Outer Reef Yachts, whose boats are known for their globe-girdling cruising itineraries, has launched its 670 Azure Sport Yacht.

This bluewater-capable, owner-operator cruiser, which is the flagship of the builder’s six-model S Class lineup, starts with solid hand-laid fiberglass construction for the hull below the waterline. Above the waterline, PVC sandwich core is used for strength without added weight. All in, this 67-footer displaces about 99,000 pounds. The yacht is outfitted with ABT Trac 220 stabilizers with 6-square-foot fins to further enhance the ride over the long haul.

Power for the 670 Azure Sport Yacht is a pair of 985 hp Caterpillar C-12.9 diesels paired to a ZF transmission. (The standard spec is twin 500 hp John Deere diesels.) In addition to main engines, those passages are supported by two 20 kW Northern Lights gensets to ensure all of the hotel loads, including the MarineAir direct air conditioning, have the required juice when the only sight is the next horizon.

The 670 Azure Sport Yacht has two helm stations, one forward and to starboard on the main deck with a single helm chair and companion seat across, and a second, double-wide helm seat on centerline on the flybridge. Both helm stations have Stidd seats and Garmin multifunction displays. The flybridge also has an L-shaped settee seating to port and abaft the helm as well as room for a grill and tender stowage on the aft deck.

Accommodations include a full-beam (17’2”) owners’ stateroom amidships with a king-size berth, a walk-in closet, satin-finish teak bulkheads, doors and cabinets, and an en suite head with teak-and-holly sole and a shower. There is also a forepeak VIP with a queen-size berth and a guest stateroom to port with two bunks. The VIP has access to the guest head with a shower. There is also head access off the companionway.

On the main-deck, the entertainment-centric layout starts with the galley aft. A drop-down window helps create a seamless connection between the salon and cockpit. The Azure 670 Sport Yacht’s galley is set up with GE appliances, in microwave, electric cooktop, oven, undercounter refrigerator, trash compactor and garbage disposal.

In the cockpit, there are two bar stools and a countertop facing the galley further illustrating the indoor-outdoor connectivity. There is also a dining table under the flybridge overhang abaft the bar area with bench seating along the transom.

Stairs to starboard lead to the lower teak cockpit, while a second door provides access to the hydraulic swim platform, which lowers to let owners to launch a tender and water toys, as well as prep to go scuba diving and swimming.

For sun and breeze, accompanied by some quietude, the 670 Azure Sport Yacht has a foredeck lounge with U-shaped seating around a teak table. It’s a great spot for sundowners on the hook.

With its robust construction, long-range-cruising accommodations, reliable power and a layout conducive to family-friendly voyages, the Outer Reef Yachts 670 Azure Sport Yacht should make the short list for enthusiasts ready to aim for that second star to the left and head straight on till morning.

Take the next step: outerreefyachts.com

Quick Specifications:

• Length Overall: 67’6”
• Maximum Beam: 17’2”
• Draft: 5’
• Fuel Capacity: 1,000 Gal.
• Freshwater Capacity: 300 Gal.
• Displacement: 99,000 Lbs.

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Outer Reef Yachts is sharing more details about its new 670 Azure Sport Yacht.

The defining design feature on this model is an indoor-outdoor galley and aft deck for guest relaxation and entertainment.

According to Outer Reef, this hull of the 670 Azure Sport Yacht is built for a young cruising couple. Exterior features include what the builder calls a “Serenity Foredeck Lounge,” and a hydraulic integral sports platform aft. The sports platform submerges into the water for launching equipment, tenders, fishing and more.

What is the Serenity Foredeck Lounge? It’s an optional entertainment zone on the foredeck of Outer Reef models, for owners who want additional privacy from traffic on the docks at marinas.

Where to learn more: go to outerreefyachts.com

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Outer Reef Yachts has re-engineered its 650 Classic Motoryacht, adding features that previously were exclusive to the larger 700 Classic Motoryacht.

Changes to the 650 Classic Motoryacht include a larger galley with an open layout; a main-deck day head to starboard; full-size refrigeration; a master stateroom with a king-size berth, and with single or twin heads; internal stairs from the salon to the crew cabin; and an FRP staircase to the flybridge, replacing a previous stainless-steel ladder.

Overall, the yacht can be used as a four-stateroom vessel with four-and-a-half heads (if there is an owner-operator without crew).

When will construction start on Hull No. 1 of the re-engineered 650 Classic Motoryacht? Soon. Outer Reef’s team says several customers have already placed orders.

Take the next step: go to outerreefyachts.com

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For David and Nicole Kruegel, cruising is for their birds. Leeloo, a white-bellied caique parrot, and Atticus (Atti for short), an eclectus parrot, take to the seas as eagerly as they do the air. The Kruegels are significantly expanding their voyages in their new full-time home on the water—a 2009 Outer Reef 650 Motoryacht—and the 7-year-old parrots are enthusiastic companions.

Boats and birds have been constants in Nicole’s life. Her childhood home was Tempest, a 1937 46-foot wooden sloop anchored in Dana Point, California. She got her first bird, a lovebird, at age 7 and has had feathered friends ever since. David grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida, and has spent countless hours water-skiing, surfing and scuba diving. Their mutual love of the water drew them together and assured they would always be a boating couple.

They started in 2007 with a 19-foot center-console, then, two years later, moved up to a 30-foot Regal. A 2016 cruise through the Abacos aboard their Mainship 430 trawler convinced the duo that it was time to find a boat that they, their two cats and the birds could live on full time. “Every time we sailed, we had to board the birds, and it was a big hassle to find a facility that could take care of them properly,” David says.

They took delivery of a Fountaine Pajot sailing catamaran in March 2020. After sailing along the Eastern Seaboard and the Florida Keys, in fall 2021, they returned to the Bahamas, this time with the parrots. “It was a learning experience for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and for the Bahamian immigration and customs folks because they’d never had to do this before,” David says. The Kruegels scrambled to complete paperwork and health checks before leaving the United States. Upon their arrival at West End, they found the Bahamian officials less interested in paperwork than in taking selfies with the birds.

The family cruised Grand Bahama, the Abacos, Eleuthera, the Exumas, the Berry Islands and Bimini.

Having parrots “is like having a 3- or 4-year-old forever,” David says. First, there’s the diet. They need daily fresh fruits and vegetables, which can be difficult to find while cruising. Leeloo can be a picky eater. “We gave her a green apple in the Bahamas, and she threw it back at us,” Nicole says.

As the Kruegels settle into their Outer Reef 650 Motoryacht, Avalon, there’s something for everyone. The boat has a 3,500-nautical-mile range, which will enable them to check off a bucket-list item: transiting the Panama Canal and exploring the Pacific. The interior gives the humans plenty of room to lounge and the birds lots of interior flight space.

In the parrots’ customized aft starboard cabin, the top bunk has been removed to allow more room for their cage and a view out the window. The birds also have their own head with a perch beside a big mirror. “Leeloo likes to look at herself and talk to herself all day,” Nicole says. There’s also plenty of room for the birds’ snacks and toys.

On rough sea days, the parrots prefer to hunker down in their cabin. But on calm days, “they can’t wait to get out,” Nicole says. “They’re eager to see where they are and what’s going on. They get so excited.”

Fan Favorite

Outer Reef Yachts has experienced strong demand for the 650. Recently, it has invested in reengineering this bluewater voyager. The 650’s updated design has enabled a 4-stateroom, 4½-head layout—a best-in-class long-range motoryacht.

The Lineup

The Outer Reef 650 MY is part of the builder’s Classic series, which includes 15 other model variations from 63 to 90 feet LOA across three vessel classes called S, M and X. Beam dimensions identify each class. It also has Trident, a modern long-range sports motoryacht line with 62- and 72-footers as well as an Explorer series with a 108- and 115-footer.

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For Years, Outer Reef Yachts has seen its 700 Classic Motoryacht become its most popular model. Clients wanting similar attributes in a smaller model have now led the yard to create the re-engineered Outer Reef 650 Classic Motoryacht.

The new Outer Reef 650 Classic Motoryacht has a larger galley with an open layout, a day-head to starboard on the main deck, full-size refrigeration in the galley, internal stairs from the salon to the crew cabin and an improved layout.

“Ultimately, as an owner-operator without crew, the new 650 design transformation has created a four-stateroom, four-and-a-half head yacht,” Jeff Druek, Outer Reef’s president and CEO, stated in a press release.

Are any of the new Outer Reef 650 Classic Motoryachts in build? They will be soon. Outer Reef says three of the boats have already been ordered.

Where to learn more: go to outerreefyachts.com

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Mega-yacht design has always been a playground for some of the most fertile minds on the planet. Construction, in turn, routinely represents an evolution in engineering. All of that and more is on display right now around the world, with numerous projects that are nothing short of mind-bending.

In March, Royal Huisman in the Netherlands turned the Alustar aluminum hull on Project 406, which is on its way to becoming the largest sport-fisher yacht ever to ply the world’s waters. Building this 170-foot-long, six-deck machine would be enough for any shipyard to create headlines, but the Dutch builder—the same month it turned that hull—announced that it also had inked a deal to build the world’s largest sloop, the 280-foot Project 410.

“It is an extraordinary honor to be entrusted with a project of such scale, ambition and technical sophistication,” Peter Naeyé, the yard’s chief commercial officer, said of the sloop. “A true performance superyacht with supersized dimensions and full of technical innovations.”

What all of that might mean is anyone’s guess, as are the teaser details coming out of Italy about Amarcord. It’s a new project of the Palumbo Superyachts brand ISA Yachts in collaboration with design firm Nuvolari Lenard. Amarcord is a 262-foot yacht being started on spec for delivery as soon as 2025. Giuseppe Palumbo, director of Palumbo Superyachts, calls the project an opportunity for the yard and design team to work together on “interesting innovations in the stylistic field.”

Given that Nuvolari Lenard’s history includes designing the first superyacht infinity pool, aboard the Oceanco Alfa Nero in 2007, as well as the military-style exteriors on 2015’s CRN Atalante, it’s again anyone’s guess what we are all about to see next.

Quite a lot of innovation is also on display these days at shipyards that build smaller motoryachts. Outer Reef Yachts, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just announced plans for its 650 Evo Motoryacht, which replaces the Cummins Zeus pod-drive system from previous models with Volvo Penta’s latest Electronic Vessel Control offering. This EVC system adds faster software downloads, improved diagnostics and features such as joystick docking, dynamic positioning and a glass cockpit.

“We look forward to what the future holds for our Trident series, and will steadily work toward enhancing the owner experience through partnerships like the one we have forged with Volvo Penta and Garmin,” said Outer Reef president Jeff Druek. “At the end of the day, due to our incorporation of these game-changing technological advancements, our owners have come to expect and enjoy high-performance cruising aboard their Outer Reef Yachts.”

High performance is also a keyword at Van der Valk in the Netherlands, which just dropped a concept design called Meteor. At 82 feet length overall, Meteor all but eliminates the traditional aft-deck design seen aboard most yachts and, instead, takes a sports-car approach to styling. When the transom drops down at anchor, the whole main-deck interior becomes part of the indoor-outdoor guest space.

Fellow Dutch firm Vripack is involved in the design of Van der Valk’s Meteor, which has a projected top speed above 40 knots, powered by triple Rolls-Royce MTUs with water jets. The majority of the superstructure is glass, including two slide-open sections of nearly 10 feet apiece.

Would-be owners aren’t the only ones who think a concept like Meteor is cool. “Our skilled craftsmen are going to have a field day bringing this all to life for the first new Meteor owner,” the yard said in announcing the project.

Still want more? We’re salivating to see what’s about to come out of Tankoa Yachts, where the Italian builder has teamed with designer Philippe Briand on a 170-foot custom motoryacht for delivery in 2025. That project, according to Tankoa, includes “remarkable development of the interiors, designed and finely decorated down to the smallest detail.” What that might mean, in the hands of one of the world’s most award-winning designers, has the potential to be astounding.

In the powercat market, Denison Yachts just became the Americas dealer for the SilverCat line by Australia-based Silver Yachts. Hull No. 1 is already sold, with additional hulls available in lengths overall up to 118 feet. “We’re thrilled to bring the SilverCat to market as the new mega-cat with design innovations by world-renowned designer Espen Øino,” said Tony Smith, Denison brand manager for Silver Yachts.

We’re beyond thrilled too. A bounty of features, technology and amenities that have never existed are about to become reality. What a time to be able to play.

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Yachtsmen have a habit of calling Jeff Druek and telling him they want to live their cruising dreams.

Druek is president and CEO of Outer Reef Yachts, which builds long-range motoryachts from 58 to 115 feet length overall. About 10 percent of the buyers, Druek says, are “roamers,” by which he means boaters cruising far off the beaten course, exploring destinations such as the Galapagos Islands and Patagonia.

Felipe Massú is definitely that kind of boater. He bought the 2014 Outer Reef 700 Motoryacht Dogo’s Hideout, whose previous owner had been keeping it in the Pacific Northwest. Massú had a bucket-list dream of rounding Cape Horn, Chile, and he needed a yacht that could handle the unpredictable weather conditions as well as the long-range cruising.

His dream is now a reality. Massú took Dogo’s Hideout on a 35-day itinerary from Puerto Montt, Chile, to Ushuaia, Argentina, a city whose nickname is “the End of the World.” He called getting there one of his great challenges as a navigator, and found the area’s beauty so stunning that along the way, the yacht made more than a dozen stops.

Dogo’s Hideout is not the first Outer Reef to round Cape Horn. Previously, the Outer Reef 880 Cockpit Motoryacht Argo completed the feat. That yacht, built in 2015, had then-owner Paul Hawran aboard as well as Druek, who spent nearly two days on airplanes to get to that part of the planet.

“There is nothing more satisfying than to build a yacht that is not only luxurious and comfortable for everyday cruising, but that also meets the highest of standards for the most treacherous of journeys,” says Druek, who wonders which yachtsman will call him with a bucket-list cruising dream next.

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Susan Swope’s father was a Hatteras dealer who also built oceangoing houseboats, so she tasted the cruising life early. As an adult, she had a 54-foot Azimut and then switched to a 61-foot Outer Reef. “We were tooling back one day from someplace, and I realized that I liked going slow and seeing the sights and not being windblown,” she says.

Her 61-foot Outer Reef wasn’t exactly a slouch on speed, but it was a bit small for her needs. Swope cruises with friends, family and dogs and wanted more room for scuba gear. In July 2019, she ordered a 74-foot Outer Reef, which should be with her in the United States by the time you read this.

“We redesigned the stern of the boat,” she says. “There is a cabinet that’s going to hold a Brownie YachtPro [compressor] and the tanks, so all of that will be contained. The tanks can be filled right there and in the water, and it’s all out of the way when you’re not using it.”

Outer Reef president Jeff Druek says the original swim platform is now more of a sports platform. “You could probably put seven or eight people with dive gear on this platform,” he says. “It’s very spacious.”

Inside, Outer Reef made custom enhancements, says interior designer Deborah Dorn: “We commissioned pieces, we have vintage pieces, we have special finishes. It’s a more elevated interior in terms of products, artwork and artisan-made items.”

Swope’s big concern now? Where to go first.

“I think in the summer, we may go up the East Coast. We’ve got great plans, maybe to go to Bermuda and further down the islands to the Turks and Caicos, and I have this idea in my head about going to the Mediterranean,” she says. “Diving is just a big bonus.”

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The Outer Reef 650 is a long-range cruiser built for blue water. Hull construction is solid fiberglass below the waterline and PVC coring above it. Full-length longitudinal stringers and athwartships stringers add backbone.

The yacht’s cruise-speed range is 9 to 15.5 knots with a top speed up to 22 knots.

The 650 has a three-stateroom layout with a full-beam amidships master, a forepeak VIP and a portside guest stateroom with a double berth, all with en suite heads.

At press time, six Outer Reef 650s were available, ranging from $1,595,000 to $1,795,000.

From the Archive

“The watertight rear door swings open to reveal a cherry-wood salon lined with carefully book-matched teak veneer panels and flooded by natural light on three sides. A remarkable wood table, with two folding leaves that lay flush on top, sits in front of the L-shaped settee. In the closed position, the table has two bird’s-eye maple inserts. …Black granite graces the galley countertops.”

—Yachting, October 2007

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Chris Wheeler was awaiting guests in the Bahamas aboard his 67-foot Outer Reef Classic Motoryacht, Private Idaho, when one of his batteries went down. “It was harming the performance of the whole house bank,” he says. “These things weigh like 150 pounds. It’s a massive battery. They’re also hard to get.”

He knew a guy who had one in Jupiter, Florida, and he knew of a sailboat sitting about 100 miles away from there in Key Biscayne, waiting for a weather window to sail across to the islands. Needing help from afar, Wheeler called Capt. Randy Ives, who manages service projects and more for Outer Reef.

“I asked if there was any way he could get this battery and put it aboard this sailboat that’s coming to the Bahamas in two days,” Wheeler says. “Well, Randy found a way to make it happen. They weren’t even selling me anything or making money off me. It’s just above-and-beyond service to help out an owner whose boat is 10 years old and well out of warranty—who’s in trouble in the middle of nowhere.”

Wheeler’s experience epitomizes the level of customer service that Outer Reef president Jeff Druek says is a core company value. Along with a willingness to customize just about anything, and the ability to build boats that can cruise just about anywhere, customer service is a pillar of the brand’s culture.

“Something is going to break. These are boats,” Druek says. “It really comes down to who gets it fixed and gives the client the confidence that it’s going to get fixed. It’s not about lip service. It’s about actually getting it done.”

Building Value, From the Start

To Druek’s thinking, customer service is intertwined with pretty much every part of a boat’s build-and-purchase process. From Day One, he works with clients to customize Outer Reef models in substantial ways—sometimes even moving bulkheads. And on every project, he and his team guide owners to make choices that not only the brand can support in situations like the one Wheeler faced but also will help to keep resale value high. Druek wants owners to know that when they’re ready to sell, they will have an exit strategy.

“There is a direct link between customer service and resale value,” Druek says. “We control probably 98 percent of every Outer Reef that comes back on the resale market. That is unheard of in itself. At the end of the day, when our clients want to get out of their boat or they want to build a new boat, I want to control that resale value. With me controlling that boat on the brokerage market, I can command the highest dollar amount for it.”

This past summer, he says, he sold two brokerage Outer Reefs—a 65 and an 86—for more than the sellers paid new. That’s the whole idea, Druek says: “If you had a sour relationship with a client, why would they ask you to resell it for them? I want to represent every one of our boats.”

Going to Serious Lengths

Of all the owners Druek has worked with over the years, Larry Castellani is probably the one who stood the best chance of pushing the builder to its breaking point. A longtime boater who had owned numerous vessels, he bought a 70-foot Outer Reef he liked, but he then realized he needed more space for his growing family, including his grandchildren. Castellani’s new brief included four staterooms—all with king- or queen-size berths and en suite heads—as well as two crew cabins in the stern, including one with a king-size berth for the couple who had been running his boats as crew for years.

Outer Reef’s largest model, an 86, came with three staterooms and one crew cabin. A fourth stateroom was possible—but with bunks and a shared head.

“And on top of that, we wanted to build to home specs,” Castellani says. “We wanted 8-inch risers, 10-inch platforms. The idea of having stairs that do not conform to muscle memory is not a good idea on a boat.”

Druek says he put in more than 400 hours of time on drawings, revisions and more revisions to make those requests a reality. At some point in the 10-month-long design process, he gave Castellani a laptop with Skype pre-loaded, so Castellani could click on Druek’s picture and reach him anytime, anywhere.

“If I had to pay Jeff Druek by the word or by the number of emails that went back and forth with the different layouts, trust me, he’d be a billionaire,” Castellani says.

And eventually, Druek figured out how to give Castellani exactly what he wanted. He created more space for the sleeping areas by using the entire 86-foot mold that Outer Reef had, changing the swim platform from an integral part of the boat to an extension. Druek also found a way to give Castellani’s wife, Joan, the full-size washer and dryer she wanted in the master stateroom.

“Jeff and Joan were simpatico,” Castellani says. “After six months of this, I wanted to send them both to a political correctness class because it would not be uncommon for Joan to get on Skype with Jeff and not invite me. That’s not funny. I’m paying for this thing.”

Druek, who got his start as a builder of custom homes, looks back on the process fondly. As challenging as the design brief was, it gave him ideas that can now be used to enhance Outer Reef builds in the future.

“I can’t tell you how many times he profusely apologized for monopolizing my time and asking for drawing after drawing after drawing, but it pushed me to be a better designer,” Druek says. “I’m designing a 97 for a client right now, and we’re doing the dance. It’s going to be an extraordinary vessel. It’s really geared toward watersports, diving, fishing—it’s set up specifically for his lifestyle. That’s what we do.”

Confidence Underfoot

For Dave Scudellari, the process of building his 70-foot Outer Reef, Ana Luisa, was also a bit about customization but a lot more about building with confidence.

Scudellari had owned a series of boats: a 22, then a 28, followed by a 40 and then a 54 that he kept for 17 years. He loved heading out with his family and friends on New York’s Long Island Sound, sometimes having 15 or 20 people on board for a day of fun.

As he got older, he wanted to cruise the Bahamas. His boat could take a beating, he says, but he didn’t feel good in the rough stuff. “I have great respect for the ocean,” he says, “so if I was going to do the Bahamas, I wanted to have a bluewater boat. This wasn’t going out to [Rhode Island’s] Block Island. This would be crossing the Gulf Stream.”

About 10 percent of Outer Reef owners cruise to remote locations, Druek says, including one who took an 88-footer to Patagonia and rounded Cape Horn in South America. The boats can handle the kind of cruising Scudellari wanted to do.

But Scudellari, having dealt with his share of shipyards over the years, also wanted to make sure Outer Reef would have his back in terms of support as an owner-operator. Outer Reef connected him with existing owners to interview, including one guy, he remembers, who had an older boat in the Bahamas with Outer Reef still sending him parts. Something about a battery that died. That story made an impression on him.

Scudellari took delivery of Ana Luisa in 2018 and had a captain deliver it to the Bahamas. He and his wife got aboard in the Abacos.

“We waved goodbye to the captain and took command of the vessel,” he recalls. “It was unbelievable. It was so beautiful.”

On the first leg of their trip, though, an alarm sounded. Just like Wheeler had done when he ran into trouble in the Bahamas, Scudellari called Ives at Outer Reef.

“I’m taking pictures in the engine room so he can see what I’m looking at,” Scudellari says. “We sorted it out, and it was done. That’s why I have the peace of mind that I can be adventurous. Things will go bump in the night. It’s boating. But there’s a support system. I have someone to call, and he knows this boat better than I do. That is what makes the difference for an owner-operator.”

Druek says that if Ives isn’t available, a whole list of other people are, including him—24/7/365. Buying a boat is not a small undertaking, he adds, and Outer Reef’s philosophy is that owners deserve that kind of support.

“A lot of our clients, whether they’re going to take a month and cruise or a couple weeks here and there, it’s a large investment,” Druek says. “If you’re out for a month and you go down for a week, you just lost 25 percent of your time. We understand that.”

Each of the owners says Outer Reef’s commitment to quality and service is why they would be happy to work with the builder again. As Castellani puts it, thinking out loud about how he might challenge Druek beyond the 90-foot Julianne, “If we were going to build another boat and Jeff had the 115 available, we’d have to give that serious consideration.”

Take the next step: outerreefyachts.com

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