When introduc­ing the 57 Su­per Sport five years ago, the big news at Oc­ean Yachts was her innovative hull con­figuration. In the pursuit of better effi­ciency and course tracking and a gen­tler ride in rough seas, naval architect David Martin configured her running bottom with some innovative twists.

Most notable, she has just a single pair of longitudinal strakes (not the usual two pairs), and the strakes aren’t paral­lel to the center line. Instead the sharp­ly down-angled strakes are farther a­part at the bow than at the stern, a fea­ture Martin introduced in order to im­prove lift and to straighten the flow of water into the props. Combined with an exceptionally deep forefoot to soft­en the ride in heavy seas, the strakes help keep her dry while stabilizing the hull in slop and chop.

So successful was the hull form on the 57 that Ocean left it unchanged for the new 58 Super Sport. Post what has changed is a lot more than you might imagine possible with just an­other foot of length. For starters, her bridge clerk offers an unusual cen­ter-console-style helm station aft of a giant, wraparound settee that should seat at least eight big guys comforta­bly. And her cockpit has been en­larged and fitted with a mezzanine seat that offers guests a great up- close view of the fishing action or just a relaxing place to hang out at day’s end.

In the saloon the 58 offers a big, U­ shape settee to port; it’s a better use of space than the L-shape seating area on the 57. And in that same vein, the galley sink and cooktop are farther forward, giving the 58 lots more floor and countertop space than the 57 of­fered. Opposite, the dining area is al­so larger, offering a full U-shape set­tee and dinette.

Perhaps the most significant changes in the layout are on the low­er deck. While the 57 had three state­rooms and three heads, including a full-beam master, the berths in the second and third staterooms were situated athwart ships; that are not the preferred orientation, especially for guests trying to sleep when the yacht is rolling. With careful allocation of her extra foot of lengths, the 58 offers a much improved three-stateroom, three-head layout.

The full-beam ma­ster is virtually unchanged, but there’s now a fore-peak VIP with a center-line berth, while in the third stateroom there’s a pair of twin berths facing fore and aft. Lots of im­provements from just one more foot of length.

Sometimes less is more, especially if doing less means doing it better. A case in point is the layout of Cheoy Lee’s 78 Sport Motoryacht. Rather than maximizing the number of guest staterooms, the sav­vy builder opted for just three. But each one is so generously proportioned that it’s like every stateroom is a master suite. All three extend full-beam, the master offering a king berths while the two guest suites offer queens. For extra privacy, the forward stateroom is accessed via its own stairway alongside the lower helm. Even the crew stateroom is exceptional; full-beam at the stern with upper and lower berths, a dinette, and a private head with separate shower.

On the main deck, the design phi­losophy seems to be just the opposite, offering a little something for every­one. Forward there’s a big country kitchen, while amidships there’s a for­mal dining area with a small wet bar adjoining a spacious seating area in the saloon. Alfresco devotees can choose between a dinette on the aft deck and an L-shape dining area on the flying bridge, near the hot tub. Another instance of less is more relates to ‘weight; the less a vessel weighs, the more speed she’ll deliver for a given power and fuel burn. The entire hull, deck, and superstructure arc cored with PVC foam, and key areas of her structure are reinforced with biaxial and triaxial laminates.

Resin infusion ensures an optimum resin-to-glass ratio and thereby a good strength-to-weight ratio. Amenities aside, it’s performance that’s key in a sport yacht, and the 78 builds on a long-established reputa­tion for offering a good turn of speed and a soft ride, thanks to a deep forefoot and fine entry coupled with a moderate dead rise aft. Partial propeller pockets improve propulsive efficiency while cutting draft to less than 5/2 feet. Twin 1,000-hp Caterpil­lar C18s are standard, but Hull No. I is being fitted with optional 1,400-hp Caterpillar 3412Es that will reported­ly boost top and cruise speeds to 26 and 23 knots, respectively.