Chris Craft Corsair 36

Australia has Halvorsen, Italy boasts Riva, and for Americans the revered homespun boating badge steeped in history is none other than Chris Craft. A symbol of nautical style, especially in the realms of throaty V8 petrol-engine dayboats, Chris Crafts have long had a knack of soliciting attention. Only now, many decades since the badge first appeared on the planks of production-made timber boats, the company has moved into the realms of modern fiberglass boats on waterways in the U.S. and now here.

Never far from the limelight, Chris Craft takes centre stage in the next Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise zipping along the windy canals of Venice in a chase.

Yet this most illustrious of US boating marques harks all the way back to 1874. And in the intervening years, everyone from famous families to presidents and other far-more-talented Hollywood heroes have made a habit of being seen - escaping - aboard these neat conveyances.

According to the guys at Chris Craft, owners are keeping company with the Vanderbilts, Fords and Firestones, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Apparently, such luminaries are among the many who have used its boats to escape and relax. Now, it seems, well-heeled Australian boaters with a penchant for stylish powerboats are jumping aboard too.

In the range of vessels stretching from six to 12 metres in length, the Corsair 36 solicits more than its share of boat envy. While built from GRP, the boat boasts classic style by way of solid teak timber decks and trim, plush vinyl and leather upholstery, stylish custom stainless-steel deckware, and timeless lines with tumblehome and a tucked transom.

Something of a chariot, the Corsair has a welcoming cockpit traced by comfortable seats that are never more than arm's reach from the fridge, icemaker and a drinkholder. Shade comes by way of a clever canopy concealed in the boot and, at anchor, the walkthrough windscreen invites you to test the teak-topped sunbaking zones.

Like all good summer boats, there's a deep boarding platform, swim ladder and deck shower for the waterlovers. Foremost though, onboard life on the Corsair revolves around seated comfort. Whether cruising for views or parked for lunch and a swim, the comfortable seats are hard to ignore.

Yet for the Chris Craft owner it's all about the drive.

 While, at the time of writing, it'd been some weeks since I took the reins, the driving pleasure offered by this boat remained clearly etched in my grey matter. The twin eight-litre, V8 petrol motors sounded a sexy note through the switchable through-hull Quick and Quiet exhaust, while the deep-vee hull brushed aside the boat wash, ferry wake and wind waves with contempt.

Meanwhile, down below there's a double bed back aft and a vee-berth in the bow, with a handy galley and obliging bathroom with shower in between. Oh, and air-conditioning. While very much a boat in which to be seen, the 36 Corsair is also a floating apartment where you can sleepover in the wake of a dinner at a swanky waterfront digs somewhere.

With more than 1000 litres of fuel and 189 litres of water, this uber-chic big-city cruiser can range away for the weekend. Being low-profile means it's equally attractive to those who live on Gold Coast where low-slung bridges limit the choice of craft you can park in front of your house. And from there, the boat would look equally at home parked out the front of Versace or the glam lunch digs at Marina Mirage.

DESIGNED FOR COMFORT
The Corsair 36's deep-vee hull was designed by Michael Peters (see www.mpyd.net), a celebrated and awarded American naval architect who has penned everything from small runabouts to superyachts and Class One offshore racers, he even patented a ventilated stepped-bottom powerboat.

Chris Craft also engages Raymond Hunt, but Peters' hull is no less classic: 20 degrees of deep-vee, the aforesaid tumblehome and reverse transom, a flared bow for dryness, and backed by a 10-year hull warranty.

If not the styling, which was enhanced by the sexy-blue hull colour, then the details are what differentiate a Chris Craft from your run-of-the-mill marques. The stainless deck gear including navigation lights, cleats and rope-rub protectors, horn, engine vents, various latches, rub rail and windscreen are all custom-made for each particular model, while the teak that ranges from boarding platform to foredeck, tracing the gunwales in between, is extra-thick and long wearing.

Further enhancements on the test boat came by way of options. The factory-supplied Cruise pack including a stainless steel anchor, teak sunpad on the foredeck, and a windlass for push-button anchoring. The teak on the deck coamings and swim platform was part of a factory-supplied Heritage package that comes standard with all Australian-imported Corsair 36s. There were optional maple and cherry saloon floor, the selectable exhaust and a petrol Westerbeke generator (and standard Shorepower) for the air-con, microwave and more. And the Volvo V8s with Aquamatic sterndrive legs were freshwater cooled.

FUN IN THE SUN
On the layout front, the decks flow from bow to stern as though a bowrider. There's an oversized boarding platform that will be great for hanging out with a cocktail in hand, launching a swim or taking on guests aboard. Up one step is a centre companionway leading to the cockpit. Once aboard there's a padded infill that slots over the companionway to create one big U-shaped outdoor lounge. The cream vinyl upholstery was super-soft and compliant, while and the opposing lounges can double as daybeds. A folding teak table meant you could make a formal lunch setting for six.

Back up top, the cockpit amenities ranged from a portside sink, optional icemaker and various handy storage areas to a fridge to starboard behind the helm seat. Both copilot and navigator seats were two-person numbers, making this a sexy boat for touring the waterways with two chummy couples. The handy grab rails on the boat were stainless steel and drink holders were also where you need them.

 Last but not least, the thoughtful helm. The folding bolster on the seat provided additional room to drive while standing, there was a storage pouch for personals, 12/240V outlets, fetching timber wheel and more swish stainless-steel fittings from the throttles to a drinkholder and the work-of-art windscreen.

One can't ignore the trick Chris Craft gauges in the perforated dash panel. I also referred to the Raymarine VHF and Tridata display. You could add a GPS plotter and autopilot and train the bow on nearby ports when the weather permits.

CABIN CAPERS
Awash in nautical style, the lock-up cabin is warm and inviting, with high headroom and a surprisingly thorough equipment list. The optional mahogany floor ranged aft to a double cabin past a portside galley and nice big head opposite a convertible vee berth for two or a dinette (on Besenzoni pedestal from Italy) for four in the bow. And it's here that you can catch the news on the boat's 15in LCD TV. Or enjoy the supplied sound system.

The upholstery was ostrich-patterned cream leather and I noted timber trim on the cabin hatch, art-deco-style frosted lights and décor touches, soft ceiling liners, and a cedar-lined hanging locker. Underfloor was storage for victuals, while mirrors placed strategically about the place added to the sense of space.

The galley had a black-ice Corian counter, decent Sharp microwave, two-burner stove, neat stainless-steel 12/240V bench-height fridge, big sink, garbage bin, stainless-steel grabs and cherrywood joinery and cabinetry including slide-out pantry drawers and cupboards. Though not huge, the word functional came to mind in the galley.

Nearby is the 12/240V control panel and the door, yes door, giving privacy to the aft cabin. There's room to stand and dress, a hanging locker, air-con and opening ports, seat or dresser, and smart gold-themed upholstery and bedding. All very accommodating.

The head was no less inviting, with a blue-glass topped vanity, timber trim, Italian fittings, stainless-steel sink, electric Techma loo inside a shower cubicle, extractor fan and air-con. It's not an interior in which non-boat owning guests will feel they are roughing it and for those accustomed to the high life it offers a neat pad on which to overnight. Swing a spare suit in the hanging locker for the mid-week stay...

DRIVING PLEASURE
Having now driven a Chris Craft, I will return henceforth to their helms. These are boats made for driving pleasure and the Corsair 36 is partial to input from the trim tabs, leg trim and throttle. You can pretty much dial-up whatever running attitude you like and it rewards the astute helmsman and guests with a beautiful ride.

Carrying full fuel and two adults, the Volvo 8.1ltr big-block petrol V8s returned 15.5kt low-speed cruise at 2800rpm with the tabs down. Into the wind and chop, 3000rpm gave a stately ride at 20kt. The boat is awfully quiet and smooth, continuing that way at 3500rpm and 24kt.

Fast cruise at 4000rpm gave 29kt, whereupon the twin V8s sung a nice note - we both cracked a smile when we opened the Quick and Quiet exhaust and solicited an immediate look of envy on our way past the photographer. Top speed was 36.6kt at 4800rpm on the day, though overseas reviews of this boat note 40kt with a clean hull and a light ship.

While this was a fast boat, one that you can cruise aboard doing more than 30kt to get the jump on the weekend fleet, it was just so elegant at 23-24kt at 3400rpm that I would have it no other way. Except perhaps with D6 350hp Volvo diesels to lessen the fuel bills. Not that fuel is really a worry. Nothing much at all bothered me on the Corsair 36. Little wonder that dignitaries clamber to get aboard.

HIGHS

LOWS