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ShowBoats International - May 2004

By Mark Masciarotte
Photos by Scott Pearson

Although they have experience with inland boating and have chartered bluewater yachts, Bob and Susan Lyle, Corrie Lynn's owners, are new to yacht ownership. The simplicity of the Westport program was part of the reason for their decision to do business with the company. Having carefully shopped the brokerage market two years ago, they determined that none of the used boats really suited their taste and discovered that many were priced higher than the cost of building new at Westport.

"Frankly, when you're spending that kind of money," Bob noted, "you want the boat designed the way you like it. At Westport, you can have the boat you want in a year's time or just a bit longer. Other yards were two and a half years out.

"A lot of boats are built with a little trial and error. This was hull number 1506, so they had built five prior to ours. Frankly, everyone makes mistakes when they build boats, but the more boats you build, the fewer mistakes you make and the fewer issues you have in the operation of them. That was what put us over the top and made us decide to go ahead with the Westport," Bob said.

The general arrangement developed for the 130s provides a near perfect mix of interior and exterior spaces, making the boats ideal for cruising in warm and cold climates. Each deck provides open and covered lounges. The main deck has a covered aft deck fitted with a large settee, a bar and a round table that seats up to eight persons; on the foredeck is a smaller circular settee and a sun pad. Just forward of the tender stowage on the boat deck is an exterior lounge with a settee and a spa tub; farther forward are a pair of centerline settees on either side of the Portuguese bridge. The sun¬deck offers three distinct areas: a covered forward section with a large settee to port and starboard separated by a flying bridge station, a center section with a bar and grill, and an aft section with a sun pad that extends nearly the full width of the deck.

According to the Lyles, Corrie Lynn is the perfect vacation platform. "We own a few houses," Bob explained, " and we don't want to own any more. Sue loves to travel, but I like to get into my own sheets and be comfortable. This boat will enable us to travel wherever we want to in the world and, at the same time, not have to be involved with managing more homes and all the aggravation that you have with that."