If classic boats are defined by style and substance, then Southwest Florida yacht owners have an eye for high-tech beauty and functionality.
    Yacht basins, marinas, canals and coves here harbor head-turning boats that flow with classic lines, are equipped with the greatest gizmos the marine industry offers to make navigation easy, and create a buzz among landlubbers and seafarers alike.
    Teak and cherry wood, sails and assertive bows, purring engines and Jetson-like joysticks all contribute to a handsome collage of some of the boating world’s best.
    Beyond the region’s sugar-sand beaches lie barrier islands and back bays that give Southwest Florida’s boating scene a cornucopia of options. Boaters can voyage to Key West or take a day-trip for lunch to Cabbage Key. If Bimini beckons, great. If not, Naples Bay offers a marine getaway in our backyard. It’s no wonder Collier and Lee counties are perennial favorites among boaters; state records show one of every 10 residents here owns a boat.

For those who love the look of a well-crafted vessel, Gulfshore Life has found five dream boats that will carry you away.

Sea Crown
    It is fitting that Ron Kresge’s 60-footer is a Symbol Classic. Its walk-around side decks and Portuguese-style bridge give it a truly classic look, enhanced by its cherry wood, perfect joinery and high-quality stainless steel.
    Kresge, a retired cosmetic dentist—hence the name, Sea Crown—says the most common comment strangers utter when he pulls into a marina is, “That’s the type of boat that I eventually want to own.”
    The $1.45 million yacht is Kresge’s substitute for golf, which bored him in retirement. Much more stimulating is his time on the Sea Crown, which he takes out with friends or alone, cruising at 10 to 17 knots. “This boat gives me a great hobby—making changes, ordering things, fixing things,” he says.
    Advanced technology in the bow and stern thrusters lets him dock it alone. He appreciates this, having had boats up to 70 feet. Yet he didn’t compromise comfort by downsizing to a 60-foot vessel. It has six sub-zero refrigerators, four televisions, wider-than-expected hallways and full-sized beds instead of bunks in the stateroom.
    The boat sits at the Naples Boat Club when it’s not cruising to the Bahamas, Keys or to nearby islands such as Marco, Useppa or Captiva. “It’s a very comfortable ride,” he says.
    His love affair with Symbol yachts started well before he took delivery of the boat last March in Savannah, Ga. He researched fast-cruising trawlers for months and met the owner of the Symbol boat yard in China, Jimmy Cheng. He traveled twice to China to customize the yacht during construction. “The one thing that has impressed me [about Symbol] has always been the precision of fine detail,” he says.

Murada
    The 2009 Sea Ray Sundancer that Terri Wilk adores is unlike the past Sea Rays she and husband, Bob, have owned, thanks to the no-yelling-at-the-dock device called an Axius Joystick. People familiar with boating know how tense it can be to bring a vessel into port at a restaurant or marina with a built-in audience. Add in the spouse factor, tides and current, and things can get downright nasty.
    But Sea Ray, like some other high-end boat builders, has figured out how to make a simple touch of the finger move the boat side-to-side in slow motion. “The ability to control the speed and direction with the joystick, while at the same time being able to simply ‘point-and-go,’ takes the stress out of boating, especially when the wind kicks up,” says Terri.
    The 34-footer is not the largest boat the former Cape Cod residents have owned, but they don’t believe they made any sacrifices with this $293,000 vessel they bought at Marine Max of Fort Myers. Three refrigerators, televisions and amenities such as central heat and air and an outdoor grill make the boat more like a second home—only floating.
    Named for Bob Wilk’s parents, Murray and Ada, Murada has a lift at their Cape Coral home, mere minutes away from Rumrunners at Cape Harbour. It creates an instant vacation in style. “It has practical aspects, and it’s very classy,” Terri says. “It has all the conveniences of home, and you can go anywhere.”
    Their three dogs seem to agree. The Bedlington terriers, Neo, Jake and Blu, watch TV—“anything that doesn’t have barking in it,” Terri says—in a cabin just for them. “They absolutely love to go on boating trips and have the wind in their face, or swim at the beach at South Seas [Island Resort].”

Giga-Byte
    Dick Levi fell in love with his 105-foot Sunseeker’s striking lines. “Even though it’s large, it’s still very sleek,” he says. But its functionality also drew him to the yacht. It boasts a garage for the dinghy (which yachters call a “tender”) and Jet Skis. The motor yacht, built in the United Kingdom, is one of only 11 semi-custom boats by Sunseeker.
    When the part-time Naples resident from Illinois took possession in 2007 of the $9 million boat, when it was only a year old, he named it Giga-Byte (1 billion bytes of information) in honor of his tech company. His previous boat, a 58-foot West Bay, was named Sea Byte. Although he considered Tera-Byte for this boat (that would be 1 trillion bytes), he “decided to reserve it for a future use.”
    When he and his captain, Chas Donahoe, venture out in Giga-Byte from the Naples Boat Club, where the yacht has a slip, trips vary from lunch at Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel or Marco Island to longer cruises to Key West or the Dry Tortugas. Snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing frequent Levi’s agenda. When the Atlantic or Caribbean call to him, he and Donahoe travel to Miami or the Bahamas’ Cat Cay, Chub Cay, Nassau’s Atlantis Resort, Eleuthera or Harbour Island.
    It doesn’t always have to be about distance, though. “I like to entertain friends at the friends’, and family at the dock,” Levi says. “Giga-Byte … has every amenity possible, including the all-important multiple bars and places to keep ice-cold beer.”

Southwind
    A Tiara 4300 Sovran that sits at the Naples Yacht Club features a joystick for easy docking, two staterooms, two full-sized bathrooms (“heads” in boater speak) and amenities such as Corian countertops and a full-sized, two-door refrigerator in the galley.
    “It’s not the prettiest Tiara yacht, but it’s got an all-teak interior and accommodations,” says Bill Mowry, who adores his 43-foot boat.
    With wife, Nancye, and other club members, Mowry ventures out on all Naples Yacht Club outings. The grandfather of five was commodore of the club until December, enjoying and assisting in cruises to destinations including St. Petersburg, Boca Grande, Useppa and Captiva. He even camped out on the yacht during Thanksgiving with nine-year-old Tommy and then-12-year-old Clay, his grandsons from Illinois. They thought the yacht was better than any tent.
    The 4300 Sovran has dramatically less noise and vibration than other brands, so conversations can take place in comfort while the boat is underway. Because the dual Volvo Penta engines release as much as 25 percent fewer emissions than conventional engines, owners enjoy diesel power performance, economy and durability without exhaust smoke, noise or vibration.
    Purchased in fall 2009, the Southwind is a perfect fit for this seasonal Naples resident. The boat, priced at $590,000, is Mowry’s third Tiara—and it may be his favorite, he says, for its functionality and yachting look.

Irish Uke
    So easy is it to sail a Morris Yacht that someone who has only been aboard a sailboat two or three times can do it. Just ask Larry Pirnak, whose 36-footer with a forest-green hull and wooden allure turns heads wherever it ventures in Southwest Florida.
    “It looks like an old-style sailboat, but it’s as advanced a sailboat as you can get,” says Pirnak, whose slip is at the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club. Want to put up the sail? No need to crank anything; just push a button. Don’t feel like manning the helm? Flip on the state-of-the-art autopilot function.
    The yacht, built in Maine, comes with legendary craftsmanship and a complete teak interior. “It takes more work [to maintain], but it looks good,” says Pirnak, a Canadian-turned-Neapolitan whose boat name, Irish Uke, is a tribute to his and his wife’s ancestry—Irish and Ukrainian.
    Pirnak takes the stylish sailboat into the Gulf on 90-minute to three-hour sojourns at least once a week. The $450,000 boat depends solely on wind, save for the small, 20-horsepower engine that Pirnak uses only when seas are dead calm.
    “This is perfect for me,” he says. “I’m not looking to cross the Atlantic. The longest trip I’ll make is to Key West.”