Dick Dale, aka the King of Surf Guitar, has put his 62ft Pacemaker motoryacht up for sale
Those in the know will remember Dick Dale as the King of Surf Guitar, but motorboats have played as big a role in his life as surfboards.
The legendary musician, who discovered Jimi Hendrix and recorded Sloop John B. before the Beach Boys, has owned various yachts over the past 50 years, ranging from a 40ft Hunter to a Boston Whaler and a Bayliner 45.
His current flagship is a 62ft Pacemaker, but due to health problems he has reluctantly decided to sell his pride and joy (pictured above).
Dick is probably best known for the lightning-fast riff in the song Misirlou (which was used as the theme music for Pulp Fiction) and he has named his yacht after the tune, despite the previous owner’s name Knot Exactly remaining on the stern.
Talking to MBY, Dick described the flybridge cruiser as “the last of its generation”, due to its real wood interiors and genuine seagoing credentials.
Built in New Jersey in 1978, Misirlou has been as far south as Panama and as far north as the Arctic Circle.
The previous owner has fitted a watermaker, which he used to convert glacier melt into drinking water during an expedition to Alaska.
But with his love of surfer culture, Dick has mainly cruised her closer to his home marina at Newport Beach, California.
And as you might expect from a guitar hero’s personal yacht, the generators have been upgraded to twin 2.5KW units, to allow the electrical system to cope with the vast collection of high-powered amplifiers that Dick uses to train for upcoming shows.
The layout features three cabins, all with their own en-suite, a separate saloon and dinette, and a full-height American fridge/freezer in the galley.
Up on the flybridge, a full-size bimini offers plenty of shade from the Californian sun, while a hydraulic crane allows for tender storage.
Dick estimates that an equivalent model would cost at least $1m, but he is asking just $225,000 for his Pacemaker, which is being sold through his personal website. That’s less than £150,000 in UK money, although the price doesn’t include delivery.
Despite his recent health scare, Dick insists that he will keep on boating even after Misirlou is sold and credits his longevity to his narcotics-free lifestyle.
“I’ve always been a water person all my life. I’ll always have a boat by my side,” he added.
