Cranchi Endurance 39

I'm all for buying Australian-made. Got the Dick Smith peanut butter and chocolate-chip biscuits (note, not cookies) in the pantry to prove it. And three locally-made boats at my beck and call, plus the leisure time to enjoy them.

Yet such nationalism isn't always evident on our coastal waterways these days. The savvy boating set are, for the moment at least, devouring imported boats like one takes to chocolate-chip biscuits. For importers, these have been high times, indeed.

With the Northern Hemisphere boating season about to begin, many more swanky imports are earmarked as deck cargo for cosmopolitan Australia. The luxury craft are coming from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, and Italy... Yes, most definitely, Italy.

An Italian sportscruiser marque stealing local market share is Cranchi. In Europe, the high-quality brand is in great demand. If recent sales are anything to go by here then the Italian marque looks set to secure a permanent home.

The import has sold 18 luxury Italian-made Cranchi powerboats in the past 30 months to savvy boat-buyers in Australia. The boats, it seems, complement the kind of cars the buyers drive. Both tend to hail from Europe and have sexy curves, a flash finish, Alcantara upholstery, and push-button wizardry.

As in the case with a good car, direct steering, clear vision and wheels that bite keep you in command of the Endurance 39. But for the most part, the boat drives itself, which means you have plenty of opportunity to immerse yourself in the lifestyle amenities.

MOULDING MAGIC
Unbeknown to many local boaties, Cranchi is a big operation in Europe. It employs 300 people and there are 18 working in R&D alone. Instead of popping out new models every year, it puts twice the effort into getting the first boat right. This is why Cranchis like the Endurance 39 are current for several seasons.

The extra effort put into the design stages explains the outstanding and intricate mouldings. I'll go so far as to say the Endurance 39 is among the best moulded boats I've set foot on. The curves are complex yet graceful, stylish yet practical.

The way Cranchis present themselves is part of the reason that sales in 45 countries are rising. To meet demand, Cranchi has a new big-boat facility in San Giorgio di Nogaro opening later this year. At present, the company exports 76 per cent of its boats. It's growing carefully under the watchful eye of its principals, Aldo Cranchi and Tullio Monzino.

Despite a history dating back more than a century, Cranchi is conversant with computer-aided design, modern production techniques, the latest dressy materials, customer service and, of course, compiling glossy brochures. In terms of fitout, they are complete.

On the Endurance 39, the decks feature unobstructed passageways, spacious anti-slip areas, useful moulded steps and high rails, and amenities such as fridges, sunlounges, and a powerful sound system.

The Endurance 39 also comes with a garage that comfortably accommodates a rubber duckie and outboard.

Press a button to raise the hatch, clip in the slipway, and before you can say cafe latte you're away. Down below is another world again, with leather upholstery, high-gloss timber joinery, and cabins with room to move.

TEST OF TIME
The Endurance 39 was already eight months old before I stepped aboard.

Ordinarily, I'd say no to testing a boat that was eight months old. Then it crossed my mind: this was a chance to see how the luxury Italian craft are standing-up to life in Australia.

I found no rust stains trailing off the many polished stainless steel fittings (the factory has a saline mist machine to run tests on its metalwork), the gelcoat was still shiny as the bonnet of a Ferrari kept in a garage, and the flash furnishings down below weren't showing signs of wilting.

The Endurance balances rear cockpit, helm and deck areas with a useful interior. A stepped hull with Kevlar reinforcing and Volvo diesel power lets you trounce from port to port, stay aboard for weekends or more, and travel with decorum and style. The owners of the Endurance 39 obviously liked their boat - they had clocked up 160 hours in eight months.

DECKED OUT
A teak boarding platform hiding a swim ladder leads past the aft garage with the rubber duckie (or jetski, if you prefer) inside. The padded top of the garage serves as a large sunpad. One step up is a big, U-shaped lounge around a lunch table that can seat four people. The copilot has a pedestal seat, while the skipper has a double-width seat with retractable bolster.

Steps lead to the foredeck, where there are fender baskets, a windlass, and a Bruce anchor and ground tackle included. The windscreen is a chic, armour-plate glass number that follows with the boat's flowing lines. The raked targa arch can be folded flat for passing under those low-rise Gold Coast bridges.

The cockpit includes a hot/cold deck shower, designer drinkholders, courtesy lights, wet bar with sink and provision for a 50lt fridge, liferaft holder, gas bottle locker, and speakers for the Clarion marine stereo system.

The dash is highlighted by two tiers with walnut facias for the custom Volvo-designed Cranchi gauges. An adjustable leather-bound wheel gives a tactile sense of quality as you cruise for views. Only the wipers and trim tabs may momentarily require attention.

WEEKENDER ON THE WATER
A wide sliding door leads down a vertical staircase to the open-plan interior with 1.90m headroom. The quality of the Endurance 39's mouldings are reflected in the shapely headliner and the curved walls and ship-like oval doors.

The portholes are recessed like a motoryacht's, with curtains for privacy and two big circular hatches for light and air. Pleated Alcantara (softer than leather) covers the U-shaped lounge in the bow.

The lounge/dining area quickly converts to an impromptu double berth using a quality Benzoni hydraulic pedestal. Compact though it is, the galley has everything you might need for a weekend away: Corian benchspace, overhead lacquered timber cupboards, storage beneath a moulded sink, and a two-burner gas stove.

A microwave is recessed behind the sink, along with storage space for crockery and a coffee plunger. The strip-planked teak flooring at the foot of the galley is a nice touch. Lighting is recessed and strategically placed.

Opposite, on the starboard side as you step inside, is the entertainment centre and 65lt fridge. The optional television faces back towards the lounge, the sound system is easily accessible from the cockpit, and the switchpanel is an impressive bit of work with a brushed stainless facia.

Just as convenient is the head, as it is adjacent to the companionway. Neat white lockers run above lots of mirrors, the moulded sink unit includes a hand-held hot/cold shower, and there is a show curtain to help keep the seat on the electric loo nice and dry.

The highlight of the Endurance 39's interior is the aft cabin. As far as aft cabins on lithe sportscruisers go, this one is quite roomy. Equipped to European standards, it includes a sink unit, a small lounge, a linen press, hanging lockers, and two big single berths that convert to a double with room to sit-up in bed.

Portholes give cross-flow ventilation, privacy curtains mean you can dress at the marina, while optional air conditioning will ensure the aft cabin is as comfortable in the height of a tropical downpour as it will be in mid-winter.

CROSS-TOWN CRUISE
We scuttled out of the marina berth with the help of the 4kW bow thruster. A stiff southeasterly and building cloud cover looked foreboding. A centimetre clear of the go-slow zone, I eased the throttles forward and the Endurance 39 glided up out of the hole.

The twin 260hp Volvo diesel motors with Duoprops and the stepped hull contribute to a pleasantly flat ride. Vision is retained even at moderate cruising speeds, which will be appreciated when offshore in a blow.

Instead, we ventured upriver, carving large turns between the gum-clad hills, en route to the limpid waters of Bantry Bay. The boat banks without letting go, has a turn of speed in the order of 30kt, and also potters about nicely when searching for an anchorage.

It was a short and sweet little test drive, but I got a good sense of what the Endurance 39 is all about.

The owners of the test boat had come from a 24ft sportscruiser, yet they were totally at ease at the helm of their sporty and stylish Cranchi.

Back at his offices overlooking the harbour, importer Steve Patterson adds something about his 18 new Cranchi buyers.

"Customers pull up in their BMWs, Mercedes and Porsches. They don't want the most boat for their money, they want the most stylish," he explains.

Little wonder then, that the chic Cranchis are selling like chocolate-chip bickies. European boats and cars are very much designed for driving pleasure. The Endurance 39 is a good example of this.

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