Not many owners would go through the trouble of a new-build project that was a mere 3 inches longer than their first custom build, but there’s more to Dave and Cheryl Copham’s story than length overall.
Like most longtime boat owners, the Cophams started small, with a 37-footer. Over the years, their aspirations grew with each yacht, culminating in a fully custom build. With Cor D. Rover, DLBA Naval Architects and Burger Boat Co., they embarked on a three-year project in 2005 that gave them the 101-foot, 6-inch (31-meter) Tò-Kalòn, which they thoroughly enjoyed over 10 years of cruising, including two trips to Europe.
But during that decade, their priorities shifted. Performance was the focus of the first Tò-Kalòn. Now in their retirement years, they’re thinking about space and comfort. They wanted more staterooms for their family, and didn’t want to negotiate a staircase to reach theirs. They needed a bigger boat, but their dock in Fort Myers, Florida, was 101 feet, 10 inches, and couldn’t accept a yacht an inch longer.
Fortunately, their yacht search coincided with a growing trend toward volume. Part of this movement has been Horizon’s FD series, designed by Cor D. Rover to give maximum interior space for waterline length. Introduced in 2016, the series has become the fastest-growing model in the Taiwanese builder’s lineup, with 28 yachts on the water and in build from 75 to 102 feet.
Further tipping the scale to Horizon for the Cophams was that fact that they didn’t have to choose layout A, B or C. “Horizon let us do whatever we wanted on the inside,” Cheryl says.
That’s no exaggeration. The Cophams’ new Tò-Kalòn is the second FD102, and the differences between her and the first hull are vast, starting with length overall. While one might assume that an FD102 is 102 feet long, apparently the number is just a suggestion. The design is based on a waterline length of 93 feet; above that, owners have a lot of leeway. The first FD102 is 108 feet, 6 inches (33 meters). The Cophams’ yacht, at 101 feet, 9 inches (31 meters), fits precisely on their dock.
Redrawing the standard layout started on the lower deck. The Cophams wanted four guest staterooms with crew quarters forward—the opposite of Horizon’s typical crew-aft arrangement. The idea was for crew to be able to service the guest area without having to go up and down stairs; hence, a passageway connects the crew mess with the guest companionway. The mirror-image king and queen staterooms here for guests are all en suite with sizable stowage.
The main deck includes a defining feature of the FD range: an on-deck master stateroom with his-and-her bathrooms and walk-in closets.
The space reserved for the master takes nothing away from the galley, which has sole-to-ceiling Sub-Zero freezers and refrigerators. And aft on this deck, where the outdoor space was overly big for the Cophams, curved glass doors nestle a dining table.
“I was a little apprehensive about having the dining room in the back, worried about crew having to drag luggage around the table,” Cheryl says. Horizon’s solution was to incorporate a track in the sole so the table can slide to port. “It’s so neat, but I don’t think they will have to use that, as there’s plenty of space.”
A more casual place to dine is the breakfast bar that overlooks the galley. A partition over the bar in carved glass with a mirror backing rises for guest privacy.
The yacht’s décor, designed by Horizon’s in-house team with direction from Cheryl, is contemporary with a warm palette of fabrics, oak soles, and satin-finished oak and beech walls. Accents of dark wenge and zebrawood add drama, as do the flowing patterns of Cambria quartz on tabletops, on galley counters and in en suites.
The salon’s uninterrupted window expanses are 12 feet long. These could also be full height, as they are on other FD boats, but the Cophams chose to border them with low cabinets.
“The amount of storage on this boat is absolutely amazing,” Cheryl says.
Up top, their previous yacht had quite a small outdoor area. “We found we utilized the [upper] aft deck, and there just wasn’t space for more than six to eight people there,” Dave says. “A lot of times, we wanted a lot more than that.”
Tò-Kalòn’s enclosed bridge gives the captain enough room to do his job; abaft it is open deck. The tender is stowed forward of the bridge, opening up the views aft. There’s space to seat 20 people across two dining areas, as well as lounges, a Jacuzzi, a barbecue and a sit-down bar, which houses the yacht’s second wine chiller.
In total, there is stowage to chill 140 bottles aboard, all from the Napa Valley vineyard that shares the yacht’s name. “That’ll last us about two weeks,” Dave jokes.
The comfort the Cophams were after also extends to the ride. FD yachts are designed from the keel up for efficient, fast-displacement performance. The tunnel design has a hard chine forward transitioning to a soft chine amidships and aft.
“The comfort cruise speed on these boats is anything from 8 to 15 knots,” says Horizon Yacht USA’s director, Roger Sowerbutts. “With that you get a superbly comfortable, stable ride.”
Further softening the ride is Horizon’s High Performance Piercing Bow, a sharp-entry, underwater appendage that juts forward to cut currents and dampen pitching.
Dave acknowledges that he was a little concerned about the yacht’s full-load, 6-foot, 6-inch (2-meter) draft, but says he’s happy to work around it while cruising: “Now that we’re older, we can relax, take our time and wait for the tide.”
From initial design work until they took delivery in Florida, the Cophams had their yacht in 18 months.
“The build process was very amenable,” says Dave, who with Cheryl made two trips to Taiwan. “Their yard and design people were very cooperative and helpful in coming up with ideas. ‘Yes’ is their answer to almost everything. We can’t speak highly enough about the experience of the build. It was as good as it could be.”
Tò-Kalòn Specifications
- LOA: 101ft. 9in. (31m)
- BEAM: 25ft. 3in. (7.7m)
- DRAFT (half load): 6ft. 3in. (1.9m)
- CONSTRUCTION: GRP
- SPEED (max./cruise): 19.5/8-16 knots
- NAVAL ARCHITECTURE: Horizon Yachts
- EXTERIOR STYLING: Cor D. Rover Design
- INTERIOR DESIGN: Horizon Yachts
- BUILDER: Horizon Yachts
For more information: horizonyachtusa.com
This article was originally published in the Winter 2021 issue.
