Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Motor Boat & Yachting

Reward for Solent great white You’re gonna need a bigger boat! A Hampshire-based boat club has promised a year’s free membership to anyone taking a genuine photo of a great white shark in the Solent. The offer was made by Jonny Boys, managing director of Boat Club Trafalgar, in response to national newspaper articles about unconfirmed sightings of a great white shark patrolling the waters off Hayling Island. Great whites are not native to British waters, yet ‘shark expert’, Graeme Pullen was quoted claiming that he had been trying to capture the beast for two years. Jonny has offered the reward in an attempt to flush out whether there is any truth to the claim. “I’ve spoken to thousands of boaters over the years and none of them have ever…

A sweltering May morning in Mallorca, and the Chris-Craft Calypso 30 is a refreshing slice of Americana amongst the European talent packed inside Puerto Portals. It is by some distance neither the biggest or most expensive boat in this particularly extravagant basin but it looks every pound of its £337,000 asking price. That, without question, is a shedload of cash for a 30ft 6in (9.3m) boat with nowhere to sleep and only a canvas T-top for shelter, but if any boat this size looks and feels worth the outlay, it’s the Calypso. There’s a sheen to the stainless steel and a gloss to the mouldings that give off an air of quality, as does the lustre of the paintwork and thick, quilted upholstery. Pop-up cleats sink into teak-capped bulwarks and…

Anybody who watched last year’s wildlife series Planet Earth II will remember the dramatic sequence in which a newly hatched marine iguana runs across a rock-strewn beach while being pursued by an army of racer snakes. It was a desperate life-and-death sprint that ended in the narrowest of escapes for the iguana when it slipped from the snakes’ clutches and plunged into the sea. This ability to transfer seamlessly from land to sea and back again is unique in the lizard world and has evolved over millions of years to ensure the survival of the species. It has taken Iguana Yachts less than a decade to achieve a similar goal with its luxurious amphibious sportsboat. Admittedly, the company wasn’t being pursued by a tangle of poison-fanged vipers during that time…

ASK MBY CROSS THAT BRIDGE I’ve just bought a Princess V42 in the UK and wish to ship it to the Med. The boat doesn’t have a passerelle and with other works that need attention, I’m trying to assess whether the outlay on a new hydraulic passerelle is necessary. Thoughts please. Tony Gardner This depends on what style of mooring your home berth is. If your marina uses pontoons, you won’t have to rely on the passerelle all that often and can probably use a gangplank or manual passerelle when visiting other ports. If your home berth is stern-to, the ease and security of a hydraulic passerelle will be worth the outlay. Being able to make tiny adjustments to the passerelle’s height and length makes berthing easier and allows you…

Large petrol engines have typically been an American obsession, but with efficiency gains and the perception of cleaner exhaust emissions, large petrol engines are gaining acceptance on this side of the pond. Models like Volvo Penta’s latest 6.2-litre V8 can only further the cause for big-block motors. The most powerful of Volvo’s marine petrol range, you can have your new petrol Penta in 380hp or 430hp slices, both based around the same General Motors Gen V lightweight all-aluminium block. Direct fuel injection benefits both low-end torque and fuel efficiency and unlike traditional big-block petrol engines, coolant is enclosed within a fresh water loop cooled via a heat exchanger so that internal parts avoid contact with ‘raw’ sea water. Wideband oxygen sensors optimise the engine for varying fuel quality and are…

Corsica has been on my bucket list for a while. It stares at me whenever I fire up the navigation screen, and tales of its amazing anchorages and dramatic coastline are legendary – but it always seemed a bit too far to go in our old Windy 37. For a Princess 61, though, it’s a mere hop and a skip. Bateau9 is fully coded for chartering and being a commercial vessel means I have to book a charter to stay on board like anyone else, even though I’m the owner. This hurts, although I do get to charter her at a mate’s day rate of €1,200 plus expenses. For the ten-day trip, €15,000 needed paying. There was a slight complication as a day’s charter had already been booked on the…

KEY CRITERIA • Fast • Stylish • Good value DATA FILE Length 49ft 1in (15.0m) Beam 13ft 2in (4.0m) Draught 3ft 4in (1.0m) Displacement 13.9 tonnes Fuel capacity 370 gallons (1,680 litres) Engines Twin Volvo Penta D9-575 575hp diesel engines FOR SALE Princess. Web: www.princess.co.uk 2006 £240,000 Princess V48 Originally launched in 2003 as an open sportscruiser called the V46, the hardtop was £16,000 extra. But the hardtop option was so popular that when the model segued into the V48 two years later, the hardtop became part of the standard spec. Not to be confused with the current V48, this original version is a lower, sharper cruiser with shaftdrive rather than IPS. INTERIOR The payoff for that old-school design is inside. With no full-beam master, the owner’s quarters are in…

Pay attention, Bond! The first customer-ready Aston Martin AM37 gets the Q treatment We may have been the first magazine to test the prototype AM37, but this is the first production-ready boat being put through its paces off the Needles. Hull number one is a top-of-the-range AM37 good for over 50 knots, and has been customised further using the Q by Aston Martin personalisation service. We’d love to say this involved adding rocket launchers and an ejector seat but in reality, it’s all about the luxurious finishing touches like the Mako Blue hull and carbon-fibre champagne cooler. Either way, we’re sure James Bond would approve, and now that Daniel Craig has been signed up for the next 007 movie, we’re hoping the AM37’s builders Quintessence Yachts get the nod too.…

Forty years of Cannes World-famous yachting festival celebrates milestone This September marks a special anniversary for the Cannes Yachting Festival as the show celebrates its 40th year. Last year, the 630 boats exhibited attracted in excess of 50,000 visitors. Taking place from September 12-17, this year’s show exhibits superyachts as well as more conventional vessels. The festival includes the launch of Fairline’s hotly anticipated Targa 63 GTO, Azimut’s new S7 and a raft of new models from French builders including the Jeanneau NC 33, Bénéteau GT50 and Prestige 520. The show also unveils its new Luxury Gallery situated within the Palais des Festivals which will be dedicated to premium brands outside of yachting, including cars, watches, jewellery and private aviation. Returning for a third year, the Concours d’Elégance competition provides…

Weeping willows and lush lawns recall those wispy French impressionist paintings of languid waterside picnics Now that school holidays are nearly over, you may feel a nostalgic whiff of autumn in the air and sense that our boating season is drawing to a close. Yet September and early October often provide the best cruising of the year, especially if you can venture into the wonderful French waterways and start working south to keep up with the sun. Conceived on a more ambitious scale than our own narrow cuts, most canals and canalised rivers in France were built for sizeable barges up to 38.50m long and 1.80m draught. Even now, with quieter routes tending to silt, there is still plenty of scope for quite large motor boats that aren’t too high…

Docked in Zeebrugge (Belgium), our nervousness increases. Tomorrow we will reach Ramsgate, our first English port of call, during low tide. When we started planning our British Isles tour, it quickly became obvious that the tide would be our greatest challenge. Our home cruising ground is the Baltic Sea where water levels stay fairly constant allowing us to pick and choose our departure and arrival times at will. Not any more. Many British harbours can only be reached during a plus or minus high-water window. According to Reeds’ Nautical Almanac, Ramsgate can be accessed at any time, but there are still warnings of shifting sandbanks in the harbour. Shortly after leaving Zeebrugge, we have to alter our course due to a sunken freighter. The Belgian water police have established a…

The balcony is the personification of cool, and worthy of the special effects department on a Bond film Nave piercers are nothing new, but we tend to associate them with high-tech catamaran ferries from the Antipodes that arrive in Europe under their own power and set transatlantic speed records on the way. Or maybe that’s just me. I’ve certainly never tested a wave piercer before, and I definitely didn’t expect my first experience of this esoteric sub-genre of naval architecture to come courtesy of an established Italian builder of luxury yachts. But then who else was it going to be? Azimut has actually built up a quite a reputation for radical thinking and risk taking in recent years, from its Magellano long-range cruising craft to its triple-engined S boats, not…

This is, by some margin, the biggest Custom Line to date, and a vessel that fully deserves its superyacht sobriquet From the beginning, there was just the one kind of Custom Line. Ferretti Yachts’ specialist big-boat brand started off with a groundbreaking 94 in the late 1990s, which was sleek and speedy and soon grew into the equally successful Custom Line 97. But then in the early 2000s came the Navettas, which, with their semi-displacement hulls, modest horsepower and voluminous accommodation, could hardly have been more different from the original models. They represent a more relaxed cruising ideal – one in which enjoyment of the journey is intended to be as much a part of the experience as arriving at your destination. Custom Line’s latest venture marks another new departure,…

Navico has announced a new mid-range fixed-mount VHF radio, suitable for pretty much any singlestation installation, from the most rufty-tufty RIB to the most sedate inland cruiser. Known as Simrad RS20 or the Lowrance Link-6 – depending on the colour you want and the price you’re prepared to pay – and with a B&G option for our raggie friends, the new radios offer all the basic features you’d expect of a VHF radio, including a class-D DSC controller and distress button, a 25W transmitter and 4W audio output, plus an ATIS facility for operation on European inland waterways, all packaged in a submersible casing and supplied with a distinctively styled remotecontrol fist mic. The radio itself is a little larger than many of its competitors: its font panel is 167mm…

Recently we featured a portable coolbox from Dometic. At 85 litres with two digitally controlled zones and linked via WiFi to an app on a smartphone, it was perhaps the ultimate coolbox. The only slight snag was that it (quite justifiably) cost over £1,000. I’ve bought entire boats for less. Sometimes, especially if you’re on a boat that costs less than £1,000, all you want is something to keep drinks cool, and that’s where the Powerbox Plus 28L steps in. As the name suggests, it has a capacity of 28 litres, it can maintain a temperature of 18° below ambient and it’s tall enough to take large bottles upright (it can hold eight 1.5-litre bottles). It can power from 230V – useful for cooling it down at home before leaving,…

When be bought our Swift Trawler 34, it came fitted with a 16kg fluke (or Danforth-style) anchor, and it’s been very reliable. In seven years of ownership, there’s only one serious instance of the anchor dragging that springs to mind, and that was more likely down to too little chain being let out in a shallow anchorage rather than the effectiveness of the anchor itself. So the Ultra Marine ULTRAnchor that we’ve been loaned for a longterm test this season has its work cut out to prove that it’s worth the eye-watering price. Our 16kg model is approximately ten times the price of the equivalent Delta at €1,251 ex VAT, and that’s before you add on €258 plus VAT for the flip swivel. What’s so special, then? It’s hewn from…

What is red diesel? It’s essentially the same as normal ‘white diesel’ you put in a car at a filling station (though there is a technical difference regarding sulphur content and the percentage of biofuel that it contains). Red diesel is marked with a chemical fiscal marker and a red dye to make it distinguishable to authorities that wish to inspect it. Why differentiate it? The dye and chemical fiscal marker are used to identify diesel that has been exempted from prescribed minimum duty levels, such as for non-road use applications – typically agricultural or construction site use. Does this include boats? Leisure boaters were free to use the much cheaper red diesel in the UK. However, since 2008, following implementation of an EU directive, red diesel to propel private…

Large sportscrusiers are being phased out as quickly as new sportsbridge models are being introduced The assault on the big traditional open sportscruiser has been relentless. First came the hardtop, which offered protection from the elements and welcome relief from the torment of stubborn canvas covers. Next, the addition of sliding cockpit doors meant that this new breed of sportscruiser offered flybridge levels of comfort in a luxurious, climate-controlled main-deck saloon that can be used whatever the weather. Now, the sportsbridge is muscling its way in and, from the outside at least, it seems to offer the best of both worlds: the performance, looks and sunroof of a sportscruiser with a scaled-down flybridge deck that still allows for a wind-in-the-hair driving experience and offers another deck level on which guests…

HIGHLIGHTS Amazing master cabin 3,000nm range Four guest cabins Numarine 32XP Numarine’s brave new explorer range arrives with a bang in the shape of the 32XP. With a 24XP and 40XP in the pipeline, this 106ft 6in (32.5m) variant sets the tone for a range that takes the Turkish yard out of its comfort zone and into a world of long-legged cruising and a design that must be as practical as it is eye catching. Eye catching it most certainly is, but behind the busy styling there is a layout of real innovation and a yacht capable of transporting its guests 3,000nm if called upon. The main focal point of the accommodation is an extraordinary master suite located on the upper deck, which opens up directly on to a raised…

The Cannes boat show is one of the slickest operations in the business, transforming a pleasant fishing harbour and yachting port into a glittering showcase of the best the boating world can offer. It takes weeks to set up and hours to tear it all down again, and on the Monday after it closed, edging away from the scene of devastation on the quay felt like escaping from a war zone. We didn’t have far to go. Our return voyage might not be as rapid as that of the Italian motor yachts dashing back along the coast towards their own waters, nor perhaps as easy as the fleets of French-built sailing yachts redistributing themselves among the dealerships of the late-season Riviera. But for a motor yacht as solidly built as…

A comprehensive solution was needed that would improve not just the looks of the cushions but the comfort and durability too Owning a boat is a little like painting the Forth Bridge – by the time you’ve finished one job, another problem has arisen to bite you on the bum. On this occasion, however, it wasn’t so much a chomp on the backside as a niggling itch. Let me explain. The seating on my Karnic 2250 is now ten years old and the once-pristine white upholstery is looking tired and grey (not unlike its owner). The fake plastic stitching and moulded cushion panels that seemed perfectly acceptable back in 2007 are now engrained with dirt, worn at the edges and woefully dated. In some places the seagulls have pecked holes…

A few months ago, Sunseeker unveiled its new range of branded merchandise. Now it’s the turn of iconic Italian builder Riva to jump aboard the designer bandwagon and, to be fair, it’s a thorough job. You can brand yourself up for as little as €27 for a Riva cap or impress them at the yacht club by dropping a Riva keyring on the bar for just €20 (although the effect will be lost if there’s a Bayliner ignition key hanging off it). More impressive yet are the Riva iPad and iPhone covers that replicate the deck of a Riva in genuine mahogany with maple inlays – and not bad value at €70 for the phone cover. There are scale models and toys, again in mahogany and maple, and even a…

“Even the most experienced skipper or crew can get caught out” Get safety tips, checklists and more RNLI.org/boating Every year, RNLI volunteer crews rescue thousands of people on yachts and motor boats. Rescue crews will always be there to answer the call, assisting you without judgement, no matter the cause. But today, we look at how the RNLI can help you before you get into difficulty. “As anyone who enjoys our coastal waters knows, things can change quickly at sea,” says Jon Oxenham, RNLI community safety manager. “Even the most experienced skipper or crew can get caught out, and there’s no shame in that. All it takes is a broken-down engine, strengthening winds, or a fall from your tender without a lifejacket, and suddenly a minor issue becomes very dangerous. We’d…