RMK Marine has been promoted itself globally for the past several years. It has a renewed focus on U.S. shores, however. The Turkish builder is promoting eight designs that can have American specifications. The same projects will further include oversight from the RMK Merrill-Stevens shipyard in Miami, via Merrill-Stevens Yachts, the brokerage arm for RMK Merrill-Stevens.
RMK Marine acquired the historic Merrill-Stevens boatyard last November. Founded in the 1920s, Merrill-Stevens is one of the oldest yacht yards in the United States, and the oldest continually operating business in Miami. It had been servicing yachts and megayachts for many years, until years of financial difficulties and a foreclosure judgment hit it. Merrill-Stevens was then acquired in June 2011 by Marlow Marine. David Marlow, head of Marlow Marine, planned to bring work back to Merrill-Stevens, plus invest heavily in machinery and facilities. Marlow Merrill Stevens did indeed perform refits and maintenance on a variety of yachts. RMK Marine made an offer to buy the property in 2013, and it was accepted.
The eight new designs that RMK Marine and Merrill-Stevens Yachts are promoting include ones publicized in recent years. The latter includes the RMK 5000, designed by Hot Lab Yacht & Design. The additional designs come from well-known names like Espen Øino, Vripack, Omega Architects, and Rolls-Royce Marine.
Pictured at top is the RMK 4800, by Espen Øino. The 157’5” (48-meter) megayacht, also available as a 161-footer (49-meter), will feature all-aluminum construction. The design emphasizes an abundance of natural light for inside spaces. Both the main and upper decks have slide-open glass sections, too. For operational efficiency, the RMK 4800 will employ the Fast Displacement Hull Form patented by Omega Architects.
Above is another of the designs, a 175 Vripack Explorer. This, too, can be built in a different size, since Vripack has done full engineering for versions as “small” as 110 feet. The 175 will feature a steel hull and should see a cruising speed of 12 knots. Vripack says that at this speed, the megayacht should burn just 17 gph (65 lph).
Interested buyers can meet with the U.S.-based RMK Marine team to review and customize the specifications. They can further select all soft goods and furnishings. “We conference directly with the shipyard’s naval architects and project managers via Skype and can watch the vessel being built in real-time on an iPad,” explains Paul Madden, head of new construction at Merrill-Stevens Yachts. “This is the new way to get the best of both worlds—a European build with a reliable U.S. shipyard overseeing everything.” The yachts will be shipped to RMK Merrill-Stevens for final fit-out and delivery. After delivery, RMK Merrill-Stevens will further service the yachts and perform warranty work.
For more information directly from Merrill-Stevens Yachts on any of the eight designs, please fill out our contact form.
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