Over the next several months, California-based Bay Ship and Yacht Co. will be refitting the well-known expedition yacht SuRi, making her a good deal longer and adding more accommodations for guests.
SuRi presently measures just shy of 173 feet (52.7 meters), but once the refit is complete, she’ll be 208 feet (63.4 meters). Bay Ship and Yacht Co. is collaborating with Kirilloff and Associates for naval architecture and Herringbone Design for the interior decor.
Among the first orders of business are adding about 36 feet to her midsection. This will allow for several new rooms to be created, including a glass-enclosed saloon just aft of the current main saloon on the bridge deck. The glass panels will also be able to be opened. Furthermore, two extra guest staterooms, each full beam, will accompany the two existing cabins on the foc’sle deck (a.k.a. mezzanine). The current cabins will gain a bit of floorspace, too. Down below on the hold deck, which is the lowest deck, a gym/yoga room and extra lounge/meeting room are being created, as is a media room and an underwater viewing room. The lounge/meeting room can double as a children’s play area. As for the viewing room, two windows will let guests see fish and other denizens of the deep, some of which will be attracted to the yacht thanks to bright lights. While SuRi actually already has a gym forward down here, the extra length lets it move closer to other common areas, rather than remain surrounded by three guest staterooms.
More changes are occurring in other spaces aboard SuRi. Twenty-four feet is being added to the sundeck to create a new alfresco dining area, more sunning space, and more shaded relaxation spots. And even though SuRi’s main-deck hangar already holds a handful of toys, it’s gaining a good deal of space for a mini armada.
A repower and installation of new gensets are also in the works. When the refit is finished in June 2012, SuRi will retain Bureau Veritas classification standards.
This will be the second major refit for SuRi. She was originally built in 1978 by Halter Marine and served as a crabbing vessel under the name Fierce Contender. The original LOA was 166 feet (50.6 meters), but in 2007, she grew to her 173-foot length when she was converted for service as a shadow boat for JeMaSa. Kirilloff and Associates and Herringbone Design each had a hand in that transformation, too, with Yacht Escort Ships (YES).
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