Arvor Weekender

Meantime, do your research and you will discover the boats aren’t all that freely available on the second-hand market and those that are for sale have held their value remarkably well. Therein the advantage of a shaft-drive over sterndrive for boats kept in the water. Resale value.

The new Weekender from the much-loved Arvor stable is pitched at mums and dads and perfect for a spot of fishing and family fun. With greater comforts, a galley and sleeping for four, you can overnight aboard as well. In fact, this is the most luxurious Arvor we have driven.

With a Cummins MerCruiser Diesel 150hp diesel engine, with shaft drive instead of sterndrive, you can expect turn-key reliability and economy. But unlike the other utilitarian Arvors we have driven in the past, this one is quite refined, substantially quieter in the wheelhouse, and lot more more accommodating at rest.

As for the inventory — diesel shaft-drive? Check. Bow thruster? Check. Walk-around side decks? Check. Self-draining cockpit? Check. Lock up cabin? Check. All these things have contributed to Arvor’s success in the 12 years since I drove the very first 20-footer back in June 1999. But now there’s even more sway.

Amenities? Check. Whereas the attraction of Arvors has always been utility, economy and low maintenance, the trade-off has been a lack of comforts. The cabin of the 20, 21.5, 23, 25 and 28 sister ships have room to stretch your legs but that’s about it. Anglers would gravitate but fishwives would swim the other way. That’s been addressed now.

Meantime, you get a moulded swim platform -- big enough to sit on -- with fold-down ladder and cold-water shower. Hot water is an option I’d consider. An auxiliary bracket is provided in case you want to fit an outboard, for which you’ll need a remote fuel tank, which seems a hassle to us. After all, single-diesel wheelhouse cruisers made from timber have been gadding about for decades without auxiliaries.

The transom also has moulded fender holders, twin rod holders, and upholstered rolled cushions for back support when sitting on the moulded cockpit seats that are made more comfortable with the supplied clip-in cushions. The cockpit itself is, as mentioned, self-draining so you can leave the boat on a mooring without worry during downpours.

The dedicated dinette lives in an underseat cockpit hold and should be assembled for an alfresco lunch. I would add an extended canopy for shade. After which, the table may be lowered and the setup converted to a sunpad for the afternoon siesta. Tie a line to the big toe or put a rod in the nearby holder. I can also see myself setting crab traps and checking them from a little roll-up tender or kayak.

While the cockpit is of course big enough to fish, it’s smaller than that on the Arvor 230 based on the same hull. That’s because this Weekender has a bigger cabin. The idea is that you will spend at least a night ensconced within and at no time did I feel cramped or claustrophobic during a test spent largely indoors to avoid a brisk southerly buster.

Besides full headroom, you get plenty of shoulder room around the internal dinette with L-shaped lounge seating for four that converts into a double bed. If you elect to sleep up here, expect an early wake-up call when the sun pipes in through the windows. But that’s the best time for fishing anyway. When seated, while cruising or kicking back, you get to enjoy great views out these same windows. The huge skyroof adds to the open feel. There’s a clip-in cover to help cut light levels and an opening hatch and small helm window to help with ventilation.

The galley to starboard has as sink under the flip-down helm seat, Waeco 12V fridge, solid servery with fiddles, and lockers for crockery. Future boats will be bundled with a metho rather than gas stove. However, we’d still fit a gas bottle and rail-mounted barbie to make my Weekender complete.

The primary sleeping arrangement comes via a vee berth with infill that makes a double in the bow. There’s an additional adult-length single berth to port running back under the saloon sole. It’s about the size of some aft cabins on 30-foot cats. So it is possible for a family of four to weekend aboard.

The private head compartment is a boon. There’s a small moulded sink, 100 litres of cold water aboard and roughly amidships, plus storage space for personal effects. However, there isn’t a holding tank so a portable toilet is fitted. And there’s no opening hatch though there is a vent.

The hull itself is interesting, a kind of gull-wing design, with big running strakes and downturned chines to generate lift. A keel assists with tracking, while also protecting the running gear in the unlikely event of grounding. Thus, the boat can be left to dry out in areas of big tidal variance such as some UK and European fishing ports. Waterfronts with shallow water are another good fit.

Power comes in the form of a frugal 150hp common-rail Cummins MerCruiser Diesel engine. You access the dipstick and oil filler under a lounge base in the cabin. This is fine, but accessing the portside of the block appears very tight. A cockpit hatch gives better access to the sea strainer, shaft and bilge. Another hatch lets you reach the steering gear and nearby fuel shutoff.

To counter the effects of prop walk when reversing, whereby the stern pulls in the direction of the (17 x 22in) four-blade propeller, the builders had the good sense to fit a Vetus bow thruster. All the running gear including 1.5in shaft appears up to the task and, moreover, the longevity of the boats underscores such things.

Interestingly, the Arvor Weekender on trailer weighs about 3500kg. While it’s 2.78m beam means the boat would likely require some kind of towing permit, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility if that fits your charter. That said, the shaftdrive setup is, as we have stated, perfect for long-term in water use with an annual application of antifouling.

Thankfully, amenities don’t supplant seaworthiness and this Arvor remains ideal for traversing big bays, harbours and gulfs, even port hopping when conditions allow. Thanks to a low-maintenance finish, you can keep it on on a swing mooring rather than a marina pen and, therefore, save on storage costs.

But the boat could also do with a dedicated house battery. As it was, we had a dedicated battery for the bowthruster and a shared engine-start and house battery. At least the engine has a decent 100amp alternator.

I trained the bow on the melee and put the boat to the test. I’m not going to say it was dry running, but at least in the cabin we remained that way while maintaining 13.5kts cruise at 3400rpm for 21.8lt/hr. With an application of tab, the boat’s forefoot cut the water and I didn’t hear too many harsh thuds.

A touch of the Lenco trim tabs assists at low speeds but once up and running the boat’s lift is such that is runs naturally flat. Having a few adults in the wheelhouse and some chain in the lockers helps that attitude, too. Idling, the boat seem to run a little downhill from the weight forward distribution. The hull starts to plane at 2800rpm before running freely at 3000rpm and 11.1kts.

Top speed was 20.4kts at 4000rpm, with a smooth cruise, and much lower noise levels, at 3400rpm. This returned 14kts for about 21 litres per hour With an 135 litre tank, your range is more than 80 nautical miles at that speed leaving a safe reserve. However, pull the reins back to 2800rpm and at 8.5kts your using 10.1 litres per hour. You can almost half that again at 2000rpm and 6.3kts for 5.8 litres per hour.

Such were my thoughts as I swung the wheel, called on the wipers and made a dash back downwind, gaining an extra 1-1.5kts speed for the same revs. But with more time, I might have run for cover and hunkered down in this back-to-basics boat. Add a bottle of wine, a wheel of brie, some music and break bread. The cabin accommodates such things to a great degree than any previous Arvor. Weeknder, indeed, and well-priced to boot. A winner in this pared back pleasure-boating market.