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Mikelson Yachts

Patrick Sullivan and Richard Peterson founded Mikelson Yachts in Southern California, hoping to fill a gap in the market for comfortable cruising vessels. They linked up with well-known naval architect Tom Fexas and came up with a revolutionary design that produced a smooth ride with long-range capabilities. The sport-fishing community quickly took notice, and now, more than 25 years later, Mikelson specializes in building long-range sport-fishers from 42 to 78 feet.

"Mikelson started out building sedan sportfishers," says Michael Loffer, director of marketing. "But once the fishermen found out about us, we drifted into the more serious world of sport fishing."

Mikelson places the engines aft of the salon under the cockpit deck. By moving the engines outside the living quarters, they eliminate noise, heat and engine odor. The design provides more living space in the cabin as well.

"A Mikelson's lower center of gravity, located in the middle of the boat only inches above the vessel's waterline, its aft engines and its mid-ship fuel-tank configuration set Mikelsons apart from the rest of the crowd," Loffer says.

Mikelson uses hand-laid laminates, coring material and vacuum-bagging in the construction process to build strong, lightweight hulls capable of using less horsepower for optimal range. "Mikelson's mandate remains to buy and use only the best possible materials and yacht-construction techniques available," Loffer says. "Bigger engines and lighter hulls will get you higher speeds, but Mikelson chooses to focus more on hull design and hydrodynamics to achieve longer ranges and more fuel efficiency than any other sport-fisher worldwide, as well as great cruising speeds."

The 50-foot model can run the entire Sea of Cortez on a single tank of fuel. "Our 50 holds 1,000 gallons of fuel and has a range of 1,000 miles. The 59 holds 2,900 gallons and has a range of 4,600 miles," Loffer says.

At a Glance: •  Aft engines •  Long-range capabilities •  Custom interior layouts

With input from its clients, Mikelson designed some innovative fishing features, such as integral transom bait tanks, aft tackle centers and extra-large livewell configurations. Prop tunnels, oversize rudders and a mid-ship keel also make the boats very maneuverable for their size when aggressively chasing down a big marlin.

Mikelson sells all of its boats factory-direct to lower its pricing, coming in very competitively for semi-custom boats.

For more information, contact Mikelson Yachts of San Diego, California, at 619-222-5007, or visit www.mikelsonyachts.com.
 

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