Larson 260 Cabrio

You just have to love autumn. Dawn is crisp, the days warm as slowly as a potbelly stove, and the clear sky and beaming sun bring summer-like temperatures on deck. Not long after your lunch, after a sleep and when the shadows lengthen, you don the pullover and kick back on the lounge some more.

If you plan on staying aboard, you might observe the lingering sunset. Then it's time for some idle contemplation in the cacoon below decks. Dinner and a DVD. Open the hatches, pull up the covers and sleep like a baby before the faintest of offshore breezes.

These were the thoughts I was entertaining on Botany Bay in mid-April aboard the new Larson 260 Cabrio. Such thoughts, you see, were still fresh in my mind after I spent four days aboard another boat doing the abovementioned things. Though of a modest size, the Larson 260 Cabrio is exactly the kind of entry-level cruiser aboard which you can escape for a weekend in high season and, thanks to full camper covers, keep cosy when the weather turns turtle.

Among the amenities are pressurised water, a dual-voltage fridge, a cook top and basic microwave, electric loo, and hot shower. There's sleeping for four, a dinette, and head room below decks. Above, you have casual seating that converts to a sun pad, a sink and portable cooler for stowing the refreshments. And with camper covers in place you have an all-weather enclosure. Add a laptop and DVD and you can watch a movie.

Then there is the V8 inboard motor for a fast getaway on a Friday night. Little wonder so many little league cruisers can be found tied to marinas or in dry stacks. Often they are the first non-trailerable moored boat for their footloose owners who live away from the coast and use them as a weekender.

The cruisers might eventually become a stepping stone to bigger boats, but on the right waterway you need nothing more than a sports camper like Larson's 260 Cabrio.

THE LARSON STORY
What else do we know about Larson? As part of the Genmar Group, the world's second largest multinational boat builder in terms of units made, Larson has big-badge backing. In fact, the 93-year-old boat builder has a well-targeted range of trailerable sports boats and nine Cabrio sports cruisers from 22 to 37ft, each supported by a lifetime transferable hull warranty and an international dealer network.

Riding on the back of favourable exchange rates, Larson now has dealers in most Australian states. The agent in Sydney that supplied the boat shown here added a few extras: an engine upgrade to a perky 300hp MerCruiser 350 Magnum MPI with Bravo III leg and counter-rotating propeller, flat screen TV/DVD, windlass, the Weekend Package including extended swim platform, snap-in carpet, and dockside water (of questionable value at our marinas), plus fully equipped galley and head.

Construction is nothing too high-tech - GRP and glass-encapsulated stringers, with a stainless steel rub rail near the hull and deck join. The hull shape is a modified vee with a deep 20 degrees of deadrise up front ranging back to a flat 14 degrees at the transom. Keep the bow down for a smooth ride, use the flat aft sections when cruising and for at-rest stability.

There's colour-coded wiring looms, shorepower and water connection, and a 20amp battery charger linked to the two house and engine-start batteries. I also noted a 22.7lt hot water accumulator, a decent 320lt fuel supply, just 72lt of water, and a small 41.6lt holding tank. But this boat will be just fine for weekends and quick transom showers - hot/cold handheld provided - and brief boat showers indoors.

Loads of servicing room exists around the single 350cc V8 block, which is reached through a big lift-up hatch, but there was no sound insulation on the lid. As such, I thought the boat was a little harsh at higher speeds. Aftermarket insulation should help.

All the other systems are simple 12V ones, with the main breakers and battery switch concealed behind a padded seat backrest in the cockpit. The shorepower breaker indoors is accompanied by just a few 240V switches for things like the microwave. Again, all simple stuff.

 The handheld hot/cold shower was handy to the boarding platform, while the broad cockpit boasts a clever convertible layout.

Depending on your needs you can switch from an open cockpit with extra floor space to a sophisticated lunch setting. The fold-down opposing lounges can each seat two people before a pullout moulded lunch table with three drinkholders. Opposite, there was a recessed portable 23lt or 36-can Igloo cooler and a small sink with cold water only.

The co-pilot seat is a two-person-wide Cleopatra-style lounge with padded backrest and grabrail. But the really clever bit is the backrest separating it from the aft-facing cockpit lounge that folds flat to create one big daybed. There are stainless steel drinkholders nearby and a stylish targa with bimini covers and lights overhead.

It's good to see non-skid on the cockpit sides, where you might disembark, and on the moulded steps on the cabin door that, together with an opening windscreen (well supported by metal struts), grants access to the foredeck. However, it's not the most aggressive of non- skid patterns. But with flat deck areas before the one-piece stainless steel bowrail and moulded toe rails, security is good enough when tending to mooring lines.

While I must say the fixed cleats on this Larson are very small and I fear you'll struggle to get a wrap of the lines at some fuel wharves, at least the supplied windlass will make light work of anchoring. And it's great that you get a spotlight for anchoring or, perish the thought, re-anchoring at night.

The helm is fronted by a low-glare beige dash with faux walnut facias and room to mount a decent GPS chartplotter. Besides engine leg trim, there were trim tabs to offset uneven crew load, plus the remotes for windlass, spotlight and stereo, and a wiper. Needless to say, you get the usual big spread of engine gauges including trim indicator, light dimmer, voltmeter, and fuel gauges.

Lastly, the helm seat had a flip-up bolster that made driving more of a pleasure. From the slightly elevated position you get great views over the foredeck and to the transom when parking. And for that purpose, the Bravo III leg with counter-rotating propeller was a real boon. Steerage in reverse is always welcome.

 As such, this is a reheat-and-eat kind of camper cruiser. Opening ports will help with ventilation and there's a hand rail to grab hold of, plus some basic storage. The 12V/240V fridge complements the portable cooler in the cockpit and there are 12V/240V outlets here and there. Add a gas barbecue, and you can cook outdoors.

The backrest of the dinette lounge, situated alongside the galley, folds flat to form a portion of the offset double bed in the bow. The beauty of this arrangement is that you don't have to dismantle the dinette, which often forms an integral part of the double bed in boats like this, when you want to head to bed. The boat had trick reading lights and a nice hatch for fresh air. The dealer mounted a flat screen 12V TV/DVD in the bow for extra entertainment.

The head is amidships. It is a big, moulded compartment with a full length mirror on the door, upgraded electric loo and holding tank, and holding tank light, but no intermediate gauge.

The stainless sink, handheld hot/cold shower with wall mount for the rose, shower curtain and vanity will work well enough.

However, you're best to rinse, turn the water off, suds, and rinse again to conserve water. The 72lt of water won't last otherwise. Or, as I said at the outset, use the deck shower - wisely.

The aft guests' cabin features a large double mattress on the floor and an overhead hatch with curtain. By virtue of the boat's compact size, the cabin feels a little claustrophobic. Kids won't notice that, however, and doubtlessly they will love the aft cabin. And for a young family of four, the $135,990 package packs a lot of potential aboard.

A more efficient low-speed cruise comes after removing the trim tabs. At 2600rpm with the leg trimmed in the boat planes at 14kts. At 3000rpm and 17kts the boat rides even happier, though trims tabs are needed to stop the boat leaning into strong crosswinds.

But the best cruise was clocked at 3500 to 4000rpm for a low 20kts. Above this, engine noise was rather harsh, but there was still plenty of speed to burn. A high 20kts was clocked at 4500rpm and flat out the boat reached in the mid 30kt range. But it was too loud for my liking.

During circuit work, the Bravo III sterndrive leg added to the sporty handling and in tight turns it was loath to let go. As such, you can rip the boat around and derive some real fun at the wheel. In this sense, the boat is very much a sports cruiser.

But for the most part, I see it as a family chariot for heading away for the weekend, across the bay, up the river, or to another marina somewhere. Make a meal of it and dine aboard. That's what cruising is all about. Wake on the water in a new anchorage. Do breakfast and lunch. Sleep and eat. And do it all over again the next weekend. Such fun.

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