Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge (2018) - Not in Production

Brief Summary

The Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge is all about entertainment, both inside and out, just as her open flybridge version is. But now she’s got different space used in different ways: The enclosed Skylounge on the upper deck has a wet bar and day head, with a larger wet bar and a large electric grill just aft, outside on the bridgedeck. For privacy in port or to enjoy breezes at anchor, she has a lounging area at the bow, plus the usual dining/lounging areas aft. Because she’s capable of ocean passages, there's a Portuguese bridge. Best of all, an optional main-deck master changes the flow for owner and guests. Twin Kohler® 55 kW generators, twin remote-control winches and bow anchors, chilled water A/C and bow and stern thrusters are among the many standard features.

Test Results

Specifications

Length Overall	100’2'' / 30.53 m
Beam	23’ 0'' 7.01 m
Dry Weight	229,900 lbs. 104,281 kg
Tested Weight	246,690 lbs. 111,897 kg
Draft Up	5’6'' 1.68 m
Draft Down	6’5'' 1.96 m
Deadrise/Transom	N/A
Max Headroom	N/A
Bridge Clearance	N/A
Fuel Capacity	4,000 gal. 15,141 L
Water Capacity	650 gal. 2,461 L
Total Weight	246,690 lbs. 111,897 kg

Acceleration Times & Conditions

Time to Plane	N/A
0 to 30	N/A
Ratio	N/A
Props	Shanghai 52 4-blade
Load	4 persons, 1/2 fuel, 3/4 water, 50 lbs. of gear
Climate	75 deg., 45 humid; wind: 20-25 mph; seas: 4-6

Engine Options

Tested Engine	2 x 2600-hp MTU 16v2000
Std. Power	2 x 1920-hp MTU 12v2000
Opt. Power	Not Available

Contents of Report

• Features Inspection

• Main Deck

• Salon and Dining

• Galley

• Skylounge Helm

• Bridgedeck

• Accommodations Deck

• Turnkey Delivery

• Performance

• Handling

• General Construction

• Observations

Features Inspection

Main Deck

The designs of Evan K. Marshall are readily apparent in this traditional configuration, with a single-level deck running from the salon to the galley. From there, it’s up two steps to the casual gathering and dining area forward, or, in the case of the configuration featuring the main-deck master, the door to the owners’ suite. Ocean Alexander allows the owner to personalize the décor to match the owners’ preference with a generous allowance that also covers the bedspreads and soft goods. Let’s explore each of these areas in greater detail.

Salon and Dining

The 100 Skylounge offers formal dining for eight as well as a salon for gathering and entertaining. To starboard are both a wet bar and a day head, both within close proximity to the salon and dining areas. Electric shades from Hunter Douglas cover the windows for privacy in the evening.

Galley

The galley in the 100 Skylounge is quite unusual for a motoryacht of nearly any size. First, it’s quite large. Secondly, in the configuration where the master is placed on the lower deck, the galley can be isolated from the rest of the yacht in the traditional fashion – or it can be used as a “country kitchen” with an adjacent raised bar and dinette. In this setup, the owner and guests might be welcome in the galley for breakfast or a quick lunch. No matter if the galley is strictly for staff or for guests as well, it will easily accommodate the needs of a master chef to create gourmet meals. It has a large stand-up refrigerator/freezer, wine cooler, four-burner stovetop, deep sink, dishwasher, and pantry cabinets. All paneling and cabinetry are solid wood. Perspicuus Lux Lucis granite countertops provide ample room for food prep. Decking is White Aurora marble.

Brand Names Count. Veteran large motoryacht owners know that while there may be some minor bragging rights with exotic, terribly expensive “high-status” brand names in kitchen appliances -- when they go on the fritz, there is rarely authorized service nearby. That is why Ocean Alexander has carefully selected all appliances to be both high quality and widely distributed around the world. We have seen sinks from Franke Professional Series and Elkay as well as Whirlpool garbage disposals. Thirty-inch (76.2 cm) Thermador electric cooktops and matching ovens are joined by Sub-Zero refrigerators, wine coolers, and freezer drawers. A 24" (61 cm) Viking microwave resides over the range. A 24" (61 cm) Fisher & Paykel dishwasher takes care of the cleanup, as does a 15" (38 cm) Whirlpool trash compactor.

Casual Dining

When the main-deck master is not spec’d, the 100 Skylounge can have a more relaxed dining area that will probably be used mostly by the owner and family when guests are not aboard. This may even be used by guests for an informal breakfast or a quick lunch between activities. When owners or guests are not aboard, the crew will be happy to use it for all three meals instead of their less roomy facilities in the crew’s quarters below.

Skylounge Helm

Evan K. Marshall also designed both of the helm stations for the Ocean Alexander 100 with cues taken from the builder's much larger 120 model. It incorporates a “floating” display pod with three touchscreen multifunction displays and matching wood and Ultraleather finishes. Doors open to decks on either side and provide sightlines for the captain while he/she docks with an optional remote control. Stidd leather helm seats have adjustable and folding arms, and footrests, as well as a control pad in the armrest of the helm seat.

Bridgedeck

The Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge, like the open flybridge version, has an included 15’ (4.6 m) tender with a 70-hp outboard on the aft boat deck which will be launched/retrieved by a 2,500 pound (1,134 kg) hydraulic davit. For the skylounge, Ocean Alexander again relied on yacht designer Evan K. Marshall. The result is a true second salon with an elevated view and a high level of luxury, complete with a wet bar and day head. A second access point to this deck runs from the formal dining area into the enclosed skylounge, allowing a transition while remaining protected from the elements.

Accommodations Deck

The lower decks are accessed from stairs in the salon that lead to a central marble foyer. Custom-designed stone is all water-jet cut and includes stainless steel inserts for durability. All bulkheads in the hallway are fabric covered. The mattresses are innerspring with independent his/hers construction to ensure "disturbance-free movement" during sleep.

Head Compartments. All staterooms on the 100 Skylounge are en suite. The countertops in the heads are all Svevo marble with china sinks, and floors are Ancient Crepito marble for all but the master head, which gets a separate treatment. The shower compartments are seamless fiberglass with one-piece, clear-glass doors with stainless steel hinges fastened to granite frames. These doors are custom made for Ocean Alexander and provide superior transparency and reflectiveness. Also, “minimalist and transparent water strips” provide the “Crystal Shower” unique to Ocean Alexander.

Master Stateroom

As expected, the 100 Skylounge features a full-beam master on the lower deck, and in the version shown here, Ocean Alexander installed the popular “his-and-hers” head arrangement separated by a common shower. What makes this dual bathroom both possible and practical is the fact that there is a large, walk-in closet for madam to port and an adequate hanging locker for the man of the cabin to starboard.

This stateroom is entered through double doors at the end of the main passageway and has a chest of drawers to port and a love seat and more storage to starboard. Like virtually everything else in the boat, most of what is seen in both the drawings and in the images can be modified or changed to suit an individual’s desires. For example, a dressing table or desk can be substituted for the love seat.

The king-size berth is on centerline for minimum discomfort from ship’s movement. The same electric shades from the salon and formal dining areas are also present here in the master where there are large hullside windows to either side, which provide spectacular views when underway, and fresh air through opening ports.

Main Deck Master Stateroom

One optional feature that will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention to the 100 Skylounge is the main deck master stateroom, which changes the feel of the entire boat. The skylounge allows the glass-bridge helm station of the boat to be located on the upper deck, with full control of ship’s systems through the OctoPlex digital-switching system. This helm position frees up the forward end of the main deck, an area that includes the huge windshield, to be used as the master stateroom.

Ocean Alexander has clearly put a tremendous amount of thought into the design, using a lower-deck area forward for the master head and dressing room. But the considerations don’t end there, for the design team added what is called a “night head,” essentially a day head to starboard on the main deck, allowing the owners to avoid using the stairs at night. All-around shades help provide privacy, and there’s a desk to port.

Two VIP Configurations

Because the main deck master requires use of the forepeak for a head and walk-in closet, the lower deck in this configuration offers two different choices for the VIP stateroom. The first is a full-beam stateroom amidships – what is essentially the master stateroom on other configurations remains unchanged – with his-and-hers heads sharing a centerline glass shower. Each side of the head has a clever sliding mirror over the sink that lets the user slide it aside for a view through a large vertical hullside window, complete with opening port. In other configurations, this stateroom serves as the master, so its appointments, including a portside desk and a starboard chest of drawers, are augmented by huge hullside windows with opening ports.

The second available configuration are twin VIP staterooms, each located amidships, each en suite with an athwartships queen-size berth. Both encompass the expected quality joinery and level of luxury demanded of the Ocean Alexander shipyard, and have hanging lockers to help guests feel at home.

Guest Staterooms

Between the master and VIP staterooms are two guest staterooms with twin berths that convert to queens. All countertops are Chiampo Blue marble. Large hullside windows admit natural light.

Crew Accommodations

Crew’s quarters on the Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge are large and comfortable. They are accessed both from the port side deck and from the swim platform through the centerline door in the transom. With such an emphasis placed on chartering, an equal amount of emphasis needed to be placed on where, and how, to berth the crew. The crew’s quarters are located just abaft the engine room in the stern of the boat, which we have found to be the best place on this size boat. The captain gets a queen-size berth with an en suite head. This is ideal, particularly for the husband/wife teams of captain and chef.

Two additional crew staterooms can sleep four more crew, with an expandable single-berth cabin, and a Pullman berth above to port and bunk beds in the starboard cabin. Both share a head which is positioned adjacent to a separate crew galley/dining area. These crew’s quarters are on the large side, which helps to attract and retain good crew. The location at the stern, with access through the lazarette to the swim platform, allows the crew to come and go without bothering the guests or owners.

Turnkey Delivery

Smaller boats have long touted the “turnkey” feature to add to the attractiveness of the buyers’ experience. Sometimes this just includes bedding and towels, other times it adds dishes and cutlery. At Ocean Alexander it includes all of the above, plus full fuel tanks, all safety equipment (fenders, lines, throw ring, fire extinguishers…etc.), a full spare-parts package (bilge pumps, LED lights, zincs, filters, wiper blades, touch-up paint, fuses, an engine parts kit from CAT and Onan…etc.), a wheel puller for the propellers, a 10-man life raft, a full china set and cookware right down to the salt and pepper shakers, a toaster, electric mixer and measuring cup… just to name a few items.

Performance

As we depart, the bow and stern thrusters really proved their effectiveness and we were able to maneuver the 100 in the tight confines of our dock with little effort and soon we were on our way to open water. The Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge has a LOA of 100’2” (30.53 m), a beam of 23’ (7.01 m), and a draft of 6’5” (1.96 m). With an empty weight of 229,900 lbs. (104,281 kg), 50% fuel, 77% water, and four people on board, we estimated our test weight at 246,690 lbs. (111,897 kg).

With the 2,600-hp MTU 16v 2000s turning Shanghai 52 4-blade props in slight tunnels, we reached a top speed of 26.4 kts at 2450 rpm. Her best economic cruise is subjective to whether she’s being operated at displacement or planing speed and the range is fairly linear throughout the power curve. That said, at the recommended MTU cruise setting of 80% load, we were running at 22.2 kts with a 200 gph fuel burn that produced a range of 399.9 nautical miles, while still holding back a 10% reserve of the boat’s 4,000 gallon (15,142 L) total fuel capacity.

Handling

As for her handling, I was most impressed with the 100 Skylounge’s turning capability. I mean this thing handles like a sportboat with tight turns and instantaneous responsiveness. I mean seriously… this is a 100’ (30 m) yacht with the same turning radius that we’ve seen in most express cruisers.

She presented a dry ride during our tests at cruise speeds, but when slowed to displacement speed she did start to show some spray on the windshield when running through the chop. Her solid feel showed through, regardless of the direction we approached the seas, and her stabilizing fins did a great job of keeping us stable without having to fight the boat. In other words, when we felt motion, the natural tendency to stabilize ourselves was not offset by the mechanics trying to stabilize the boat. It was remarkably comfortable.

General Construction

The Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge is fiberglass which has been coated with a polyurethane paint and epoxy-based primers. This gives the yacht its high gloss and long-lasting color retention. This process also minimizes maintenance and eliminate gelcoat oxidation.

Lamination. Hull sides and the superstructure have high-density structural foam coring and the hull has solid fiberglass infusion lamination. This same high-density foam is also found in the stringer system throughout the yacht. Cross-knit directional carbon fiber is used in high stress areas for added structural integrity and torsional strength.

Sound and vibration are reduced through various methods to provide a quiet and comfortable ride. Bulkheads have multiple insulation barriers with sound reflective materials, air pockets, and flexible isolation mounts. Ocean Alexander tells us that these techniques result in noise level reductions producing sound readings that well exceed ISO-6954 standards. Marine-grade aluminum beams under all decks and above overheads provide greater rigidity, reduce weight, and eliminate creaking underway, or as guests walk about the yacht. Being an oceangoing yacht, particular attention has also been paid to preventing water intrusion. For example, all windows are frameless, and all bulkheads are weather-tight.

Interior Decking. Solid wood floor planks, matching interior wood selection, custom made for Ocean Alexander with spans of over 8' (2.44 m), are used in interiors with exception of the crew area. (There, Amtico is used for ease of cleaning and economical replacement.) Outside, solid old-growth teak is used on decks with intricate edging showing off Ocean Alexander’s craftsmanship.

Special Decking. Because changes in humidity and temperature in the harsh marine environment, particularly when shipping from southern to northern latitudes can easily warp interior wood decks, Ocean Alexander has a proven solution. Where teak is not used, Ocean Alexander employs special laminated wood made in the U.S. by Saroyan Company at its state-of-the-art plant in Kentucky. This composite has a top solid wood surface with the same wear capacity as solid ¾’’ wood flooring. It uses nine layers of European birch assembled in a cross-grain direction with a top layer of exotic hardwood to match the interior of the boat.

Special Windows. Custom-engineered windows are fabricated from sandwiched glass and aluminum beams creating the strength required of ocean-rated vessels as well as improving interior light levels and sightlines. The same technology in the master bath greatly increases the view over previous portlight designs.

Observations

While clever engineering plays a big part in the roominess of the Ocean Alexander 100 Skylounge, she’s also more spacious because of her 23’ (7.01 m) beam. Clearly this oceangoing yacht can handle all sorts of activities, including entertaining a large crowd for both cocktail and dinner parties, as well as local sight-seeing day trips.