MAVERICK YACHTS 45

A hand-crafted beauty emerges from Costa Rica

- SAM WHITE

Today, you can count the number of boatbuilders who are producing custom sport-fishers in the 38-to-50-foot range on one hand, and even fewer are building cold-molded wood boats that are truly custom in every sense of the word. Fortunately, Maverick Yachts Costa Rica is carrying on that time-honored tradition of craftsmanship in Herradura, Costa Rica, not much more than a stone's throw from the entrance to that well-known sport-fishing destination that is Los Sueños Resort and Marina.

I'm fortunate to have spent hundreds of hours in the cockpit of a 43-foot Maverick, fishing the boat in all kinds of weather from Guatemala to Panama. Contrary to popular belief, it does get rough from time to time in Central America, and the 43s are capable of fishing their way through nearly anything short of a typhoon. These are incredibly tough boats, thanks in part to that time-tested cold-molded hull construction. In fact, the builder's original vessel, Spanish Fly, has more than 50,000 hours of hard fishing under her belt, yet she looks and rides just as good as she did when she first hit the water 20 years ago.

CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN

With more boats venturing to the distant seamounts 100 miles or more offshore, the need for a slightly larger vessel soon became apparent. Maverick Yachts Costa Rica turned to well-known naval architect Erwin Gerards, who went to work with a blank sheet to design the latest in the Maverick fleet: a 45-foot custom beauty. "The 43 is still a great fishing platform, but it was just a bit too small to house a gyro, sonar, plenty of fuel, and comfortable space for overnight seamount fishing," he says.

"The 50-footer is ideal for this but is better-suited for larger groups. After looking at the available engine options, fuel capacity and accommodations, we agreed to design a 45 with a 15-foot-2-inch beam, which is approximately 16 inches wider than the 43's."