Tim Derrico’s to-do list dates all the way back to 1996. That’s when he joined HMY Yachts as a sales broker and started thinking about ways to help customers get exactly what they want. After he became director of sales in 2011, Derrico started to think even bigger—including the idea of finding a power-cat line worthy of being associated with the HMY Yachts brand.
It was a tall order, given the growth that HMY Yachts had experienced ever since Steve Moynihan founded the company in 1979 on a houseboat located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Today, HMY Yachts sells new and brokerage boats out of a dozen locations, offering some of the world’s top brands such as Viking Yachts, Valhalla Boatworks, Princess, and Nimbus. Most power catamarans, to put it mildly, didn’t even come close to the level of fit-and-finish and outfitting seen on those fishing and cruising boats.
All of which is why Derrico and Moynihan began a fact-finding mission in 2019 to learn more about a rumored top-end power catamaran concept out of Cape Town, South Africa. The power catamaran was still in the design phase, but it was the brainchild of a team with serious boatbuilding credentials.
For starters, the shipyard with this power-cat concept was Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing, which had long been known for custom catamaran and monohull builds up to 110 feet. Two Oceans also builds Balance Catamarans, which often sail well above their class in terms of construction, design and performance. The designer was Du Toit Yacht Design, also based in Cape Town, South Africa, with a stellar reputation dating back to 2001.
“I met with some people in my office here in West Palm Beach and got the conversation going,” Derrico recalls. “We ended up having a dinner meeting one night during the Miami boat show in 2019. It went well, and things proceeded from there.”
Next, HMY Yachts leadership brought in Dave Jirikovic, who, prior to joining HMY, had spent years selling products and managing dealerships for two mainstream express-cruiser brands. He’d also had significant input into new-product development. Jirikovic, plain and simple, knew what to look for in a shipyard. He flew to South Africa on a reconnaissance mission.
“I got there and saw this massive facility within the secured port of Cape Town, a bustling metropolis of people working—and that was not just on our 555 cat project, but also on two Balance sail catamaran models, and on South African National Sea Rescue Institute boats, which is like their coast guard. And then there were all of the custom boats, like the first Two Oceans 870 Power Catamaran at 87 by 40 feet, and even custom sport-fish builds. It was impressive,” Jirikovic says. “My phone call back to Tim and Steve was: ‘This guy’s a builder. He’s got the skills, he has the labor, and he has the facilities. All of the ingredients to build are here,’ which is something you cannot say often.”
Two Oceans Marine felt the same way about HMY Yachts. It takes a lot to trust a dealer with not one but two lines of boats: the Two Oceans Power Catamarans, and the ECLIPSE Express Cruisers. HMY’s well-rounded network and experienced sales team offered everything that Two Oceans Marine needed to bring its boats to a much wider, worldwide clientele.
Two Oceans 555 Power Catamaran
Combining Two Oceans Marine’s construction know-how with HMY Yachts’ sales prowess and reach made complete sense. Seemingly overnight, HMY Yachts became a global dealer—and exclusive US dealer—for Two Oceans Power Catamarans, starting with the Two Oceans 555 model. Jirikovic sat down with the team in South Africa to discuss what American buyers want, including all the little details that can take any boat concept from good to great.
“We sat in their conference room for seven hours straight, with one restroom break,” Jirikovic says. “We talked about every single component.”
That group of people, still to this day, has remained laser-focused on ensuring that the Two Oceans 555 delivers everything American yachtsmen desire in a power catamaran. And boaters are already responding big-time. Hull No. 1 of the Two Oceans 555 sold to its owner before the design was even complete, and before anyone had seen a physical boat (Two Oceans Marine knew the buyer from a prior build). Hull No. 2 was displayed at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October 2023, and soon after, HMY Yachts was sold out on the model’s production slots until 2025.
The plan is to keep the Two Oceans 555 a premium product with only about 10 of the boats being built each year, each one of them customized to the owner’s taste—setting the Two Oceans line apart from competing brands that pump out far more mass-production quantities of catamaran hulls annually on their construction lines.
ECLIPSE Express Cruisers
Next, following up on the success of the Two Oceans 555, HMY Yachts is also preparing to debut a line of cruising powerboats from the same builder. The first two models in this line from Two Oceans Marine will be the ECLIPSE 505 and ECLIPSE 605.
The ECLIPSE 505 Shadow—a version of the 505 with an upgraded performance package (see details below)—will premiere at the Newport International Boat Show in September. Two ECLIPSE 505 Shadows will be at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October, and at the Miami International Boat Show in February 2025. The ECLIPSE 605 will premiere at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in March 2025.
These ECLIPSE boats are penned by renowned powerboat designer Michael Peters of Sarasota, Florida. Interiors are by the UK’s Design Unlimited, with consultation from Silver Arrows Design, an automotive design leader that brings innovative interiors to the marine market.
“Michael Peters said it best: ‘It’s a new timeless classic,’” Jirikovic says of the ECLIPSE line. “It’s built on his world-renowned Stepped Vee Ventilated Hull, and it’s a sexy package that also performs.”
The base ECLIPSE 505 and 605 models will pack serious power: twin or triple 600-horsepower Mercury V-12 Verados. The Shadow Performance Package 505 and 605 models will have triple and quadruple engine upgrades, respectively. All expectations are for the ECLIPSE powerboats to achieve north of 60 knots at wide-open throttle, with upper-end features and overnight accommodations for couples or families.
The Power of HMY Yachts
Are the ECLIPSE powerboats a completely different style and cruising experience than the Two Oceans 555 power cat? Yes, they are—and that’s the whole point of adding both brands to the HMY Yachts list of offerings, Derrico says.
“If you look at what we have at HMY Yachts, it’s a lot of different types of high-quality boats that can appeal to different types of consumers,” he says.
And beyond that, Jirikovic adds, the customer service and sales network that HMY Yachts has in place will ensure that the brands deliver on what they promise. HMY’s knowledge and years of experience make it the ideal partner for Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing on both of these brands.
“We’re going to make sure that we exceed our customers’ expectations and that our customers are satisfied with the ECLIPSE experience, period,” Jirikovic says. “HMY has been around for 45 years by delivering results, not disappointment. From the purchase of the former Whiticar Boat Works yard as the dedicated ECLIPSE Service Center, to dedicated customer-care staff and dedicated ECLIPSE and Mercury technicians, an ECLIPSE owner will be in for a pleasant surprise.”
Take the next step: Learn more about the Two Oceans 555, ECLIPSE 505 and ECLIPSE 605 at hmy.com.
