9”
Draft: 13’1”
Displ.: 2,998 tons
Fuel: 97,000 gal.
Water: 8,454 gal.
Construction: Steel
Design: Azure Naval Architects, Tim Heywood Design
Interior Design: Dalton Designs
Generators: 2 x 660 kW MTU 12V 2000 M40B, 2 x 350 kW MTU S60 550 and 1 x 275 kW MTU S60 400
Bow Thruster: Jastram
Watermaker: HEM, 8,421 gpd
Engines: 2 x 3,306 hp MTU 16V 4000 M71 diesels
Speed: 17 knots max, 15 knots cruise
Range: 5,000 miles at 15 knots
Derecktor Shipyards, 800-691-2100; www.derecktor.com
