Three V-12s on the Transom: Michael Peters Draws the Running Surface for the Eclipse 505 Shadow

The Eclipse 505 Shadow is a 50-foot express cruiser that hangs its power off the stern. Three Mercury V-12 outboards, each rated at 600 horsepower, sit across the transom. Below the waterline is a stepped bottom drawn by naval architect Michael Peters. The boat is built by hand in Cape Town. The first thing an owner would notice walking down the dock is the stern, where three big outboards stand side by side. That is the main idea of this boat. Express cruisers this size usually hide their engines under the deck. The Shadow puts all 1,800 horsepower out in the open, where the owner can see it from the cockpit. The hull is the other half of the design. Having Peters draw a stepped bottom shows that the shape under the boat got as much attention as the engines on the back. A Florida owner who has spent time on outboard boats will recognize the setup. On the Shadow it comes in a 50-foot hull built as a cruiser, made one boat at a time by hand. No price has been published.

With reporting from Yachting.