Discover the journey of Larry Madsen as he becomes a part of the Invincible International family and finds his perfect vessel.
Meet Larry
Larry & his wife Grace are already valued customers of Invincible International Turks & Caicos Dealer Southbank Marina Boat Sales.
They're relative newcomers to Turks and Caicos, not much more than a year ago they bought a property in Grace Bay, and have recently finished the renovation.
The moment Larry had his real estate renovation complete, being a keen boater and fisherman in the Pacific Northwest, the obvious next step was to find a boat to explore the crystal blue waters around Providenciales and the neighbouring islands, that's when he walked into Nicky's office at Southbank Marina.
Nicky Souter is the Technical Yacht and Sales Manager for Southbank. Originally from Scotland Island in The Pitwater just north of Sydney Nicky is a World Match Racing Champion, 10 times National Champion & winner of the world-famous Sydney to Hobart Race, not to mention her professional career in the marine industry. Suffice to say Larry & Grace would be in safe hands!
Choosing the Right Vessel
Larry's no greenhorn, he's got a lifetime of experience working with boatbuilders to get everything dialled in for his requirements however, by his own admission all that experience is "West Coast" boating which is a little different to the "East Coast Guys" that the Turks inevitably falls under, the Caribbean sauce adding an extra twist!
So here's how it went down - Larry came in, first of all looking for a boat - the timing wasn't quite right as they didn't have long left on the island this year but, the ocean does have a pull.
Larry wanted something comfortable and stable, he's pretty salty but Grace hasn't spent a huge amount of time out on the water and he would like her to enjoy their time together on the water with a smooth ride, Nicky felt an Invincible Catamaran would perfect with the stability, comfort & ease of use around the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Nicky got right on the phone with me and we went through Larry's requirements and came up with some ideas.
We quickly set up a sea trial on Kalypso with her owner Keith who had been making the very most of his time on the water whilst being on Provo.
Now you cannot step on board Kalypso and not have a good time - Larry, Grace & Keith had a gas, it also helped that the boat was amazing.
With boating & dinner out the way Larry felt it was really important to simplify his boating - being in paradise shouldn't be complicated - access onto the boat needed to be breezy & easy, storage onboard would be super important to avoid frequent loading and unloading and whilst the 37' Catamaran is a pretty incredible ride - with her 12ft beam & quad engines - Larry felt it was too much boat to comfortably handle for relaxing days crusing around the archipelago.
So must-haves were a dive door and some form of secure storage for his growing number of rods in a compact package, ideally twin engines and of course a cat for comfort.
My feeling was that either the 33' or the 35' would be the right boat. For Larry, he felt quads would be a big step up from the twin-engined 40 footers he is used to running in the Pacific Northwest.
Between Larry Nicky & me working through every single requirement the 33' wasn't quite 100%, our 35' was a tad on the larger side offering better stability and access which was very important for Larry to make sure Grace would be comfortable.
Now this is feedback I get a lot: "I don't want to break the sound barrier - I just want to cruise comfortably!" and I'd quickly forgive the most seasoned seamen for thinking that quad engines are only for wild days of wide open throttle to get as far as you can as fast as you can, when it comes to our Invincible Catamarans the answer is a little bit more nuanced. On the one hand, they can be speed machines - on the other running quads has distinct advantages. Larry is thorough. He had done his research and there was something about quads which he wanted to understand better.
When we set out to build the ultimate catamaran center console we chose a long-term partnership with Morrelli & Melvin - for the obvious reason that first, they know what they're doing, second what they do they're really good at. Designing a good catamaran hull is not easy (read more about Morrelli & Melvin here), typical issues to contend with are aft quartering seas and following seas, hull design alone can only get you so far without the appropriate power. This partnership means the Invincible Cats run right in all conditions.
The 33' for example is a purebred twin-engined cat, all the design around the hull and interior weight distribution was to optimise for running twins. Your cat wants to run high in the water, the bow needs to be up so it doesn't stuff and for the dry ride synonymous with the Invincible you want our reverse chine to be doing its job of keeping you dry.
As we step up in length & beam to the 35', the weight increases exponentially, running quads gives extra prop lift at the transom for the above, each engine carries one-quarter of the load, in turn reducing both engine wear and fuel burn for mind-blowing efficiency, making the 35' more responsive and handle better.
It's easy to forget just how great the Invincible Catamarans are until you get a reminder, for Larry & Grace that was a ride on a 33ft monohull from another brand in less than perfect conditions, a quick decision was made that the 35' would be the perfect boat - after all Larry is intending to bring her all the way down on her own bottom from the factory in Miami - having the displacement of a larger boat and quad engines offered a lot of security.
The Build Process
One of the major advantages of working with the Invincible International Dealer Network is availability we're able to prioritise the for our international customers. In this instance, there was a demo 35' with the ideal colors and specification part way through build which we were able to secure for Larry.
Larry's Invincible would be in Ethreal Blue with my favourite interior combo of white with the hitch fog accent - it's such a comfortable and durable fabric. Larry also benefitted from an upgraded electronics package complete with 17" Garmin displays, Sirius XM Weather module & 3KW Transducer.
As for the extra rod storage which was important to Larry we were able to draw some inspiration from our International fleet and through efforts between Nicky & me it was Larry who managed to find a great contractor to do the work.
The Handover
Handovers for International boats aren't always the most exciting - I arrange for them to be shrink-wrapped in the factory and a trucker comes to haul them to the port for shipping. A boat heading to Turks on the other hand - that is a different story! Handover happens in Miami, we fuel up and go!
As part of South Bank's commitment to stellar service, South Bank Marina CEO Adam Foster flew to Miami to meet with Larry & our Handover Specialist Drew Skolnick at the infamous TNT Marina.
What I really like about being able to offer this to our customers is that the new boat gets to start their journey where the boat is born and enjoy it immediately - after all - who doesn't love a night or two in Miami!?
I checked the webcam early that morning, a stunning day over South Beach Miami - the clear skies and the ocean looked glassy flat! Heading out of TNT Adam and Larry headed up the coast to Pompano Beach where Larry would be adding some signature additions to kit the boat out.
Dinner done and a day on the water - what could be better - here she is the day Adam and Larry collected her:-
| Larry & Grace's Invincible 35' Catamaran - BoatOx
Welcome to the Family
With the purchase of their Invincible 35' Catamaran, Larry & Grace officially become members of the Invincible International family.
It's great to have them on board, Larry is a hoot and we have some great conversations at the phone together
Each time I speak to Larry he's got a great story to share with me:-
Best fishing I ever had was up at Langara Island the 4th of July a few years back. We limited out on 4 species and I lost a 30-pound salmon to an orca right at boat just before we netted it. Good story for later, all I can tell you right now is whales wink at you when they take your fish
I'm about to hit publish on this piece and this dude tells me how he fishes head-to-head with orcas! When I met my wife she told me life's for living - Larry, you're doing it right!
Larry's next big adventure
Now the proud owner of Invincible 35' Catamaran "BoatOx" Larry has kitted her out with some finishing touches in Miami and, at the time of writing, he's waiting on a weather window to cut across to The Bahamas and make the long, visually stunning, run down to Turks and Caicos - the hottest ticket in town! I'm really looking forward to hearing all about the journey.
When Larry & BoatOx arrive, they'll be greeted by Adam, Nicky & the first-class team at Southbank.
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