The main salon can be entered from the aft deck through a dutch door to port. The main salon has a sofa and 2 overstuffed chairs. There is a marble buffet that creates a divide from the other area. To starboard is a full width stairway that leads to both to the upper and lower deck. pilothouse. Forward is the full beam marble galley with breakfast bar and four (4) portholes which open to the foredeck.

• Marble counter and flooring 
• Teak paneling
  
• Overstuffed sofa
  
• 2 chairs
  
• Coffee table
  
• Plasma TV
  
• Teak buffet w/ marble top and cabinets
  
• Full width stairway to staterooms to starboard

• Open full beam galley w/ three (3) stool breakfast bar
  
• Marble countertops and sole
  
• Teak cabinetry
  
• Four burner professional viking range/oven - LNG with shut off
  
• Double size refrigerator/freezer
  
• Double sink
  
• Split drawer dishwasher
  
• Trash compactor
  
• Microwave/convection oven

Master Stateroom is full beam amidship.

• King size bed
  
• Walk in cedar-lined hanging locker
  
• Ensuite head and stall shower w/ custom stone
  
• Entertainment center
  
• Access to engine room through water tight door aft of rear chamber

Starboard guest stateroom:

• Queen size berth
• Flat screen TV
• Ensuite head w/ shower and stone
• Entertainment center w/ flat-screen TV

Port guest stateroom:

• Over and under bunks
• Flat-screen TV w/ entertainment center

A center line ladder leads up to the pilothouse from the foredeck. The wrap-around Portuguese bridge leads into the pilothouse. A large navigation console includes the ship's primary helm, chart table and electrical panels for AC and DC service. Twin Stidd helm chairs provide considerable comfort for two on watch and visibility through five (5) large front windows. There are, also, port and starboard stations for docking. An L-shaped settee with table is to port with a watch berth just aft. There is a day head to starboard and a hanging locker.

• Large teak console houses ship's navigational equipment, primary helm, chart table and electrical panels for AC and DC services
  
• 2 x STIDD helm chairs
  
• L-shaped settee w/ granite table to port
  
• Day berth aft of settee
  
• Day granite head to starboard aft
  
• Hanging locker
  
• Sink w/ granite wet bar
  
• Full width stairway from main deck
  
• Port and starboard Dutch style wing steel doors
• Chest fridge/freezer
  
• Small fridge w/ ice maker
  
• Propane stainless steel grill on the bridge deck aft of the pilothouse

The stairs from the pilot deck lead to the large flybridge that is equipped with a helm station and two helm chairs. Complete controls for the main engines and bow and stern thruster are situated on centerline. To port is a large L-shaped settee with a blue marble table and wet bar, sink and a refrigerator.

• Helm station w/ 2 STIDD helm chairs
  
• L-shaped seating w/table
  
• Wet bar w/refrigerator and ice maker

• All steel is tested by a NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineer) technician and certified or washed with CHLOR*RID as necessary to meet or exceed levels for maximum rust resistance
  
• Marine grade aluminum Deck and Cabin structure
  
• Steel hull - sandblasted and pre-primed - aluminum superstructure
  
• Five watertight compartments - PCM: Engine room, Steering compartment, Master stateroom, Guest cabins and Foredeck collision bulkheads
  
• Twin Kedge 450 lb. anchors
  
• Double bottom construction
  
• US Paint Awlgrip system used exclusively for steel and aluminum
  
• Self-draining chain locker treated with Rhino liner or equivalent

• Two vertical windlasses with controls in the pilothouse and on deck - one hydraulic and one electric
  
• Wesmar RS16 stabilizers with DSP4800 digital control system
  
• Stern vertical electric capstan
  
• Non-skid by Awlgrip on flybridge
  
• Windshield wipers on 3 forward facing pilothouse windows with washers
  
• Stainless steel hull plating on stem and bulb
  
• Clear anodized heavy walled aluminum stanchions, rail on pilot deck and aluminum ladder from foredeck to Portuguese bridge
  
• High bulwarks at foredeck
  
• Teak decks: main deck and pilothouse deck
  
• Main deck drains and freeing ports
  
• Safety glass throughout pilothouse and main saloon - windows to meet offshore cruising requirements
  
• Aluminum mast
  
• Flag staff on rear upper cabin top or centerline transom
  
• Custom bollards - 2 fwd, 2 aft and midship cleats built into hawse pipes
  
• All bollards and cleats stainless steel
  
• Centerline transom door
  
• Aluminum ladder to foredeck from crew's quarters through scuttle with watertight door
  
• Freeman Lazarette access hatches

• Fire retardant soundproofing in engine room
• Polyurethane insulation above waterline inside all hull areas and overheads
• Engine room blowers for powered ventilation
• 2x Cummins 6CTA8.3 - 350 hp @ 2500 RPM
• Borg Warner V drives
• Marquipt LPW 2700 hydraulic davit for dinghy
• Keel cooling of the engine heat exchanger for main engines
• Line cutters on shafts
• Fuel manifold mounted on forward engine room bulkhead steel piping commercial valving
• Steel fuel tanks each with separate fill and vent - approx. 6800 gallons total (including day tank). Tanks to have clean out ports and sight gauges as per ABYC regulations
• Fuel transfer and polishing system Racor 30 micron to 10 micron
• Twin rudder with skegs
• Shaft zinc anodes
• 50 HP Hydraulic bow and stern thruster
• Oil changing pump for engine + new gensets
• Power hydraulic steering
• Fire suppression system in engine room - new tank
• Fuel and water tank gauges with Hart tank tender system
• Village Marine watermaker 400 gpd
• 50 Gal. Hot water heater
• 6 zone, 8 ton A/C chiller system by Marine Air - New service - 12 air handlers
• Kabola diesel furnace located in the engine room - uses the same air handlers as the AC
• Displacement - 170 tons

• New LED spreader lights on the mast over the flybridge
  
• New batteries
  
• New satellite compass
  
• New AIS receiver/transmitter
  
• New underwater lights - blue & white
  
• New Bauer dive compressor
  
• New dive ladder
  
• New autopilot controller
  
• New Wesmar digital stabilizers with DSP 4800 digital control system - new fins 2017
  
• New Nobletec Timezero unlimited charts with new Nobletec computer
  
• New FLIR night vision
  
• Five new airhandlers
  
• New flybridge wind screen

• 2x Northern Lights gensets: 32 Kw and 16 Kw
  
• AC/DC distribution panel in pilothouse
  
• 2x 50 amp shore power inlets
  
• 2x 24v Main engine alternators
  
• Gel batteries for house and inverter banks
  
• Battery charger/inverter by Prosine 3.0
  
• GFCI protected electrical outlets in engine room, galley and heads

• 2017 Furuno TZ Touch2's
(2) 15" glass screens
(2) 13.1" glass screens
Charts loaded - US plus Labrador thru Bahamas and entire Caribbean (including offhore)
***Furuno units feature seamless integration of Radar, Chart Plotter, Sonar, Sirius Weather, Flir and Simrad autopilot thru Nema based control system and interfaces with Wifi to Ipad for control from anywhere on the boat
• Nobletech navigation system back up
• Furuno 48 mile radar
• Furuno 72 mile radar
• Interphase color twinscope sonar
• New Simrad autopilot 
• Sailor Fleet One satellite phone Voice/Fax/Data
• KVH trac vision satellite television system
• Monitoring cameras on aft deck and in engine room
• Paradox marine security and systems monitoring system
• American Bow and Stern thruster control
• Search light joystick control
• Five (5) way windshield wiper control
• Two (2) Maxwell anchor windlass controllers
• Two (2) sharp flat panel televisions
• XM radio
• Two (2) Maxwell Rodecounter indicators
• Wesmar CPS-1000 stabilizer gyro controller
• Latest Nobletec charts for the East Coast
• FLIR night vision

• 2003 Novurania 14' 60hp Yamaha outboard

• Install new electronics on the bridge and the fly bridge:
    -New Furuno satellite compass
    -New GPS antenna
    -New Furuno VHF
    -New Furuno charts
    -Satelitte TV and phone
• Serviced, replaced, repaired or rebuilt, as necessary, the Cummins diesel engines – engine electrical controls, service after coolers, raw water pumps, impellers, cleaned and reassembled after cooler housing, replaced all hoses, replaced gaskets, air seps, thermostats, solenoids, hydraulic pumps and installed new Bosch injectors
• Serviced port and starboard N.L. generators. Work included, but not limited to the following: new injectors, reset valves, reset exhaust elbows, add fresh oil, service generator control panels, clean heat exchangers, replace zincs, install new water pumps, new air filters, new muffler bracket (CURRENT HOURS: 32kw - 3100 hours total and 17kw 2200 hours total)
  
• Serviced stabilizers and replaced with new parts and software as necessary 
• 2016 - Fresh Bottom Paint - Ablative
• Installed more soundproofing (Soundown Inc.) at the engine room forward bulkhead that is next to the master stateroom as well as the exhaust stack tunnel. Reseal the water tight door between the engine room and the stateroom
• Serviced the bow thruster control planels for the bow and stern thrusters
  
• New exterior covers (white) for all exterior furniture and controls. Includes the aft deck bench seat, port and starboard wing controls and spotlights, fly bridge settee, fly bridge table, two helm seats, flybridge counter top with sink and refrigerator, propane grill on the aft bridge deck
  
• New sun awning covering the aft bridge deck
  
• Serviced or replaced, as necessary, the air conditioning chiller system – chiller pumps, sea water pumps, temperature sensors, antifreeze, control board, solenoid coils, and other items in the chiller system
  
• Serviced 10 person life raft and recertified
  
• Serviced and recertified all portable fire extinguishers
  
• Removed and cleaned all aluminum deck flooring in the engine room
  
• Cleaned the lazarette and repainted
  
• Awlgrip painted substantial portions of the hull Flag Blue
  
• Awlgrip painted substantial portions of the super structure white
  
• Interior of the yacht completely cleaned, new upholstery, new 
  carpets, wood, counter tops, lockers, refrigerators, etc and fully detailed
  
• Installed new hull zincs
  
• Refurbished fuel tanks, performed minor welding repairs, cleaned area and repainted tanks (2015) - pressure washed (6/2017)
  
• Install new fresh water pumps for the interior
• Serviced the hot water tank and replaced parts as necessary
• New fender covers
  
• Serviced fresh water tank – empty water, clean out, prep and paint interior
  
• Installed new depth sounder transducer
  
• Removed and reconditioned both propellers. Cleaned shafts, bearings, keyways
  
• Purchased two spare propellers
  
• Serviced and repaired line cutters
  
• Repaired shore power cords - 100 amp and (2) 50 amp
• Service the hydraulic steering system - new steering arms and serviced system 2016
  
• Service engine alternators with new voltage regulators and other parts
  
• Serviced and repaired, as necessary, the black water system – new pumps, new diaphragm valves, new control box - Headhunter
  
• New sea strainers and hoses, valves and other parts - completely replaced 2016
  
• Repair and replace, as necessary, all teak on the bridge console
  
• Serviced all door latches
  
• Serviced and replaced, as necessary, all bilge pumps, hoses, check valves, wiring, etc - 2016
  
• Serviced grey water system and replaced parts as necessary
• Serviced engine PTOs - new pumps 2016
  
• Serviced and replaced, as necessary, the electric windless wiring and bus bar
  
• Serviced the entire electrical system and repair/replace, as necessary, all GFIs, alternator regulators, circuit breakers, receptables, lazarette windless control box, bilge pump wiring, terminal strips for shore power, electrical windless wiring, oil pressure sensors and switches, and more not listed
  
• Serviced fuel transfer pump - new pump 2016
  
• Serviced water maker - new 2016
• Installed new crew shower control valves
  
• New oil change pump for the engines
  
• Installed new fuel filters with Racor filters – 30 and 10 microns
  
• Install new fresh water filters for all interior water outlets
  
• Clean and seal all exterior teak decking
  
• Repair holding tank gauges
  
• Install a new mast head steaming light
• Serviced the hydraulic system with fresh hydraulic oil, new hoses, new oil level sight gauges, new filters
• Serviced all heads/showers
  
• Install TV cable system and total boat Wifi plus cellular booster amplifier

HERCULES has had all the ship’s systems serviced, repaired or replaced and currently meets or exceeds all ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) standards for construction, design, safety and maintenance. 

Refit under instruction of Steve D'Antonio and all stability work confirmed by Donald L. Blount and Associates.

Moloka’i Strait 75' "Hercules"
... Ticket to Everywhere!

by Capt. Chuck Gnaegy

She’s the yacht coveted by adventurers; daring, with just the right touches of luxury. Built to venture far and near, across the bay or across the ocean, the Galapagos or Ketchikan, Baja, Rio, Borneo or Timbuktu, whatever suits you. Wherever farthest and fabled dreams may lie, the serious voyager is at home on this rugged, expedition-style cruiser. From Moloka’i Strait, the name is Hercules.

The Moloka’i Strait expedition design was influenced by the fishing trawlers of Romsdahl Norwegian renown. I met with Eric at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, where he stresses the building specs in a quick rundown, which underline her sturdiness: “Hulls are double-bottom, marine-grade A-36 steel with 5 watertight compartments; a 6000-series aluminum deckhouse; LOA 75’- LWL 60’- beam 23’4” - draft 7’- with 315,000 lbs. displacement. She’s heftier by a long shot over any 75-foot glass motoryacht, which might weigh less than half of the Molokai. The majority of this weight is kept very low for ultimate stability." Her cruise range extends to 5,500 miles at 7 or 8 knots. This range, coupled with a true, blue-water engineered hull, place this expedition on coordinates rarely traveled by boats of this size.

Check out her considerable strengths for offshore performance: One of the few yachts under 100' with a bulbous bow and freighter-like hull, capable of coaxing crests into rollers. In beam seas, her rounded bilge hull-form is never brittle, the way hard chined hulls tend to be. Instead, a round-bilge hull results in a gentle rolling without hull snap; as with some planing and semi-planing motoryacht configurations. Up high above the water line, the elevation of the flybridge is on par with much larger yachts, providing the skipper with a scouting view of the horizon. When the weather turns wicked, you can rise above the spray in a full wrap around Portuguese bridge, or take ultimate refuge inside wheelhouse.

At the bow, a 240-lb. CQR anchor, heavy 300’ 5/8” chain and rugged ground tackle stand at the ready; with tug-size stainless steel bollards and cleats, and 1-1/4” docking lines. A section of the bow holds an 18’ RIB runabout, plus a smaller one to starboard, with a 2500 lb. launching crane. The forepeak houses twin anchor lockers plus the 16” diameter Naiad bow thruster.

Open Flybridge
Although a bimini top option is available, an open fly configuration was chosen for Hercules. The flybridge helm features twin helm chairs and a stainless steel destroyer wheel. Abaft the flybridge helm is a comfortable settee plus an area large enough for several sun-pads, and the soaring communications mast. It boasts long and short-phase radar, along with double sat-nav domes. A stainless steel ladder leads down to the pilothouse, where a Portuguese walkway circles the pilothouse and main helm inside, with door entries port and starboard. 

Pilothouse
Heavily finished, satin teak is featured in decks, with raised teak paneling on wall coverings and cabinetry in the handsomely laid out, but strictly business, primary inside helm. Two Stidd leather helm chairs belly up to the console facing five large windows. Half a dozen screens relay all instrumentation and operations data instantly to the captain. One screen on the far right shows a complete rear-view mirror-style video of the starboard side, bow to stern – very handy on docking. On each beam passageway, full bow and stern thruster stations, outside, permit critical direction movements for docking.

Pilothouse Seating
Also in the pilothouse, a broad upholstered settee provides seating for eight, with a lacquered teak triangular table. Aft of the settee is a built-in pilot berth, very useful on overnight crossings. Shown in the photo foreground is a sink with stainless steel fixtures, built-in to the banisters which lead down padded stairs to the main deck. A dumb-waiter for service from the galley is built into joinery between the settee and ship’s office at the port aft corner of the pilothouse.

Galley
Down the angled flight of stairs, to the main deck, is the galley. Light cabinetry sports a mosaic of orange/black-colored granite countertops, making the galley not only utilitarian... but spectacular. All-electric, it is nevertheless a study in strength. Its four burner stove/oven continues her strapping, virile theme, with cast iron grilles rather than the slick, flat burners now popular with so many products. Refrigerator/freezer and dishwasher also look as though carved from steel. Sink and fixtures, SS, are ultra-modern design. A three-seat, raised counter snack bar is handy for leisurely breakfasts or snacks

Salon
Separating the galley and salon is the dining room. Fully carpeted, it presents a heavy, round dining table to accommodate four. A wrap-around buffet separates the salon and holds plentiful dinner service as well as cutlery and storage. Decorative cabinet doors cover utility spaces forward. Headroom is generous throughout the vessel, even in the walk-around engine room, at 6’10” to a remarkable 7’6” between decks.

Dining
Astern, the main saloon is cozy, deeply carpeted, with a hospitable leather couch and two easy chairs, plus an oval glass-topped coffee table. At the centerline forward is another unusual touch; a fireplace which exhausts into a funnel. A 32” TV covers that space, and adds Bose sound, CD, DVD in the entertainment center.

Master Stateroom
Masculine describes the master stateroom. Well appointed and finished with soft lacquered teak, dominated by a king-size berth, it echoes rustic undertones. Surrounded by convenient cabinets, entertainment center, and a large vanity mirror, the room is set amidship. The master suite is full-beam wide, cloistered, with watertight doors. The pedestal bed is raised to hip-high with massive storage beneath, in teak drawers. A ceiling-high secretary/clothes armoire’ with drawer arrangement provides plenty of storage.

Master Bath
To starboard in the master suite is the head/shower, Jacuzzi tub, marked with double ceramic sinks set in alabaster countertop, with full mirrors. The shower walls are stone-textured tile. Sealed portholes located at water level of the yacht allow light, plus a startling, waterline view of the ocean, about chest high to the viewer, as it rushes past underway.

VIP Stateroom
To starboard and forward of the master suite, the VIP stateroom offers a queen-size berth, nicely finished in teak trim and fully carpeted. It includes an ensuite head.

Guest Stateroom
To port is an additional guest stateroom with twin beds and ample storage in dressers and beneath the berths. An abbreviated annex to this room can be transformed as a gym/workout room.

Door Step
Five main watertight compartments make up the Molokai's hull, each sealed off through spin-lock doors. Yep, that little door step lets you know you're on a real ship.

Crew Mess
The crew mess on the ship is located at the fore peak. A difficult area, at best, to utilize for anything more than a v-berth. Molokai came up with a solution that results in spacious, comfortable living quarters for a captain and two crew members. The kitchen is adequate, although occupants at the dining table can not sit across from each other. Getting on deck quickly and reducing interior wear is a 7-step stainless crew ladder that leads directly up to the foredeck.

Captain Stateroom
Captain’s stateroom, immediately aft, sports a double berth and hanging locker. The crew share a head/shower.

Pacific Coast Marine watertight doors protect the most energetic area on the ship, the engine room. Entrance is through the Dutch door from the main saloon corridor. With full headroom 6’7” there’s also full walk-around span. The engines have dry exhaust routed up through the funnel which also exhausts the salon fireplace. A work bench against the forward bulkhead has ample area for inside tasks. A second watertight door allows exit to the aft lazarette. Moloka’i Strait 75 is propelled by twin Cummins 6CTA8.3 in-line 6-cyinder marine diesel engines, turning 2500 rpm, with 36” propellers. Bow and stern thrusters are 50-hp diesels.

An outstanding expedition yacht as well as a spacious and comfortable liveaboard, the Molokai Strait 75' will satisfy the most adventurous dreams of the roamer, vagabond or swashbuckler who wants to sea the world in safety and style.