For several decades under patriarch Frank Denison, Broward Marine built custom motoryachts on something close to a production-line basis. The glory years of the 1980s and 1990s saw dozens of vessels launched from the company’s yards in Ft. Lauderdale and Saugatuck, Michigan. Most were 80 to 120 feet LOA, with the largest a 156-footer built in 1996.
Under new ownership for the past few years and rechristened Broward Yachts, the company saw a lull but is once again busy building aluminum yachts. One recent launch, Sigrun, is a 120-foot raised pilothouse motoryacht that blends the old Broward and the new.
The yacht was built using time-tested construction methods in an updated Ft. Lauderdale yard once operated by Frank’s son, Kit. Transversely framed with four main longitudinal stringers, the hull is hard chined with shallow deadrise at the transom. Yard manager Richard Arnold has modernized the process and the equipment of construction to yield better productivity and preserve Broward’s reputation for sound yet moderately priced yachts.
At the same time, Broward’s new owner, Glenn Straub, and his management team have recognized the considerable competition from fiberglass production and semi-custom builders in Broward’s traditional size range, a challenge that didn’t exist 15 years ago. The builder now offers yachts considerably more customized and finely detailed than in years past. Sigrun, for example, had more than 100 changes made to suit her owner’s requirements.
Normally, she would be a five-stateroom yacht with the master suite on deck and four guest staterooms below. Instead, her forward guest stateroom was enlarged to include a desk and sitting area, and serves as an expansive split-level captain’s cabin and office. It is accessed by a stairway adjacent to the galley.
The other three belowdecks staterooms share a winding stair from the main foyer. There is a VIP forward, a queen to starboard and a twin to port. On the main deck, the master stateroom occupies the entire space forward of the raised pilothouse, but is tucked in to allow side decks forward of the saloon. The space below the pilothouse console houses two walk-in hanging lockers for the master suite.
The dining room and saloon fill the full-beam space abaft the pilothouse. Joinery detailing is superb, particularly at the overhead where large crown moldings hide air-conditioning outlets at the periphery of the rooms.
Abaft the dining room and saloon, the open afterdeck is larger than usual to accommodate Sigrun’s full complement for alfresco dining. An extended bridge deck shelters the space and adds considerably to the upper deck area available for tender stowage and guest relaxation. A fixed fiberglass hardtop covers the upper deck, which includes a well-equipped bar and food preparation area.
An unusual engineroom arrangement puts the main engine silencers and bottom exhausts forward of the engines. This leaves the after corners of the room open for easy access to the outboard side of the engines. Even with the gensets there, working space is more than adequate.
Contact: Broward Yachts, (954) 925-8118; fax (954) 927-4200.
