131 Motor Yacht
The Sunseeker Manhattan 74 is a 74-foot luxury motor yacht with a flybridge that was produced by British yacht-building firm Sunseeker between 1998 and 2004. Though many Sunseeker yachts feature an aggressive and angular profile, the Manhattan 74 impresses with a graceful and curvaceous exterior with tear-drop windows, a rounded stern and a slow-slung, aerodynamic superstructure. Winner of the 1998 International Superyacht Design Award in the “23m to 32m Motoryacht” category, this best-selling vessel remains ever popular on the used and charter markets thanks to its plush interiors, reliable seaworthiness and hand-crafted finish.
The teak-lined open air flybridge comes with a Venturi-style wrap-around windscreen as well as an optional Bimini top for added shelter, and features a curved, ergonomic helm station with a loveseat at the front. Directly behind this there is a wet-bar console with a Gaggenau grill, an icemaker and chilled storage, from where you can serve the six guests relaxing on the bridge’s L-shaped leather sofa. To the rear there is room for tender storage or a wide, stern-facing sunpad. On the main deck there is another sunpad out on the foredeck and a sheltered aft-cockpit with a transom sofa and a breakfast table, while side steps lead down to a hydraulic, teak-lined swimming platform large enough to host a Williams jet tender.
The curves continue as you step through sliding glass doors and into the salon, where a C-shaped leather sofa with a lacquered coffee table sits across from a galley with glazed teak or cherry cabinets. The galley features a rounded serving bar, granite work surfaces, a four-zone hob, a convection oven, under-counter fridge-freezer units and a stainless-steel sink. Also located in the salon are a pair of U-shaped sofas, one with a bespoke coffee table and another with a Hi-Lo dining table, separated from the rest of the salon by a spiral steel-and-timber staircase with floating steps leading up to the flybridge. At the front of the cockpit there is a raised helm station with superb visibility out of mullioned windscreen windows, a comfortable helm chair and a dashboard with Simrad electronics, thruster controls, a Raymarine chart-plotter and VHF radio.
Across the lower deck there is room for up to eight overnight guests across a twin berth, an en-suite twin cabin, an en-suite master stateroom by the bow and a full-beam owner’s stateroom amidship. The owner’s bedroom benefits from private stair access to turn it into a lavish, private retreat, and features a king-sized island bed, bedside cabinets, upholstered wall panels to dampen sound, oval-shaped vertical porthole windows, a work-desk or vanity station, a loveseat and an Avonite and cherry lined bathroom with a waterfall shower.
Still quick even by today’s standards, the Sunseeker Manhattan 74 can easily surpass the 30-knot mark thanks to a pair of 1200MHP MAN diesel engines, with cruising speeds in the mid-20 knot range. A Don Shead-designed deep-V hull with prop pockets, meanwhile, easily negotiates the tricky currents and cresting waves of the turbulent English Channel, so should be able to take the Mediterranean in its stride.
