The owner originally had other plans. He had not envisaged a length of 60 metres. A cruiser with a range of 5000 miles, capable of travelling from continent to continent, had not occurred to him either. A displacement vessel with a shallow draught for coastal voyages was originally intended. But then the owner travelled to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show and carelessly inspected the 60-metre "Capri", the Lürssen three-decker from 2003 with a design by Glade Johnson (issue 1/04).
Today, the owner is standing on "Linda Lou", a Lürssen construction that clearly resembles "Capri". A visit to the showpiece had shaken up all his ideas and convinced him. He placed his order - typical post-show business - in December 2003, choosing Espen Øino as the designer and François Zuretti for the interior.
Øino, the Norwegian with an office in Monaco, set some new accents. At the expense of the running deck on the bridge deck, he widened the upper saloon, the Sky Lounge. In addition, one of the owner's wishes was a bathing platform of a suitable size, which "Capri" had dispensed with at the time.
Anyone following the scene or passing by on the Weser will have noticed at the time that "Oasis" (issue 5/06) was also awaiting delivery at the Lürssen site in Bardenfleth at the same time as "Linda Lou". Here, as with "Capri", Glade Johnson had sovereignty over the design, both inside and out. The "Capri" similarities cannot be overlooked on "Oasis" either, from the Portuguese bridge to the onyx and maple in the interior. And anyone who concludes that Lürssen builds semi-custom three-deckers of a smooth 60 metres in length at this location is right. These formats are currently the new middle class of high-quality motor yachts made in Germany.
They appear as "Semi" where the similarity of their layouts and basic technical equipment cannot be overlooked. Lürssen, always a favourite customer of MTU, supplied this small series with Caterpillar Type 3512B diesels, and the layouts differ only in a few details. Where "Linda Lou" offers the Observation Lounge on the Sundeck, "Oasis" is content with an open bar.
