Chris Craft Woody Speedster

In 1874, Jesse James' gang robbed a train in Missouri; Harry Houdini, the magician and escape artist, was born; Levi Strauss began marketing blue jeans; and the Sydney General Post Office opened.

It was also the year that Chris Craft began building pleasure boats and, in the ensuing decades, a lot of water has passed under the hulls of this American icon. Never far from the limelight, Chris Craft takes centre stage in the latest Mission: Impossible movie with Tom Cruise fanging along the Venice canals in a nail-biting boat chase. More impressively, these have been the boats of choice of the likes of John Kennedy, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley.

So as you can appreciate I was keeping good company when I ventured onto Sydney Harbour in Chris Craft's new Speedster.

What's more, this is the special Woody Speedster, with extra eye candy by way of teak accents, a pretty tan hull, and engine upgrade.

WOODY HERITAGE
While no longer building timber boats, Chris Craft still makes craft that ooze style. It teams the latest technology with timeless lines and beautiful handcrafted accents. The Speedster, especially the limited edition Woody, rode in high style.

 One of the latest Chris Crafts, the 20-footer was borne out of a call from faithful owners for a smaller boat, something that would be suitable for day racing and watersports, that I imagine might also be swung from davits off a superyacht. With a 2.41m beam, the Woody Speedster is also completely trailerable.

Construction is nothing too exotic and all GRP, but the devil is in the detail. Examine the finish in out-of-the-way places and you will see meticulousness not normally found in manufactured boats. By my reckoning, the engine installation and engineering were in keeping with high-end luxury cruisers and the finish above decks will most certainly appease the fastidious buyer.

Add the timeless runabout styling with tumblehome aft and flared bow forward, and teak accents of this Woody model, and you have a boat that covets attention. The optional tan hull with coach stripe and teak boarding platform add to the good looks, while an upgraded 270hp small-block Volvo V8 inboard with Aquamatic sterndrive leg and optional selectable Corsa exhaust means this Speedster will be seen and heard.

SPECIAL TOUCHES
The engine room was definitely a cut above those of your average 20-footer, with a fully-moulded liner, watertight forward bulkhead, good access to the sender on the forward fuel tank which had double-clipped fuel lines, and plenty of servicing room around the Volvo motor.

There was a clean wiring run to a busbar, with main battery isolator and primary breakers alongside. The silver-Mylar sound insulation added to the quiet ride. Storage boxes for things like mooring lines and wet togs were on either side of the motor.

The decks were dotted with gorgeous designer fittings fashioned from high-grade polished stainless steel and held in place with chromed stainless steel bolts or screws. The stainless steel engine vents, exhaust ports, pop-up cleats, custom nav light, horn, flagstaff, Chris Craft insignia and badge were nice touches.

 The Woody Speedster includes teak accents that run from a centre foredeck rail and deck rails to the swim platform, practical teak cockpit sole and drinkholder inserts. The Speedster also has an anchor locker, which isn't always the case on an American 20-footer.

More 'cool' is reflected in the two-piece AmeriShield windscreen, the stainless steel hinges on the boat's opening hatches, and the pop-up ski pole.

DAY BOAT SPACE
The Speedster harbours plenty of storage, with a mile of room under the foredeck, which can be accessed on your haunches.

Besides the big lined storage bin under the aft lounge the Speedster has a carpet-lined underfloor ski/wakeboard locker, lined glovebox and two drinkholders. The clip-in storage satchel at the helm will come in handy for personals.

In respect of seating, the Speedster can take three adults on its rear lounge, plus two in the helm seats. But given the positioning of the aft (stainless steel) grabrails, the rear lounge is best for two and, as such, the Speedster would make a great two-couple runabout.

The camel-coloured vinyl upholstery and stitching has a soft, sexy feel.

DRIVING TIME
The helm seats are adjustable, as was the timber steering wheel, and the Speedster had an upgraded Sony sound system with two-channel amp, plus separate in-dash and in-transom remotes.

 The walnut dash panel featured honeycomb alloy facias with retro-looking Chris Craft engine gauges, plus depthsounder, trim gauge and speedo. Topped off with a matching timber-knob on the throttle, the Speedster is very much the stylish sporty day boat.

I turned the key and the note from the 5lt GXi MPI 270hp Volvo was exciting. Reflecting a high degree of efficiency, the boat comes onto the plane at 2200rpm and 8.3kts, levelling out with full leg-in trim at 2500rpm and 18kts.

I clocked a comfortable low-speed cruise of 23.4kts at 3000rpm, where the boat was just so quiet, and a smooth cruise at 3500rpm and 30kts.

Fast cruising was clocked at 4000rpm and 34kts, with top speed of 41kts at 4900rpm.

Of course, at $89,990 on trailer, the 20ft Speedster is priced as a premium product. But this is value for money in so many ways, not least being the smooth ride from the deep-vee hull with a sharp 20 degrees of deadrise. In fact, it was so smooth and swift across the bumpy harbour that the boat travelled like a nautical sportscar with the best suspension.

Clearly, Chris Craft has come a long way since it was founded all those years ago. But despite its heritage, it remains true to its roots and offers something new and something old in the Speedster. Oh, and real driver pleasure for the small-boat connoisseur.

HIGHS

LOWS