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Boats hold memories. They are road maps to our most torturous losses and greatest triumphs. In her young life, Mama Who—the latest 80-footer from Weaver Boatworks—has already delivered on many days to remember, including one I was fortunate to witness in the Abacos not long after Elaine “Lainey” Jones and Capt. Chucky Moore took delivery of the build. From the comforts of the boat’s mezzanine, I watched as the team seamlessly released a tripleheader of blue marlin. Mama Who performed exactly as she should: big where it matters, but quick under command.
Cockpit and Mezzanine
The cockpit is giant—plenty large enough to handle a tripleheader of blues like a cakewalk. Jones, the program’s primary angler, fights from a Release Marine Trillion Series chair, while the deck leaves room for anglers, mates and moving fish. The mezzanine features faux teak by Everett Nautical Designs—the same artist behind the transom—and Salty Penny Canvas cushions in bright oranges, greens and blues that bring Jones’ personality straight into the cockpit.
Bridge and Tower
The bridge alone says plenty about the program. More than 22 cubic feet of freezer space supports travel to the Bahamas, Bermuda and beyond, while wraparound seating, a forward lounge and three Release Marine helm chairs make the space as comfortable as it is capable. Garmin and Furuno displays, along with a Boening vessel-monitoring system installed by Marine Technical Services, anchor the console. Moore also has his own bit of captain’s luxury: a plumbed pee tube tucked inside the console cabinet. The tower by Palm Beach Towers carries the same practical mindset, with sonar controls, Garmin and Furuno displays and, naturally, another pee tube upstairs.
Interior
Other than its unique hull color, now known as “Mama Who Blue,” the interior is what separates this Weaver from anything else on the water. Beth Marie Interiors brought Jones’ vision to life with horizontal-grain walnut, high-gloss finishes, UK art deco sconces, and color in all the right places. The salon and galley feel more like a customized home than a fishboat. A cream boucle sofa, tropical accents and a lucky beaver pelt share space with a portside galley, light-green quartzite counters, leather floors, and a pantry with a coffee station, washer and dryer.
The dinette’s emerald performance-velvet sofa reportedly holds 60 cases of Natural Light. Down below, five staterooms and four heads carry hand-painted work by Caroline Blandford, with octopuses, hogfish, rum bottles, oyster shells, Bermuda scenes and LSU touches throughout.
Engine Room and Performance
The engine room offers standing room and clean access to the twin MTUs, generators and twin Seakeeper 16s. Morris Marine’s closed-loop system feeds the Seakeepers, KRAs, air-conditioning units and ice machine with glycol instead of raw water, reducing saltwater exposure around key components. With 2,635 hp MTU 16V2000s, Mama Who tops out at 44 knots and cruises at 37. She carries the comforts, storage and presence of an 80-footer, but in the cockpit and under Moore’s hands, she never feels cumbersome. Once you have ridden aboard her, you will not have to ask, “Who’s ya mama?” You will already know.
