In America, the Graham name is well known in the Gulf of Mexico maritime world, with family ownership of fleet operator Graham Gulf and the C&G Boat Works in Mobile Alabama.

The 'Gayla Graham' is getting every extra attention to detail that her builders can provide in honour of her namesake. Larry Smith, who overseas the Graham Gulf jobs in the shipyard said, 'We’re doing a special job on this one. When it leaves the yard it’s going to look good.'

The boat is built to comply with Subchapter T rules and full class in accordance with ABS High Speed Craft Guide. This classification allows for 80 passengers. In addition the 29' beam and 14' midship depth hull contain tankage for approximately 37,000 gallons of rig water, 1,500 gallons of potable water and 50,000 gallons of fuel.

The boat’s four Cummins KTA50 M2 engines, each rated 1,800 hp at 1,900 rpm, turning propellers through ZF 4600 gears with ratios of 2.529:1, are expected to give the vessel speeds in the 25 knot range.