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The interior design is nautical and natural with Caribbean blue and green colors and carpet with a coral reef design creating unusually bright spaces in this enclosed bridge sportfisherman. Add the seaworthy and state-of-the-art audio-video equipment and the Tiffany 68 yacht, christened Extravaganza, is exceptional.
But where does one begin when learning the intricacies of installing the latest audio-video equipment in a custom sport fishing boat? First by jumping ship.
Reel Them In
Michael Goldberg, president of MegaHertz Media Integration Inc., did just that. He leaped from one boat to another at the Annapolis Boat Show and then again at an international boat event in Florida to see what had and hadn’t been done in unchartered waters for him – audio-video installation in a boat or in this case, in the pristine and precise Extravaganza.
“A boat is perfect,” says the owner, who has had a boat since he was 16. This three-year project is the third craft that Tiffany Yachts Inc. designed and built for the owners. Using Computer Aided Design (CAD), Randy Cockrell, president of Tiffany Yachts Inc., developed a method of using a one-off mold to build a 72-foot hull in 1993. Then in 1999, he added an in-house high-speed router to his CAD creations, which was used to devise this 68-foot sportfisherman and the custom locker, seat and shower molds inside.
All Hands On Deck
During production, MegaHertz Media Integration worked hand-in-hand with Tiffany Yachts to build a low maintenance, user-friendly craft that the owners could operate without a crew. Waterproofing and dehumidifying using a silica gel moisture filtration system are not typically part of audio-video installations for Goldberg, who also incorporated equipment at the yacht owners’ home residence.
In fact, Goldberg researched, read and researched some more about audio-video installation in a vessel of this magnitude. He would spend weeks at a time in Burgess, VA, which is four hours away from his company and home of the family-run Tiffany Yachts, working with Cockrell and his sister and Tiffany Yachts’ secretary-treasurer, Rebecca Jones, to fine tune the six-zone audio-video system incorporated into this meticulous sportfisherman.
“She’s beautiful,” Cockrell says and the work MegaHertz did was impressive, he adds. The salon’s Pioneer 50-inch plasma TV rises and falls like the sea to provide hours of entertainment or a sleek look when not in use. The KVH satellite dish is capable of uninterrupted satellite viewing in 20-foot swells up to 85 knots.
“We live and breath electronics,” Goldberg says. With four waterproof SpeakerCraft speakers in the fore and aft decks, the distributed video system with two satellites, DVD, cameras and Northstar GPS visible on any TV screen or touch panel, and the RTI/Via! control system for one-button operation of equipment, Goldberg had his work cut out for him. He often forgot he was working on a boat with Extravaganza’s spacious interior that matches the style and grace of the owners’ landbased home.
Captain’s Choice
Now Goldberg is onboard with what it takes to create a spectacular yacht with state-of-the-art audio-video systems. His expertise has landed him frequent calls with questions about maritime installations. And another perk – being offered a chance to captain this vessel as long as he fills the fuel tanks, which at capacity hold 2,200 gallons.
The owners have not found as much time as they would like to cast off to Delaware and Annapolis in the summer and Florida in the winter, but they hope to change that soon. The key to this perfect craft, the owner adds, is its easy maintenance and being able to handle it without a crew. It’s smooth sailing on the Extravaganza.
