Cruisers Yachts 520 Sports Coupe

Triple treat

Think Volvo Penta's IPS drive is pretty good? Well, how about three of them on Cruisers Yachts' 520 Sports Coupe. Trade-a-Boat's WA writer Mike Brown revels in the ride on this, the first triple IPS installation in Australia

The Cruisers Yachts' stable contains two Express Yachts, seven Express Cruisers, and a trio of Sports Coupes. The Yachts are a very American expression of boating, with accommodation carried the whole length of the boat; the Express Cruisers are the familiar style with soft or open hardtops; but then there are the Sports Coupes.

The concept of the Sports Coupe has something in common with the Riviera 48 Offshore Express, that is, an express cruiser with a large, closed hardtop that forms essentially a backless wheelhouse.

Well, not quite backless, because storm curtains can convert the enclosure into a deck saloon. In fact, Cruisers take that seriously enough with their 16.6m 520 Sports Coupe to completely air-condition the space, with more than just a couple of token vents emanating from the helm.

Dial up al fresco mode and a huge sunroof and large section of windscreen open on command or the press of a button or two. This is an attractive concept creating a great casual entertainment area on the Sports Coupe.

Yet there's even more wow factor where you can't see it. It is rare that the propulsion arrangement of a cruiser causes any great excitement in reviewers. When innovations like electronic controls, automatic synchronisation and the like turned up, we were dutifully impressed.

But it takes something like the introduction of Volvo Penta's IPS (Inboard Performance System) to really cause excitement. IPS has been around a while now and it always impresses me no end. The 520 is available with a choice of twin V-drives or, get this, triple IPS 600s. In fact, the boat here is the first triple installation in Australia.

JOYSTICKS FOREVER
I predict that in just a handful of years' time it will be very difficult to sell a large cruiser that does not feature joystick control. This could either use azimuthing legs, Volvo or Cummins style, or link bow and sternthrusters and twin shafts like Meridian do.

Whatever the system, the joystick makes manoeuvring so easy that would-be skippers previously scared of parking a big boat will come out of the woodwork - bringing joy to the hearts of builders and dealers.

Paul Stenton, general manager of Cruisers Yachts Australia, says only 20 per cent of 520 buyers are opting for twin V-drives over IPS. He quotes some convincing figures for performance and economy on top of convenience: for the same total power, the IPS boats are reputedly 20 per cent faster but use 20 per cent less fuel. Ignoring the possibly mystical recurrence of 20 in that series, these are huge benefits.

One look at the IPS legs makes clear the reasons for their efficiency: in front of their props is absolutely nothing but clear water. There is no skeg, keel, shaft or bracket. Not even any part of the leg itself: the prop is mounted in front of it instead of behind as on a sterndrive.

And do these props grip. I enjoyed driving the 520 more than any other large boat in recent times, and not just because of the manoeuvring; it was just so much exhilarating fun on the pegs.

The driving experience was matched by the good impressions I got of a thoughtful layout, overall spaciousness, and high standards of finish.

CRUISING UP TOP
The 520 Sports Coupe is a cruising boat. The deck right back to the transom is devoted to entertainment and passive boating. Now, what's wrong with that? Although there is plenty of seating, wisely, plenty of open space remains to create flow thorough and an unimpeded thoroughfare.

There is a three-seater lounge opposite the twin helm seats, and a pair of curved settees aft, one of them mounted on rails. The pair of seats can be hauled together to accommodate a group around the cockpit table or moved apart for a more causal setting. The table itself unfolds to various sizes and can be electrically lowered and converted to a sunbed.

The helm seats are the combined armchair-bolsters that the Americans do so well, and they face an impressive but tidy dash, dominated by a pair of Raymarine E120 screens. These handle the input from radar, plotter and sounder, as well as CCTV cameras aft and in the engineroom.

Behind the helm seats is an entertainment and cooking unit that almost makes the downstairs galley unwanted on most days. This amenities centre has an electric barbecue, sink, fridge, icemaker, and large bench area. Perhaps anticipating grease spatter and seeking greater serviceability, the owner opted for Flexiteek decking instead of the real thing.

Alongside the cooking area is a large TV, raised from its stowage recess at the press of a button. Meanwhile, the main access to the foredeck is up a set of steps and through an opening in the windscreen the size of a door.

Secondary access to the foredeck is via the side decks, which are certainly wide enough for the job, but potentially dodgy at sea. Step up out of the cockpit and you have a couple of paces before you reach the siderails, and half a pace and a stretch before the cabin-top grabrail falls to hand.

Tracing the cockpit, the swim platform has a hydraulically powered extension fitted with chocks for carrying and dispatching the tender, although a davit can be fitted if preferred. There is the usual stowage for fenders, lines and so on, but an usual and thoughtful drop-down seat for the casual fisherman, as well.

SPREAD OUT BELOW
The 520 is a sizeable boat, but with its engineroom tucked well aft it has significant space down below. The compartment that gains the most is the master stateroom amidships. Full headroom - and on this boat that means two metres - full beam, and fully equipped.

The master bed has serious acreage, separate TV, and vast amounts of storage - so much that the washer-drier is concealed within - plus a lounge, opening portholes, and large en suite. It goes without saying that this has a shower stall, which is large in its own right.

The en suite is a clone of the forward or second bathroom, which has a second set of doors so it doubles as the day head as well as the en suite to the VIP guest cabin in the bow. Although the 520 has quite a sharp forefoot, the bow has big shoulders that give that forward cabin a lot of volume.

The bed in the VIP is mounted island style, with useful amounts of space either side, and the generously proportioned cabin is made apparently bigger by the natural light streaming inside the skylight and portholes.

If dancing is your thing, the entertaining space between the two cabins probably has room for it, as well as a galley to port with a convection microwave, twin hot plates, double sinks, and a fridge-freezer. You can add a dish-washer, but the owner opted for a wine cooler instead. To cope with spills, the galley deck is sheathed in timber. A monster TV is mounted in the corner and visible from the lounges.

The lounge section opposite the galley features a settee capable of seating seven with elbowroom, flanked by stools and small tables. Two exceptionally comfortable recliner chairs, upholstered in the owner's chosen white leather, form the midst of the settee.

Cruisers offers the option of swapping the recliner chairs for a convertible sofa bed, but the word is that almost no buyer takes it up. Understandably, this kind of boat, a grand entertainer, usually has only two people on board overnight.

ENGINEROOM WITH ROOM
Access to the engines is via a good-sized hatch in the main deck. In contrast to the electrically-powered-everything theme, there is no press-button lifting of a great section of deck and seating to expose the engineroom. For there is just too much deck to lift.

Importantly, though, there is a huge soft patch in case that terrible day eventuates where an engine needs to be changed. The engineroom is big enough to take a pair of conventional donks with V-drives, which means the triple IPS installation has room to spare.

Access to all the service and inspection points is easy, encouraging regular checks. The plumbing is, in particular, logically laid out. It took me just a few minutes to figure out the runs of the pipe work and the function of every seacock. It's a busy space down there, with a 13.5kW Onan genset (in very effective insulated housing), air-conditioning and water heating competing for room, but clearly a lot of design effort has gone into the layout.

SPORTY COUPE
As soon as we got moving, it struck me that Sports Coupe was exactly the right name. The boat was instantly on the plane, with no fooling around, lifting the nose or dragging of the tail. Acceleration was brisk and response to the wheel - literally a fingertip operation - was dramatic!

Without even a suggestion they were going to let go, the triple forward-facing Duoprops hauled us round in the tightest turns I've done in a boat anywhere near this size, while losing none of the speed you would with shafts or sterndrives. In a straight line, they took us to a maximum of 36kts. And with only 1340hp at work in a 19-tonne boat, that is good going.

The IPS system is largely responsible for the great ride here, but the hull deserves credit, too. The bottom has a single step, put there largely in the interests of drag reduction at speed, but which also sets the hull up nicely to cope with whatever manoeuvres the IPS are working on.

This was the first triple IPS installation I had been to sea with, but without the three rev counters to remind me I could have assumed we had twins. You just don't need to think about how many engines are working away.

But if the 520 ever decided to go with only twin engines, you wouldn't need to think too much. Whichever engine died, the electronics would sort it out, the boat would keep going in a straight line, and would still be capable of 26kts.

Weather on test day was the kind you package and sell to northern Europeans, but which put the boat under no sort of stress. This made Stenton a little unhappy because he was keen to demonstrate that the 520 was not designed just for American lakes. This boat, he says, can match it at sea with the best of the Australian craft.

It certainly seems to have a tough hull. Despite all the torture we put it through with full-throttle manoeuvres, not a rattle came out of it and not a thing shook loose.

As Stenton suggests, 30kts is a practical high-cruising speed, although most owners would opt for less in the interests of maximising comfort. Drop down to 25kts, which comes at 2700rpm, and combined fuel consumption is 120lt/h. Drop to 18kts and it is 100lt/h, which is actually more litres per mile, but both are very frugal figures.

Docking and undocking is so easy the boat seems to shrink in size. Twist the joystick and the boat spins, push it forwards, backwards or sideways and that is the direction it will go. You just move in parallel to the dock and then go sideways. There is infinite sensitivity in the control, letting you compensate for wind and current. Just kiss the dock and impress onlookers.

The 520 Sports Coupe is a neat combination of spacious cruiser and sportsboat, and it does it all very competently. Triple IPS is here and what a triple treat.

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