Crisp autumn weather greeted Northland as she slipped into Lake Michigan at Burger Boat Company’s doorstep yesterday. It was the first of many tastes of water to come for the explorer.
The build and design teams for the 103’5” (31.55-meter) Northland characterize her as an explorer due to her owner’s intended journeys. Not an explorer in the expedition-yacht sense, though; rather, the megayacht will point her bow toward global travels. To that end, she should see a best range of 4,000 nautical miles at 9½ knots. The steel-hulled Northland, a.k.a. Burger Hull 510, should additionally cruise at 12 knots, under Caterpillar C18 power. In addition, since sportfishing will take place among those travels, Northland features a healthy cockpit.
The owner of Northland turned to De Basto Designs for styling and interior design. With a beam of 26’5” (8.1 meters), the megayacht has quite an unexpected layout. For one, the galley is bigger than the saloon. For another, a library occupies the forward-most space on the main deck. Interestingly, this latter fact does not mean the master is below decks, with the guest accommodations. Instead, the master sits just aft of the wheelhouse.
Of course, even yachts with strong exploring purpose have traditional yacht amenities. Northland contains a hot tub on her flying bridge. And, a dedicated laundry area sits within the crew’s quarters below. Furthermore, two tenders stow on her foredeck.
While work continues to prepare Northland for delivery, Burger has started construction on another intriguing project. She’s a 48-footer (14.63-meter)—and, despite what you might assume, she’s not a tender. In fact, she’s a primary boat, for a woman who had a chance meeting with Burger’s vice president for sales and marketing, Ron Cleveringa, a few weeks ago. After expressing her longtime admiration of the brand, the woman inquired as to whether the shipyard would build a custom boat smaller than its usual focus. The rest is history—and spawned a series, the Burger 48 Cruiser. Designed with Vripack, the boat should cruise at 30 knots under Volvo Penta power. Notably, since announcing the series, Burger says it’s received several inquiries for similar projects.
Sandy Zahn Kleppe
It’s so nice to see Burger moving forward with such success. My late husband Ron Zahn enjoyed his time working there in the engine rooms and going on deliveries. He would be proud of your continuing success.