This striking 18m boat is from the pen of Auckland based designer Dennis Harjamaa of Artnautica Yacht Design was launched in 2022.

The client’s design brief was quite challenging as this boat had to fulfil three competing design objectives. First, be spacious and comfortable for family vacationing. Second, a stable and efficient, high-speed planning monohull; set up for offshore game fishing. Third, an efficient, long-distance passage-making, with a safe travel distance of more than 1200 nautical miles (2,200 km) – the distance from New Zealand to Fiji, without the need to carry reserve tanks.

To achieve this brief, it was decided to build the entire boat using carbon fibre. Keeping weight to a minimum was the overriding build requirement. Built more like a racing sail yacht than a traditionally built sport fisher, every component was weighed before fitting, or after fabrication as two very efficient 625 hp Volvo Penta IPS 800 D11 engines had been specified. The power output from these engines is substantially below that of what would be found on similar sized 18m sports fisher boats – yet still produces a top speed of over 30 knots and a cruise at 26 knots whilst maintaining very good fuel efficiency. ‘Lightweight Hull plus smaller engines’, says Dennis Harjamaa, ‘leads to a virtuous circle of less mass and less fuel consumption.’

However, keeping things light has not required sacrificing comfort with a super king bed in the owner's cabin, heated floors in the owner and guest heads, a push button, retractable Furuno, 19-inch Multi-Function-Display in the cockpit, an actuator driven, pop-up docking joystick built into the cockpit side decks, dynamic positioning system and diesel fueled water heater are but some of the bespoke and innovative features to be found aboard Matuku.

Matuku’s owner was intimately involved in her design and construction, enjoying the flexibility a full custom build allows. When asked what the build experience has been like, project team leader Gareth Curd said ‘It has been awesome to have our client involved every step of the way. This has totally played into our strengths as custom boat builders; it means we have been able to include many of the small design changes and personal touches our client wanted as we have gone along.’ ‘It has been a very interesting boat to build.’ Project manager Kerry Johnson added ‘It’s been great working with an owner who appreciates engineering effort and workmanship behind the scenes.’