Wild Wind IV

Wild Wind IV is a 60-foot Express Trawler Catermaran featuring displacement hulls, twin 330hp Cummins diesels and Hundested controllable-pitch props. Owner-designer-skipper Dennis Raedeke spent six months working on the boat in New Zealand with Pachoud Yachts and Malcolm Tennant's Design turning her into an awesome seagoing vessel.

Wild Wild IV is a beautiful boat. Her 60-foot displacement hulls and 25-foot beam provide little sense of motion when the seas are relatively calm. Designed to cruise on a single engine at 9-plus knots, she has an amazing range of approximately 3,500 miles, depending on her speed. When one needs to hurry her along, a top speed of about 21 knots provides a smooth, flat ride.

The catamaran's design provides an abundance of room inside and out-she is a luxury yacht. The master stateroom is large and elegantly finished in a variety of woods, with a queen-size walkaround bed and a portside head with oversize shower. Skylights, sound system and both heating and cooling top off the comfort. Another amidships cabin accommodates up to five additional guests and shares the starboard head and shower.

The fully equipped galley in delightful American cherry throughout. A granite-topped breakfast bar separates the kitchen from the dining room, and leather-cushioned seats surround the dining table.

The sterns are separated from the large aft covered deck by heavy doors and railings, and between the sterns is a uniquely powered platform to raise and lower the smaller inflatable, outboardpowered dinghy, which becomes a swim platform when down. A larger, higher-powered inflatable (for waterskiing and larger loads) rests topside aft of the flybridge. The flybridge, just forward of and beneath the radar arch, has a commanding view to ease one's time at the helm. In fact, there are four command stations with full engine and steerage controls to accommodate ease of docking. The indoor helm amidships in the main pilothouse, the flybridge and both rear quarters on the stern all have full throttle, shift and steerage controls. no wheel-just a dual set of throttles and toggle switches. One steers by nudging a toggle to the left or right, by dialing the degrees-knob on the autopilot or with the engines and their variable pitch props. This is a state-of-the-art boat.

WWIV has an intelligent bunch of fuel tanks, with a plumbing system that allows the transfer of fuel to different tanks to displace the weight for balance (and refiltering fuel in the process). This capability protects the guarantee of getting home on the second engine if one fails. If the Raedekes take on "questionable" fuel (something one must sometimes do in certain areas of the world) they can isolate it in separate tanks until it is proven sound.