Freeman Boatworks and Merritt Boatworks combined efforts to create a custom 42 foot long Freeman sportfish catamaran for music legend, Jimmy Buffett.
Jimmy Buffett and his Cpn. Vinnie LaSorsa run the ship.
Vinnie is based in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Jimmy lives in Palm Beach, Florida.
They wanted a pilothouse on it with windows that go up and down as opposed to side to side, shock-absorbing seats and a retractable awning.
The boat has been nicknamed The Last Mango.
Powered by quad 300-hp Yamaha outboards, the boat can hold 800 gallons of fuel.
At the helm, there are two Shockwave seats (as requested) and a full complement of the latest Garmin technology.
Two 17-inch Garmin 8617 MFDs dominate the dash and run the new EmpirBus switching system. From the MFD, the captain can control all ship systems down to the ball valves used to fill the forward ballast tanks that Freeman installed to bring the bow down in a head sea.
The captain doesn’t have to manually open the valves, just tap the MFD and the icon on the screen will change when the valve is open to show if water is flowing or not. Pumps, aerators, AC, lights, horn, wipers—they’re all controllable through the EmpirBus.
There is a Yamaha Helm Master joystick on the main helm as well as the upper station. This lets the captain slide the boat sideways to the gas dock, hold position and drift in various configurations.
LaSorsa says he loves the maneuverability the Helm Master provides, but the Freeman drifts so nicely that he often doesn’t need the various drift-set functions when fishing.
When asked what his favorite feature of the boat is, LaSorsa answers quickly.
“I like being in the enclosed pilothouse,” he says. “You don’t feel the wear and tear you feel when running a center console and cruising so fast. On those boats, you feel like a cocker spaniel in the back of a pickup truck on the highway. On this boat, you don’t get any of that. There’s no wind burn. It’s quiet and soft. You can hear each other. It’s easier on the body.”
Last Mango Boatworks
https://www.lastmangoboatworks.com/
