American buys his third multi-million-dollar Maritimo motoryacht

Bill Barrett from Hilton Head Island in South Carolina knows his boats. And if you lend an ear to the salty American he’ll tell you he’s on a good thing. That philosophy led him to take delivery of his third Maritimo luxury cruising motoryacht with a $2m-plus price tag earlier this month.

"I purchased my first Maritimo, M52-47, in 2009," he said. "I was not familiar with the brand at that stage, but a dealer in Charleston, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina Yacht Sales, had purchased the boat as a stock boat for its inventory.

"At that stage, we had a Tiara 36 Open and I was a bit concerned that moving into a 52-foot boat would be too much for my wife Pam and I to handle.

"We drove the boat in Charleston and felt we could handle it on our own. I was very impressed with the quality, fit and finish of the interior and the superior ride in choppy waters so I bought it and we kept that boat for four years clocking up almost 800 hours."

Bill said he travelled all the way up the east coast of the USA to New England and as far south as Key West in Florida in his first Maritimo.

After selling the M52, Bill purchased an M50 that he owned that for a number of years before being introduced to the new M54 at last year's Fort Lauderdale boat show.

"What I like mostly about the Maritimo brand is the enclosed flybridge," he said. "We do our boating mostly in South East USA and it is hot and humid in the summers.

"The climate controlled bridge allows us to boat all year round. "

Bill said Maritimo's USA based John McCarthy showed him the new M54 in November last year and he told John he would consider buying one if there 'were enough good improvements' on the vessel he had.

"I found and listed 91 improvements, some were standard, but most were items I wanted to be included to personalise the vessel," he said.

"The big items to Pam and I were the outside seating up and down and the extended awnings.

"I have made two trips to Australia to visit the factory prior to taking delivery and I enjoy the Maritimo people, their work ethic and their 'can-do' attitude.

"I have a great relationship with the folks at the factory and in most cases I just deal direct with them. Nothing is too much trouble for them."

Bill said he is often asked why he has bought roughly the same sized boat three times and he says the reason is that he and his wife feel very comfortable handling that size boat.

"We have just taken delivery and we are very happy and looking forward to many trips in our new craft," he said.

Maritimo's International Sales and Marketing Manager, Greg Haines, said the M54 with its expanded cockpit, larger swim platform and full-beam master suite was a very popular model in the USA.

"It is a good size and the M54 is an update on the M50."It appeals to a lot of couples who want to be able to go boating by themselves or with family and are comfortable handling that sized vessel."

Maritimo will have two M54 cruising motor yachts on display at the 2017 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show open November 1-5.

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