Good catch, Stubones99. This particular Alaskan 70 (not, by the way, a Grand Alaskan) was built and later used as a demonstrator by the couple who purchased the assets of Alaskan Yachts out of bankruptcy in 2010. They were in the middle of having a 65 built and made the move in order to protect their investment that project.
As the owners of Alaskan Yachts, they cruised their Alaskan 65 for a few years while working with a Florida brokerage company other than us, in an attempt to revive the brand and the company. Ultimately, because of economic and other circumstances, they were unsuccessful.
This Alaskan 70 Demonstrator was never destined to be their personal yacht. And it remained pretty much mothballed until because of the company owners’ advancing age and some health issues, they decided to sell us the brand and the dormant company.
However, while we purchased the brand and trademark rights and the company, we did not purchase this Alaskan 70 Demonstrator. Instead, our brokerage division listed it for sale at the asking price they designated. The yacht has never been titled. She has about 250 hours on her propulsion engines, all accumulated during sea trials and traveling back and forth to a couple of boat shows, as well as during a couple of photo shoots.
The yacht’s owners have always assured that regular maintenance was performed including oil changes, cosmetic repairs, washing, waxing, bottom paint, zincs, and the like. We had the yacht gone over when we took the listing and saw to the performance of any needed maintenance at the time. Unfortunately, we did not review the photo-pack which included the photo which you spotted and so it was not replaced even though the filter in question was.
For your information, we are in process of redesigning and reintroducing the Alaskan line, which we call the Alaskan Mark II series. Initially, there will be 54-, 57-, and 66-foot models, then later, one or two larger models. As soon as the Northwest 63 we currently have under construction is complete, we’ll begin tooling up for an Alaskan 66 Mk II.
We’ve assembled what we believe is a great design and build team. Stephen R. Seaton is handling the redesign of the Alaskan line that will modernize the brand while retaining many of the key design elements originally conceived by Art DeFever. Donald Blount and Associates is doing the engineering, and Phil Friedman, former President and CEO of Palmer Johnson Yachts, is contracted as our New-Build Manager.
I can see you’re based in Melbourne, Florida. But if you would like to see the Alaskan 70 Demonstrator, Dan Sammis, our East Coast manager in Jupiter, FL would be happy to show her to you and will buy you lunch as a token of our appreciation for bringing the errant photo to our attention.
