Dawn Burcham’s interest in boating dates back to the 1980s, when she obtained her U.S. Coast Guard 100-Ton Master’s License. Volunteering with the USCG Auxiliary in her home state of New Jersey led her to take the next step and become a charter captain running fishing tours off the coast of Margate. After making the rounds on a handful of Jersey boats, a move to Florida in 1989 found her learning the ropes in St. Pete Beach. The unfamiliar waters and fishing techniques became familiar quickly enough, and soon she landed her first Florida spot at the helm of a Bertram 28 running offshore charters in the Gulf of Mexico.
During her tour in the charter business, Burcham met her husband, Randy, in 2007 and eventually traded her charter days for a life of recreational boating off the Florida coast and beyond to the Abaco Islands. The couple spent a number of years boating in the Bahamas, docking their Viking 52 in Treasure Cay while visiting the islands together frequently. When they discovered a newly shared interest in golf (and later began spending summers in Colorado), however, they weren’t using the boat as much anymore and ultimately decided to sell the Viking.
In 2019, they moved into a waterfront home in Frenchman’s Creek in Palm Beach Gardens, which stirred up old memories of boating both here and abroad. The Burchams decided a new boat—one that wasn’t as difficult to maintain as the old Viking but that offered luxury similar to that of a larger sportfish model—would be a good fit for their current South Florida lifestyle.
After careful consideration, they landed on a Solace 345 twin outboard center console cabin model. The folks at Solace have found a niche market building luxury center console boats with an abundance of innovative comfort features and a style all their own. At first glance, the walk-through transom design prompts an immediate desire to walk out between the twin 425 Yamaha XTO engines. It quickly becomes apparent that fighting a fish around these two large engines would be infinitely easier from the vantage point offered by this extended platform. Maneuverability would also be improved due to the outboard placement of the propellers.
A host of other features—such as Cerakote-finished pipework, hydraulic gas shock mitigated helm seating, a hydraulic-powered cockpit sunshade, luxurious seating all around, and a unique pantographic hinge on the cabin entry door—separate this model from others. Within the console, Solace has maximized the space by building a comfortable, air-conditioned cabin that takes the edge off of a steamy tropical day on the water.
For the Burchams, a return to Treasure Cay seems inevitable now that they have just the right boat for such travels. The combination of island living and South Florida boating is
just the right mix for them and their Solace.
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