Vicem 54 IPS

 
Vicem’s new 54 IPS couples graceful Down East beauty with modern technology and pod drive propulsion.

By Jeanne Craig, Photography by Alberto Cocchi

For a gallery of the Vicem 54 IPS in action click here.

In a slip beside the Vicem Yachts office in Fort Lauderdale is a new model that represents an evolution for this builder. The 54 IPS is the first boat from the company to be designed around Volvo's pod drives, and it offers the fuel efficiency and control the propulsion is lauded for. With IPS 900s, the 54 is every inch a modern and maneuverable luxury yacht, yet it's also a coldmolded mahogany beauty with the same Down East-style profile of the other models in the builder's Classic series. With its low, clipperish bow and swept sheer, this boat stands apart.

Mike Grames of Vicem is on board for the sea trial. He says this 54 is unlike other Vicems. There is the IPS power, of course, but the test boat also has a white AwlCraft exterior; absent is the classic dark blue hull. Also missing is the abundant exterior brightwork. Most Vicems have varnished wood toe rails, trim and handholds along the cabin top, but this 54 was made for an owner who wants less maintenance, so the builder's trademark teak and mahogany treatment is found in just a few places.

"This 54 was built for Miami architect Hakki Koroglu, who was very specific about what he wants in a yacht," says Dirk Boehmer, president of Vicem Yachts. Koroglu recently learned his family will expand with new grandchildren, so he's already working with Vicem on a larger boat. But the creative input he had on the 54 IPS really served the builder. "We're very happy with the way the 54 IPS turned out," says Boehmer. "Its lines and interior layout are different from other yachts on the market. This particular boat has all the integrity of a traditional Vicem, but with a bit of Miami flair."

Although the boat I'm testing was designed for a particular owner's needs, like any Vicem, the 54 IPS is a semi-custom product. So if a more traditional lobster yacht is your ideal, Vicem can make it that way. That flexibility in construction is possible because Vicems are crafted largely by hand at the company's shipyards in Istanbul and Antalya in Turkey.

Vicem Yachts are often celebrated for the quality of their woodwork, and that expertise makes for an incredible impression when you enter the 54's salon. Before we cast off, Grames takes me through the cabin, which is as nautically classic as an interior can be. There are Khaya mahogany cabinet doors louvered from top to bottom. The sole is mahogany as well, with a wenge border that makes for a sophisticated accent. It's not evident immediately, but if you look around, you'll note that every joinery juncture is blind fastened so no screws are visible. Cream ceilings set off the satin-varnished mahogany bulkheads, and the oversize windows draw light into a space that feels as cool and comfortable as it looks.

The layout of this 54 is expansive, with an open salon and three staterooms. The amidships master offers a king-size walk-around berth, flanked by an en suite head with a separate shower stall. This roomy area is made possible by the IPS drives, which sit farther aft than traditional inline diesels. For guests, there's a cabin forward with a queen berth; a smaller cabin to port has bunks and enough room inside for someone to stand and change with the door closed.

The galley is large and somewhat unconventional. Located opposite the master, it's laid out longitudinally along the starboard side, one continuous piece of gleaming granite countertop with appliances beneath. Old salts might say it's not as practical as a U-shaped design that's more secure for the cook when the boat is in a seaway. But then again, how many people do serious meal prep under way aboard a fast cruiser of this type? You can safely assemble sandwiches here at a 20-knot clip. Put the hook down, though, and you have an area equipped to turn out an impressive dinner.

Visibility is good from the helm, and you can't help but admire the wide side decks, high rails and shippy cleats. The setup is ideal for a couple planning to run the boat. If you're solo, the door beside the helm will make it easy to step onto the weather deck and toss a line to a dockhand.

Exiting the canal, Grames walks the boat sideways as well as up- and downwind to demonstrate the easy operation of the joystick. Because offshore conditions are quite rough today, we run the ICW toward Dania Beach. The boat is topped off with fuel and water, and that's probably why the modified V-hull kisses 28 knots at top end, 2 knots shy of the number Vicem got in its sea trials. The boat's most efficient cruising speed is 1,800 rpm, where it runs close to 20 knots and consumes 39 gph for a nautical mile range near 310. The 54 is quiet too, measuring 81 decibels at 1,800 rpm. That's a benefit of IPS and the 54's construction: It's made of mahogany-composite laminated in West System Epoxy using a cold-molded method.

Back at the dock, Grames ties up near a low-slung muscle boat with Arneson drives, a model that was a trendsetter 20 years ago. Seeing the Vicem beside it, I can't help but think that here is a boat that will never go out of style.