Marlow Voyager 100V

The second iteration of the builder’s flagship embraces the go-anywhere ethos of its Voyager line.

By Jeff Moser

February 3, 2023

After missing the latest iteration of Marlow Yachts’ Voyager line flagship, the Voyager 100V, at last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (Marlow decided to jettison its quays among the trawler set, opting instead for a spot on the outer face docks), I recently met Senior Yacht Broker Eric Gervais for a walkthrough, partly with the intention of comparing her to Hull No. 1, Ice, which I toured in 2019.

Like that vessel and all Marlow yachts, her hull is cored and vacuum-bagged with Kevlar and carbon fiber, following Marlow’s proprietary Full Stack Infusion. It’s a one-shot, hull-and-deck bond that helps to create an optimal strength-to-weight ratio. The builder also kept weight down in the skybridge via extensive utilization of carbon fiber.

Finished in midnight blue, with hullsides that mimic wood planking, she retains the traditional, striking profile that has become de rigueur for Marlow designs. She also kept the wide transom door (flanked with stairs from her swim platform) that lifts to reveal enough stowage for a range of water toys, bikes, dive gear and (if one wanted to add some chocks) a few Vespas. Owners can opt for a beach club or hydraulic swim platform as well.

I stepped aboard from her starboard-side boarding door—there’s another boarding door to port, two more forward and a passerelle built into her transom—and arrived on the aft deck in the shade from the flybridge overhang, which houses the dinghy and 2,600-pound capacity davit. The aft deck has seating for eight around a handsome oval teak table, and is the optimal spot for an après-swim cocktail or snack. The Maxwell capstans set in the corners will serve the captain and crew well, as this is a 112-ton vessel.

As I walked around her decks, the Voyager 100V continued to show smart outfitting for a long-range trawler, including wide side decks with high bulwarks (with further protection overhead via the flybridge), grab rails in all the right places, and a set of beefy windlasses on her foredeck. She also has robust redundancies, including three backup steering units, two watermakers, and an electrical system backed by transformers, inverters, two 65-kW gensets and large alternators on each of her Cat diesels. In addition, the numerous watertight compartments have their own pumps backed by crash pumps.

We ducked into the machinery spaces, which further illustrated the builder’s obsession with redundancy and a commercial, oceangoing ship’s approach to craftsmanship. In between the lazarette and engine room, across from the crew quarters, there’s a separate, watertight room for the gensets. With the engine room and genset room doors closed, the space is significantly quieter, a benefit for the crew (for the captain, there’s a private, en suite cabin abaft the bridge).

One thing I can near-guarantee you won’t see on a working boat: carbon fiber soles in the engine room. For a working area, this space has first-rate comfort, with air conditioning and robust elbow room around the mains and outboard of the engines for the numerous other systems. Gervais pointed out that the engines sit on carbon stringers, and the area is ensconced with a carbon fiber ring frame for stiffness and durability. Dual fuel filters on the 1,900-hp Cats add to her laundry list of redundant systems.

Once abovedeck, I was fortunate to run into the boat’s owners, who told me seeing Ice in 2019 sealed the deal for them. “I really loved the lines. She looks like a boat,” one told me. “A [lot] of what’s out there today looks like a floating boxcar.”

The owners, who have had several vessels from 37 to 113 feet length overall, also cited her long-range capabilities, the visibility from the skybridge helm, and the technology that goes into her build. “I like modern technology [and] the innovation of the carbon and Kevlar- infused hull,” one said. “I was concerned about weight.”

I also got a chance to speak with Tucker Yingling, her captain, who has piloted full- and semidisplacement boats in aluminum, steel and FRP. This is his first vessel that incorporates Kevlar and carbon fiber in the build process.

“It has been impressive,” he said. “The lightening of the hull and superstructure helps a lot with the stability. I’ve run the boat with the fins, without the fins, with and without the stabilizers, and what we’ve managed to accomplish in terms of stability and draft is awesome.”

The boat is equipped with CMC at-rest stabilizers and a pair of Quick MC2 X56 stabilizers. The latter tuck in under the exhaust in the engine room.

According to Yingling, “This boat can deliver the speed.” Marlow says there’s a 22.4-knot top end; on her maiden voyage from Marlow’s yard on Florida’s west coast in 4- to 5-foot seas, she “crushed every wave out there.” At 1780 rpm, she cruises at 15 knots, burning about 7 gallons per nautical mile, according to Yingling. Backing off the throttles allows her to really stretch: Marlow says there’s a 5,254-nautical-mile range at just under 8 knots, and over 2,500 nm at 9.5 knots, both with a 5 percent reserve.