Seastream has unveiled a new range of performance cruiser/racers
Seastream, the Falmouth-based boatbuilder acquired earlier this year by British entrepreneur Chris Matthews, has officially launched a new range of Performance models to accompany its Classic range of heavy displacement cruising yachts, the 445 and 465.
The two latest models, the Seastream 520 and Seastream 650 luxury performance cruisers, were officially unveiled at the Southampton Boat Show last week. They are already in-build and due for delivery in summer 2002.
The design brief for the new models, which marks a progression for the boatbuilder into building light hulls in epoxy materials using carbon fibre, was to create yachts with “the comfort of an Oyster with the speed and performance of a Nautor Swan,” according to the company.
Yacht designer Dick Young has joined with the Ed Dubois and Ian Anderson team to provide the 650 with a distinctive interior. Both models have customised options, on the interior and in the keel designs, which can be changed for a cruising or racing configuration.
The latest models signify the first step in what Seastream sees as the inevitable entry into the superyacht market. Plans for a yacht over 65ft are on the drawing board. “We want to expand the new range over 65ft, but we don’t want to run before we can walk,” sales executive Nick Tapper told IBI.
The company also says that its Classic range could also be expanded in the near future.
The developments follow significant investment in the company since Matthews came to the helm. As well as a new sales office in Southampton, the boatbuilder has recently purchased a Palma-based telecommunications business in a bid, it says, to become a “multi-level marine brand.”
Chris Matthews said: “The recently acquired telecommunications business in Palma is just part of my superyacht programme that will include new build projects and specialist brokerage. Seastream, the name and the brand, is an ideal platform for me to build a true world class yachting organisation. My next step is to develop a new model which will form the basis for a superyacht range.”