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donna marie II || 114' hargrave

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DONNA MARIE IIAs pArt of its commitment to roll out five new models, HArgrAve unveils A performAnce 114—A yAcHt tHAt HAs proven itself irresistible. tExt by Louisa Beckett phOtOgRAphy by jeff Brown/superyacht media

Ever mindful of protecting his clients’ privacy, Mike Joyce, Hargrave Custom Yachts chairman/CEO,

never introduced me to the man in the yacht’s pilot-

house during the new Hargrave 114’s sea trial. The

man stared intently at the waves ahead, never waver-

ing in his focus, even when the Hargrave captain

exited Port Everglades Inlet in Fort Lauderdale,

Florida, and turned into the white-capped Atlantic,

taking six-foot seas on the beam in a 17-knot breeze.

The captain ran the yacht back and forth along a

mile-long course, throttling up slowly through the

rpm band until he reached a top end speed for the

twin 1,900-hp Caterpillar C32 ACERTS of over 24

knots at 2,300 rpm. With her Naiad stabilizers on

their normal setting, the yacht powered smoothly

through the swells with a great feeling of buoyancy

and without any of the pounding you might expect

in these conditions.

At the end of the sea trial, the man turned to me

and said, “I think I’ll keep her.”

It turned out he was the yacht’s owner, Dick Rowe,

chairman and founder of Indmar Marine Engines,

America’s largest inboard gasoline engine builder.

Rowe, a highly experienced yacht owner who built

the 93-foot Hargrave Cockpit Raised Pilot House Motor

Yacht Donna Marie six years ago (she will be offered

for sale in February, following a full refit), was

extremely involved in the 114’s design. Its hullform

was designed by Jack W. Sarin, the noted Pacific North-

west naval architect whose firm has participated in

the design and construction of more than 400 vessels

up to 180 feet. Rowe himself had suggested Hargrave

use Jack Sarin as the project’s naval architect.

“It must be remembered that this company is a

continuation of a series of hull designs from the

board of the renowned Jack Hargrave and to intro-

duce a new naval architect into the equation could

be considered a radical departure from past

successes,” says Sarin. “From my standpoint, I felt

privileged to have been selected to contribute designs

to a builder whose banner carries the name of a

legendary designer whom I had met many years ago

in the early stages of my career.”

In addition to designing an oceangoing hull

capable of speeds in the mid-20-knot range when

powered by the new 1,900-hp Cats, Sarin’s goal for

the project was to create a flexible hullform that

could be used for a new series of Hargrave perfor-

mance yachts from 100 to 125 feet with a maximum

beam of 25 feet.

“We don’t look for a cube inside the boat, we look

for low drag,” says Rowe, who added that he and

Sarin think alike about hullform. “The [114’s] hull is

shaped like a destroyer, with a sharp entry, then gets

to the total [24-foot] width, then tapers to the

transom. You get rid of the parasitic drag.”

Sarin adds, "This series has a finer entry than

previous Hargrave hulls, with moderate deadrise and

rounded bilges aft of amidships becoming a hard

chine and spray knocker forward. These features,

when properly loaded, result in a hull that is easily

driven and drier when performing in a head sea,

even in the mid 20-knot range. Included in the hull

design are propeller tunnels (‘pockets’), which have

been optimized for shape and entrance and exit

angles through years of comparative tank testing.”

“I don’t know how anyone could not be impressed

with what we saw today,” Rowe said after the sea

trial. “The boat ran effortlessly in sloppy six-foot seas

at twenty knots; I mean it just confirmed everything

I was expecting when we picked Jack Sarin to design

the hull platform…. I said to my captain at one point

that I thought I was back on my Bertram, it was that

responsive.” With this boat, he added, you wouldn’t

need to wait for calm weather to leave the dock,

“you’d just untie the lines and go.”

The new Hargrave 114’s performance is due not

only to Sarin’s hullform, but also to the strict weight

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donna marie II || 114' hargrave

is amazing,” he says. “This boat was running three

knots faster than my ninety-three-foot Hargrave and

burning way less fuel at the same rpm.”

At a 20-knot cruise speed at 2,000 rpm, fuel use

drops to 59.3 GPH a side, according to Hargrave’s

preliminary fuel burn report. And at a conservative

10.3 knots at 1,000 rpm, fuel use is just 15.6 GPH for

both engines combined, giving the new 114 trans-

atlantic range of more than 2,900 nautical miles.

But range, handling and performance were not

all Dick Rowe wanted from his new Donna Marie II.

He also specified a fishing cockpit like the one in his

93-foot Hargrave (only the new yacht’s is six feet

deep). The cockpit lets Rowe and his guests throw

out a line and troll for dinner behind the yacht while

she’s underway. He’s also been known to keep lobsters

in the built-in livewell.

Donna Marie II’s luxurious yet understated inte-

rior design is the result of a yearlong collaboration

between Rowe, his daughter and Shelley DiCon-

dina of Yacht Interiors by Shelley in Fort Lauder-

dale, the creative talent behind most Hargrave

interiors. She described Donna Marie II’s décor

theme as classical transitional.

“[The owners] wanted fresh, stylish furnishings

control regime Hargrave imposed during construc-

tion. This composite yacht is fully cored with Divi-

nycell inside and out—hull bottom and sides, decks,

superstructure and bulkheads. The cabinetry was

built utilizing Lite Ply, a light yet strong and durable

marine-grade plywood. In a departure from

Hargrave’s usual construction techniques, the yacht’s

superstructure was laid up in a female mold, rather

than on a male mold, which helped the builder

control the process better.

“We were pleasantly surprised that the resulting

full-load displacement came in roughly within three

percent of the original prediction, which means that

the yard did an excellent job of weight control

throughout the build,” Sarin says.

“To give you a comparison, the one hundred four-

teen-foot Hargrave Sea Legend weighed in at one

hundred fifty-two tons on a twenty-three-foot beam

hull, while the new 114 on the twenty-four-foot-

beam Sarin hull platform came in at one hundred

twenty-seven tons with full fuel and full water,

saving over forty thousand pounds of weight,” says

Mike Joyce, though he pointed out that Sea Legend,

powered by 1,400-hp Cats, was built for range and

comfort rather than speed.

“There’s no secret to speed in this business,” Joyce

sums up. “You need to start with a great hull shape,

then you need to get the weight out, and finally you

need to jack up the horsepower.”

Even with the big, 1,900-hp Cats in the engine

room, however, Rowe was impressed by his new

yacht’s fuel economy during the sea trial. “Burning

seventy gallons per hour [per engine] at 2,200 rpm

these pages satin-finish cherry cabinetry with traditional elements is offset

by contemporary furnishings and fabrics. the country kitchen, finished in exquisite stonework, supports the family feel

the owner desired (right).

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donna marie II || 114' hargrave

galley, where it benefits from exceptionally high

headroom (more than seven feet). While this is a

beautiful suite filled with elegant details such as a

backlit art mirror in the bathroom, its location may

lead owners who consider their crew to be part of

the family to assign it to the captain instead of guests.

The lower deck guest accommodations comprise

two mirror-image king suites and a full-beam master,

aft. The master has a his-and-hers bath with a central

oversized shower. There are also two walk-in cedar

closets; hers has an enviable set of shoe racks. The

portholes open, a welcome detail overlooked by many

builders who don’t actually cruise in their creations.

Storage space is maximized throughout all the state-

rooms, especially in built-in bureaus and drawers

beneath the berths.

The public spaces on the 114 are like those on

other Hargraves—nicely laid out for entertaining on

every scale from intimate to grand. The flybridge

seems especially large for a yacht of this size, encom-

passing a fully equipped upper helm, bar, grill, dining

area, sunlounger seating (with clever adjustable

backrests) and Jacuzzi.

The workspaces are dedicated to making the crew’s

lives easier. Of particular note is the A/V cabinet—

room, actually—just forward of the salon to port.

Fully air conditioned and vented, it has more than

without leaving all of the traditional detail they love

and are used to,” DiCondina says. “The result is a yacht

with traditional cabinetry elements and crown

molding in combination with fresh, current furniture

designs and fabric selections.” A neutral background

color scheme lets the contemporary furnishings and

artwork pop. The interior design also is characterized

by rich textures, particularly in the custom floor

coverings, and beautifully installed stonework. The

joinery throughout the yacht is book-matched cherry

with pomele sapele accents. A detail-oriented owner,

Rowe chose satin finish for the wood because it will

be easier to keep clean than high-gloss.

Like most Hargraves, the 114 has a large country

kitchen-style galley with an island food-prep station

and a roomy dinette. “A large number of owners

like to cook for themselves,” DiCondina says. “It also

is fashionable for entertaining—it’s like having your

own celebrity chef on board. They love watching

the chef cook.” Rowe enjoys the informal country

kitchen layout because, he says, “We have a family

atmosphere on board.”

Thanks to masterful space planning, the 114 has

not one but four king berths—one in every stateroom

on board. They are true kings, Joyce points out: “You

can buy king sheets at the store and they will fit.” The

decision to install all kings instead of queens or twins

was made to give each stateroom equal status, he

says. “Today, most of the guests on board are high-

status people, and you just can’t put them in a cabin

with twins anymore.” Having four equivalent state-

rooms is also good for charter.

There are differences between the staterooms, of

course. The VIP is down in the bow, forward of the

these pagesthe four-stateroom layout allows space for all guest rooms to

incorporate king-size berths, giving each guest equal status. the master suite (top right) takes advantage of the full 24-foot beam

and includes enviable his and hers en suites and closets.

enough space to hold the back end of today’s entertainment systems

and expand in the future. The crew quarters are finished to nearly

the same standard as the guest accommodations. There are three

separate cabins, so depending on how many crew the owner cruises

with, some members may enjoy the luxury of sleeping alone.

The engine room is well laid out, with eight-foot headroom and

good access to the twin Cats and the gensets outboard of them. Donna

Marie II is equipped with lots of upgrade equipment, notably includ-

ing a built-in Spot Zero water purification system that provides soft

water for washdowns and a Headhunter HMX black water treatment

system. The lazarette is large and, once again, optimized for storage.

“I’m impressed with what we’ve ended up with,” Rowe says. “We

put everything into this boat. The hull is shaped like we wanted it; the

look is very proportional…and it rides great.”

With this boat, you wouldn’t need to wait for calm weather to leave the dock, “you’d just untie the lines and go.” – OwNER DIcK ROwE

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donna marie II || 114' hargravedonna marie II || 114' hargrave

Length: 114' (34.7m)

Beam: 24' (7.3m)

Draft: 5' 10" (1.8m)

Weight (fuLL LoaD): 126 tons

PoWer: 2 x 1,900-hp caterpillar c32 Acert

range: 2,900 nm @ 10 knots

SPeeD (max/cruiSe): 25/20 knots

fueL caPacity: 6,000 u.s. gallons

thruSterS: 60-hp naiad Hps bow and stern thruster

StaBiLizerS: naiad model 360 with datum control

generatorS: 2 x 44kw caterpillar c4.4t marine pkg

freShWater caPacity: 600 u.s. gallons

BLack Water treatment: 200 gpd Headhunter HmX

oWnerS anD gueStS/creW: 8/5

Specifications: Builder: Hargrave Custom Yachts

1887 West State Road 84

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315

Tel: (954) 463-0555

www.hargravecustomyachts.com

performance hull: Shaped like a destroyer, the 114’s hull-form has a sharp entry and a tapered transom, reducing drag.

built for speed: The cabinetry was built from Lite Ply, a light, yet strong and durable plywood to aid in weight savings.

fishing friendly: On the owner’s request, a sizeable fishing cockpit with a built-in livewell was included on this build.

tenDerS: 17' Ab tender

conStruction: fiberglass

cLaSSification: det norske veritas and Abyc standards

navaL architecture: Jack w. sarin naval Architects, Jb Hargrave

exterior StyLing: Jb Hargrave

interior DeSign: yacht interiors by shelley

a/V room: Plenty of storage space was incorporated to maintain a centralized location for all current and future A/V equipment.

flybridge: All the desirable entertainment amenities—bar, grill, sunpads, dining area and spa pool—are found up top.

twin helms: In addition to the raised pilothouse, a full helm was included on the flybridge.

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