David Copley, Happy Days, Delta Marine, 50.0 metres, 2006

The superyacht Happy Days is owned by David C. Copley, born 31 January 1952 in San Diego as David Hunt.

In 1965, Hunt's mother married James Copley, the owner of Copley Press, and later became owner herself. David then became the adopted son of Copley. James Copley was publisher of the family-owned Copley Press chain of some 20 newspapers and a wire service, the Copley News Service of Washington, DC. In May 2009 the company sold its remaining newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune to the Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity. A resident of the San Diego neighborhood of La Jolla, California, Copley has been named in Forbes Magazine's 2005 list of the 400 richest Americans with an estimated fortune of USD 1.2 billion. He underwent heart transplant surgery in June 2005 at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California, later donating a reported $5 million to Sharp Healthcare, operator of the hospital.

About The Union-Tribune

History
The oldest business in San Diego County and the oldest newspaper in Southern California, The San Diego Union-Tribune is the product of a merger of The San Diego Union, founded Oct. 10, 1868, and the Evening Tribune, founded Dec. 2, 1895.
The two newspapers merged into a morning newspaper Feb. 2, 1992. They had been published by the same company morning and evening since 1901 by two distinguished newspaper families -- the Spreckels family (until 1928) and the Copley family (1928-present). John D. Spreckels, who purchased The Union in 1890, was a pioneer developer (land, transit, buildings). Spreckels died in 1926, and his estate sold the newspapers in 1928 to Ira Clifton Copley of Illinois (public utilities, newspapers).

Ira Copley was owner-publisher until his death in 1947, when his son, James Strohn Copley, took over following World War II Navy service. After his tragic death from cancer in 1973, his widow, Helen K. Copley, became publisher.

Helen Copley retired in 2001 after nearly three decades as chairman of The Copley Press Inc. and publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune. She named her son, David C. Copley, to succeed her. David Copley served as publisher of the Union-Tribune from 1997 until its sale to Platinum Equity in 2009.

Remaining an active member of the board of directors, Helen K. Copley held the titles of chairman emeritus of The Copley Press and publisher emeritus of The San Diego Union-Tribune until her death in 2004.

The newspapers have won numerous awards over the years, including four Pulitzer Prizes.

The Union-Tribune also publishes Enlace, a weekly Spanish-language news publication serving San Diego's substantial Hispanic population, and operates SignOnSanDiego.com.

The Union-Tribune is published from an editorial, printing and business plant in San Diego's Mission Valley. Regional offices are located throughout San Diego County.

Technical details (source: http://www.superyachttimes.com/ )

Project Name: Project 164
Yacht type: Motor Yacht

Length Overall (m): 50.00 Length Overall (ft): 164.04
Length Waterline (m): 44.78 Length Waterline (ft): 146.92
Beam (m): 10.10 Beam (ft): 33.14
Draught Max (m): 2.86 Draught Max (ft): 9.38

Shipyard: Delta Marine
Year: 2006
Hull: 164001

Naval Architect: Delta Design Group
Exterior Designer: Delta Design Group
Interior Designer: Delta Design Group

Hull Material: Composite
Superstructure: Composite
Displacement: 552
Class Comments: ABS Maltese Cross A1 Yachting Service Maltese Cross AMS

Guests: 14
Crew: 12

Engines: 2 x 1650 HP Caterpillars 3512B Diesels
Max Speed: 16.8
Cruise Speed: 16.2
Range: 5,000
Propulsion: Twin screw

Fuel Capacity (Liters): 82,892 Fuel Capacity (Gallons): 21,900
Water Capacity (Liters): 13,229 Water Capacity (Gallons): 3,495

Description:
Happy Days is the largest composite yacht ever built in the America’s (2006). This 50 meter full-displacement motor yacht is the fourth project built in this series. In order to satisfy the Owner’s request for more interior volume, Delta modified the hull tooling to both extend the length and widen the beam. Happy Days has an extreme beam of nearly 34-feet and a total of 7500 square feet of living area.

The Delta Design Group is responsible for the entire engineering package including naval architecture, exterior styling and interior design. Delta is also working closely with the Owner’s interior designer who has worked with him on other projects and brings expertise in contemporary design. The decor is a mixture of light woods and cool color tones reminiscent of the Caribbean. Instead of stonework, the Owner has chosen to use the light airiness of glass to bring the look of the ocean inside. Featured in the guest heads are beautiful custom slump glass countertops that integrate the sinks with dramatic shapes and forms. The dining table is accentuated by a blown glass chandelier that measures more than 8-feet in length. Even the galley sports a custom slab made of glass, concrete and epoxy to increase strength and durability.

The general arrangement features a private master suite on the upper deck with its own lounge forward and an intimate dining area aft. The dining area has bamboo flooring and electro-hydraulic windows that lower to let the fresh air in or to keep the area cool in hotter climates. There is a pair of large VIP cabins on the main deck and four equal sized guest cabins below for a total of seven staterooms on this very large 50 meter yacht.

The sun deck is designed for entertaining, complete with day head, Jacuzzi tub, sunning chairs, bar and outdoor galley. This deck offers its guest shade under a lightweight, contemporary bimini that supports the mast, radar and communication systems.

Mechanically the yacht is equipped with twin Caterpillar 3512 engines that give her a cruising speed of 14 knots and a maximum speed of almost 17 knots. She carries 19,500 US gallons of fuel and has a range of over 5,000 nautical miles. Her main tender is stowed in a float-in garage with a smaller tender stowed on the sun deck. The yacht features an elevator that travels through all four decks.