Best known for its custom superyachts such as 60-metre Samurai, 41-metre Ruya and 31-metre Virgen del Mar, in 2014 Alia Yachts received an enquiry from a private customer looking to build a fast dayboat that he couldn’t find among existing production models.

“Building small, one-off boats is a very different business for a superyacht builder like Alia Yachts,” admits Gökhan Çelik, founder and chairman of the Antalya-based brand. “If the enquiry hadn’t come from an important client, I would probably have turned down the request.”

Instead, Çelik approached Bill Dixon Design in the U.K., which has a strong track record in the powerboat sector, to develop the naval architecture, exterior and interior design together with Alia Yachts.

“At the time, a typical open-style dayboat just had a small bimini over the helm station, but little or no shade for the guests: what was missing was a rigid hardtop that comfortably covered both the helm station and the cockpit,” says Bill Dixon. “We came up with a 16m design that brings the main salon and galley out on deck, but is with a large fibreglass hardtop, so guests aren’t forced to sit out in the sun all day.”