Pacific 62 Development Updates

My early years working at sea taught me just how much of the ocean, even comparatively close to our doorstep, is yet to be fully explored.

For me, marine exploration locally or far beyond the horizon is the ultimate personal adventure. As boat-builders we have always applied the same ethos to our clients, creating vessels to suit their personal sea-going ambitions. With a background in engineering on ocean-going vessels and a passion for diving, fishing, and adventure, our family has always yearned to replicate the experiences with our children and into our retirement. The Pacific 62 is the vessel we are building to suit our family's ultimate adventures.

Over the past three decades, countless discussions led to envisioning this vessel's diverse potential. The result is an incredibly versatile craft, brimming with remarkable capabilities.

Let's break down the four key attributes that we think make the Pacific 62 truly exceptional:

Capable

A secure passage maker boasting an impressive 4000NM range.

Enabling

This vessel embraces and empowers the sports and activities we cherish, fostering the lifestyle we desire without constraints.

Comfort

Our current vessel range already excels at creating social and delightful memories. From layout to materials and technology, we've ensured that the Pacific 62 offers a level of comfort that exceeds expectations.

Affordability

Designed with families in mind, we've made affordability a top priority, ensuring that every aspect of the vessel and its servicing remains manageable.

With great excitement, we welcome the Pacific 62 to the Dickey Boats family —a vessel honed and perfected over decades to unleash adventures wherever the call of the sea beckons.

The story of the Pacific 62 will continue…

Stay tuned or give us a call on the details below.

Jason Dickey - Cofounder, Dickey Boats

For us, boat travel and exploration are all about maximising the experience and having a blast.

However, when considering options for our style of adventure, many great passage-making vessels out there lacked the layout and amenities to fully optimise the experience on arriving at the destination.

For instance, having the tender on the stern limited our ability to game fish, work a bait-ball efficiently or even jump over the side for a look. We wanted a clear cockpit to park-up mid-ocean comfortably and enjoy a BBQ day. Keeping the bow and wheelhouse sides free from clutter was crucial, allowing us to easily throw some poppers when we spot fish along the way.

Addressing these challenges, we came up with innovative solutions like the flybridge dodger. Unlike typical shelters, ours is designed solely for storing the tender, kayaks, surfboards, and paddle boards, ensuring a more connected and social experience in the living areas.

To accommodate all our gear safely and accessibly, we incorporated flip-down covers under the wheelhouse overhang for securing up to 20 fishing rods. The wheelhouse's spacious storage area houses two folding electric bikes, while the lazarette is designed with ample bin storage for the rest of our equipment, like dive gear.

Our gear list at the start, tailored for our family, included the essential tender, surfboards, full fishing gear, free diving gear, wing foiling gear, two kayaks, paddle boards, and possibly electric scooters. It takes a lot of forethought to efficiently store and access this sort of equipment list.

The result? A vessel that not only boasts classic lines but also seamlessly integrates adventure and exploration into every passage we take. So be it a day trip from the marina, coastal trip for a few days, or a 4-month exploration of the pacific and we will have everything we need at any time!

If you'd like to discuss your ideal set-up, give us a call on the details below.

Jason Dickey - Cofounder, Dickey Boats

A significant amount of effort has gone into perfecting this system. "Perfection" is a bold term, but we genuinely believe we've achieved it.

When discussing vessels intended for remote global locations, the engine and driveline always become focal points. I've participated in numerous such discussions and operated a variety of boats with different configurations. These experiences have informed our perspective.

To understand our choices, let's strip things back to the essentials: a reliable, simple, and efficient drivetrain.

Single or Dual Drivetrain?

There are arguments for both. However, two drivetrains are superior, especially if they operate independently.

Many vessels traverse the globe with a single engine. Yet, a good proportion of modern dedicated passage-makers have a primary engine and a backup "wing" engine.

The primary advantage of a single engine is efficiency. It only requires maintenance for one engine and drivetrain, and there's only the drag of one keel, prop, and rudder. However, the wing engine, while enhancing safety, does compromise some of these benefits.

My primary concern is the potential unreliability of a seldom-used wing engine. And if your rudder is compromised, navigating becomes a challenge.

Are We Ready for Electric?

I won't delve too deeply on this topic, but I've spent a considerable amount of time exploring the subject.

For ocean-going vessels, you often end up with a diesel-electric drivetrain. Batteries and solar can provide some power, but for extended journeys, diesel's reliability is unmatched.

Current developments focus on DC motors, and the available systems aren't sufficiently tested for our needs. While alternative fuels and electric drives will become standard in the future, we're not there yet.

Engine Size?

Given the vessel's multifunctional use, we wanted the ability to cruise at 12-14 knots occasionally, with a primary speed range of 7-9 knots.

We delved deeply into achieving two operational modes for the vessel, even running Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for both speeds.

We designed our water tanks at the vessel's extremities for optimal trim. The horsepower required for the higher speed would mean the engines would idle at the lower speed, which isn't ideal. The engine we chose can easily handle the lower range.

So, our ideal drivetrain?

We've opted for two engines, shafts, props, and rudders, with two independent fuel and power systems.

A significant advancement was the variable pitch propeller system, which operates from near zero drag to full forward pitch. This allows us to run on a single engine for long passages or trolling and use both engines for faster speeds. We can also adjust to speeds as low as 0.5 knots, effectively anchoring over deep-sea reefs overnight.

This system ensures efficient engine operation and doubles our service intervals. Additionally, our twin keels allow the vessel to dry out and rest stably, ideal for cleaning in a tidal lagoon.

While there are many valid arguments and options available, and some might excel in specific areas, we believe that in terms of reliability, simplicity, and efficiency, we've found our perfect drivetrain.

If you'd like to discuss some of this reasoning in more detail and how it might apply to your build, give us a call on the details below.

Jason Dickey - Cofounder, Dickey Boats

For me, the cockpit is the space that offers the best opportunity to express a quintessentially Kiwi approach to vessel layout. In our view, it’s where many smaller passage-makers fall short, and is consistently the most personalised area of our Dickey Boats builds.

Embarking on a project like the Pacific 62, where the starting point is a blank sheet yet laden with numerous design inputs from day one, can be a complex journey. The design spiral begins with a set of parameters that need to be achieved, and from there, it's a matter of compromise or altering parameters, as achieving all desired outcomes can be a challenging feat.

Designing with vision

To illustrate the design process, consider a small open punt my son and I designed while working on a larger project.

We began with a clear, non-negotiable vision: both of us, at sea, fishing, each comfortably seated with a rod holder and cup holder nearby, enjoying a sunny day and a good catch. This vision, involving two comfortable seats on pedestals, two rod holders, and two cup holders, became the heart of our design, from which everything else evolved. We were prepared to alter other parameters before compromising that vision.

The Pacific 62

For the Pacific 62, the cockpit is the core. We began with a volume in mind, not an actual layout. The Semifly 45 we build has a cockpit that allows us to customise and modify it to suit various entertaining, boating, and fishing needs, and it remains generous yet connected to the rest of the vessel, even when only a couple is on board.

Although it seems like an easy starting point, for a vessel that relies so much economy as a key value proposition, the cockpit is beamier than our target beam-to-length ratio.

This conundrum necessitated some out-of-the-box thinking, and we devised a plan to keep the waterline narrow, have a secondary chine up the vessel, pull the topsides wider as we come out of the water in the aft sections only, and then pull it back in as we come up to the coaming. Now, we have a design that provides the space without detracting from other parameters.

Swim Platform: A balancing act between fishing and watersports

The swim platform is, for me, the first part of the cockpit. It's a tough one - for game fishing - all fishing in actuality - I'd prefer not to have a swim platform – but for everything else, it adds a lot of enjoyment and functionality.

We didn’t take long to decide that it was required for our boat. As a family, we spend a lot of time in the water, and access to the boat in the water is crucial when considering surfing, diving, foil-boarding, etc.

The railing is minimal, and we've installed the boarding ladder in the centre of the boat. It’s a small thing, but the centre of the boat is the most comfortable place to board in any sort of seaway, and the ladder can also be deployed easily from in the water. To improve backing down on fish, we've angled the base of the swim platform and covered the structure so that when reversing, we will get lift from the platform. I'm quite interested to see how this works as we don’t have a lot of draft in the stern and with our shallow shaft angle, the vessel should back up very cleanly with the platform providing a bow of sorts to the stern.

Bait Station and Transom Doors: A Fusion of Functionality

From the swim platform, we've opted for two transom doors either side of our bait station.

The central bait station, something we've refined over many years in our other boats, works incredibly well. Even when not being used for fishing, it still accommodates several functions that are beneficial:

• Two large rubbish bins – a great place to have them, and easy access.

• Davit sockets so that we can install our davit system to lift items in and out of the Lazarette storage.

• A practical benchtop that is great for loading the boat or working on things that are not kind to the sole or gunnels such as a rusty cray pot, or oily/dirty containers.

• The essentials - a live bait tank / wet locker with incorporated are four tuna tubes.

• Fresh water and raw water outlets and hose storage.

Inside the Cockpit: A Space of Transformation

Once inside the cockpit, it really becomes a space that can be configured in many ways.

We've kept ours simple, and I like space I can transform depending on what we are doing. While there are not many use cases we don’t want to cater for, designing for everything results in a layout that is too busy.

Our strategy at Dickey Boats is to use percentages to work out the top 80% use-cases.

We have a head in our cockpit – I'm not a huge fan as it takes up space and is not used very often but Tris did not want our kids running through the boat sandy and wet, so it became a non-negotiable. I did come around eventually and think it was a good idea to have a complete secondary black water system on long-range vessel. I also can see some advantage in wet storage.

Seating, BBQ, and Storage: A Considered Approach

We always wanted a seating area and a BBQ under the wheelhouse overhang. It is part of the Semifly 45 cockpit that was a success from day one. Additionally, we need to incorporate workshop access while maintaining the flow into the wheelhouse.

The BBQ is pushed away from the bulkhead and midships. You walk outboard to the flip-up seat that opens to provide access to the workshop. The seat over the workshop access is also at the same height as the seating in the dining area maintaining consistency through the spaces.

Aft of the BBQ, there is the back cockpit seat where we can fit three people. There will be a table fitted aft of this, and it may be fixed or removable.

There is a lot of different types of storage. Overhead for fishing rods. The Lazarette storage bins for all sorts from dive gear to spare parts.

We will have a storage bin just for deep dropping. One for sword fishing. One may be thermal gear stored while we are in the tropics. In another area, we will be storing coolers for fishing.

I have opted away from built-in kill tanks as they require constant maintenance and cleaning, preferring coolers with ice as they are easy to clean and eventually replace.

Flooring and Interior Finishes: Aesthetic and Functional Decisions

The final flooring choice has not been easy.

In almost all our vessels, we use Flexi-teak. It is a fantastic product that gives the look and feel of real teak but none of the environmental negatives. The light weight and lack of maintenance are huge positives.

However, on the Pacific 62, we were not sure it would achieve the overall lift we were looking for and wondered if it may look out of place with the decking products on the bow and roof, wheelhouse, and cockpit.

I will save the rest of this conversation for another day, but we are sticking with Flexi teak. A lot of other areas are going to be quite different.

Another aspect that we are exploring is bringing some of the interior finishes into the cockpit a little more than usual to soften the space and connect it with the interior.

In some vessels, we exaggerated the difference between the cockpit and the wheelhouse but in this vessel, I would like to see some balance.

We achieve it well in our Semifly range and I’m looking forward to exploring our options with the Pacific 62!

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