Doral Elite 265BR

Do run run

It was school holidays and we had the niece, 8, and nephew, 11, aboard the 42-footer - a nice comfortable boat for a family and a couple of cute kids.

Outside, bitter winter winds were whistling across the deck and there was a monstrous swell, so we went hunting about and found a quiet bay.

The budding kid captain and cohort snuggled up in the cosy cabin but, worse luck, things deteriorated some more. A niggle here, a pinch there, then not long after the two were at each other. Holiday blues after two weeks of wet weather and I had to deal with it. Yikes!

Doral to the rescue ... the stunning Elite 265BR arrived just in the nick of time. While the terrible tykes watched a previous boat test with mild interest, they raced outside to greet the dashing Doral. Their eyes the size of saucers, they turned to me with that "can I, please, please?" look. So I tossed them in the bow of the big bowrider and planted the throttle of the even bigger V8.

Moments later, there were shrieks of pure joy. "Go around again," they begged, hugging each other and cackling. If only it were this easy all time.

But more than just a fun ride, the Elite 265BR makes a fashion statement in the same vein that 'classic' fibreglass boats like those Chris Crafts and, perhaps even, the Rivas say something about their owners and their good taste. With timeless retro lines, the Elite 265BR will appeal to discerning day boaters on a number of levels.

"We sell it as the Aston Martin of boats," added Brendan Wooldridge from the Doral dealership on Sydney Harbour. "And with the optional cabriolet interior décor and colour scheme it's a boat that wows," came the spin, softened by a touch of humour, as he pointed to the roll-bars on the helm seats and added: "In case you roll."

DORAL DIFFERENCE
It's not surprising, when you know something about Canucks and that they are like Aussies as in being part of the Commonwealth, that Doral isn't at your average mainstream (read American) production boatbuilder.

Rather, French and European influences are apparent in the design details and sweet lines of Elite, which includes four boats from the 215 to 295 in both bowrider and cuddy cabin layouts.

All but the biggest of the Elite Series is trailerable, perhaps with a permit, but by my reckoning these boats will prove more appropriate kept in a dry stack, in a berth at the foot of the front garden, or in a marina somewhere. Use them as dayboats to go.

Quite by design, the Elite 265BR boasts plenty of freeboard and has a deep bow so you can ride over rough water, with or without the kiddies shrilling up front, and without shipping water. Also, at slow speed when crossing big wake, where many bowriders dip their noses and take on water, it keeps its snout out. In other words, this is a seaworthy boat for big bay and harbour day runs.

What you can't see is the big-boat engineering below decks (more on that later) and the hull shape that, I can attest, runs fast and smooth. Deadrise is a sharp 20 degrees, which amounts to a deep-vee design. Doral reckons it's one of its best hulls of all. Extra eye-candy comes by way of optional Doral deep blue, black or merlot hull colours, deep blue or black canvass, and the leather-look French-stitched Cabriolet upholstery or standard white vinyl instead.

While the boatbuilder uses CAD programs, 3D modelling, virtual crash-test dummies, CNC cutters and all that stuff, its hulls are distinctive for their full composite and cored construction with wood-free composite structural stringer system and full fibreglass structural hull liners. It's also nice to get stainless steel fittings, everything from the drink holders to the windscreen with solid frame and struts, on what I would consider a boat built for salt-water use.

DAY BOATING
Doral says special attention was given to the forward cockpit on the Elite 265BR, especially the adult-length seating, which doubtless pleased our two live crash-test dummies having so much fun aboard. Think room for four kiddies at least. Besides the beautiful upholstery, the plush seating has sculptured foam and saddle structures made entirely from composite or plastic materials and, kicking back in the bow, it's just an agreeable place to be at rest and cruising where the bangs are otherwise felt.

With a custom stainless steel Doral anchor and a horn with real grunt, the Elite name is fitting. There's also a folding bowsprit or fairlead with roller to prevent the gelcoat being chafed by anchor rope or chain, a forward ladder for disembarking at the beach, stainless steel drinkholders, a drop-in high-gloss timber bowtable for lunching - it lives in a dedicated locker - and big oval-shaped stainless steel grabrail, plus upmarket timber trim. The supplied anchor rope is the braided kind and there's a snap-lock fitting for a deck wash so you can hose the ground tackle.

A folding acrylic door or wind dam can be swung shut to close off the bow if you feel like a winter run. The main cockpit features a second solid high-gloss timber table, each of which is protected by a custom storage bag, while attention to detail extends to such things as clip-in carpet infills around the table bases for an unbroken carpet line, fully lined underseat storage holds with plumbing drains, and oodles of dry storage including a big hold behind the helm for all your picnic gear.

COCKPIT CAPERS
The self-draining cockpit makes the most of the Elite 256BR's 2.59m (maximum trailerable) beam, providing plenty of floor space, underfloor storage, and an easy thoroughfare through to the transom. En route, there's an aft L-shaped lounge for four people around a second drop-in lunch table, opposite an amenities centre with solid timber servery, stainless steel sink and cold water, matching 12V fridge, and more dry storage. Yet more storage exists in a massive sub-lounge hold with divider handy for, say, deflated watertoys.

Ahead of the co-pilot's seat is a swing-out door leading down to a lady and girl-friendly, say, head and change room. More upmarket than most, the WC includes an electric loo, sink, classic circular opening porthole, vanity and mirror, and trick European fittings. Back outdoors, trick courtesy lights and plush carpet add to the creature comforts.

The transom has on oversized teak-topped swim platform with recessed grabrail, so you can hang on while floating, a deep-reach ladder and the obligatory albeit cold-only deck shower. There's a dedicated storage hatch for mooring lines and nice big popup cleats, along with a battery switch panel nearby linked to twin batteries.

The central aft sunpad, traced by stainless steel rails, offers somewhere sumptuous for two couples to work on their tan. Twin electric rams raise the sunpad, whose upholstery doubles as sound insulation, for access into the engine room. There's a step down to the single V8 Volvo Penta motor, all labelled seacocks, separate high/low bilge pumps, Fireboy system, big-boat fittings, and a battery charger and Shorepower connect.

DRIVE TIME
Sliding in behind the dash, the Elite 265BR looks and feels sporty. Sight lines are great and, with a wiper, you are assured of good vision during wild, windy runs and even on rainy days. Both helm seats have bolsters and trick (optional) roll bars purely, one hopes, for extra sporty spice.

The walnut dash is fitted with a sports wheel, a full spread of Faria engine gauges, depth sounder and a trick spread of aircraft style toggle switches. The Elite 265BR is fitted with optional trim tabs to offset crosswinds, as most deep-vee hulls are inclined to lean into them, or counter an uneven crew load. A marine stereo, a decent CD, some lunch and refreshments, toys and togs, and you're set.

With the trim tabs half deployed and the sterndrive leg down, the bowrider shot straight out of the hole and, with some trim adjustment, rode along wonderfully comfortably at 19kts at 2500rpm. With tabs and engine leg out, the boat held a slippery 24-knot cruise at 3000rpm, a 30-knot fang at 3500rpm and a fast fling of 35kts at 4000rpm.

Top speed was 45.6kts - the benchmark 50mph for a Yankee-made sportsboat - at 5000rpm and, all the while, the Volvo Penta was smooth. Rip the wheel around and, although the hull turns off the bow, it doesn't bury it. Thus, this is a fun but safe day boat whose appeal will extend to everyone lucky enough to ride aboard.

The big bowrider is at once a fabulous family boat, a neat harbour commuter for reaching a waterfront restaurant or anchorage, a pretty boat with plenty of poke from a big-block 375hp Volvo Penta V8, plus a comfortable craft with integral comforts that are very much a hallmark of this Canadian boatbuilder. Oh, and the Elite 265BR is most definitely a pacifier for a couple of pesky kids.