Mustang 43

Conceived to stem the tide of imports, the Mustang 43 is also pitched at pre-existing sports cruiser and sport yacht buyers. After researching the market, Barry-Cotter says his new boat offers more of everything for less money. Then there are the benefits of local factory support.

"What I really tried to do here was combat the bloody imports and give buyers something that they can’t," Barry-Cotter says from his in-water refit sheds at Hope Harbour on the Gold Coast. "And this is the best quality boat we’ve ever done," he adds, before duly pointing out the attention to detail aboard.

But perhaps the biggest change with the Mustang 43 was that Barry-Cotter took dealer and customer feedback onboard. While committees have designed some of the worst boats this writer has set foot aboard, this is doubtless the best Mustang ever. It follows two dealer reviews before he settled on the final concept.

However, do note that the new boat bears no resemblance to anything he inherited when he bought the Mustang assets in April 2010. But for the slight change to the window line and different engine options, the Mustang 43 is a Maritimo in many ways.

With the Riviera buyback now behind him, Barry-Cotter has focussed on making his Mustang 43 his pet project. There’s been a lot of thought given to how the boat will be used on local waterways. Overseas yards just don’t build for our boating culture alone.

But while the value quotient was also important, Barry-Cotter hasn’t built down to a price. The Mustang range now includes a 32, this 43 and a 50 (branded a Maritimo in America). But he will tell you, as indeed he did us, that this is his best one yet.

The engine options include twin Volvo Penta IPS 400 pod drives ($20,000 premium)  or twin QSB 480hp Cummins inboards with shafts ($37,000 premium). Barry-Cotter points out that with Volvo Penta’s upfront three-year servicing deal and warranty for the base D6 engines costing $12,400, you’re still well ahead.

Another thing, he conveys, is that dealers could spend $18,000 (actually a lot less as this is the list price) for two new sterndrive legs after three years and on-sell the boat with a Volvo Penta-backed one-year warranty. So the sterndrive base boats might see their second-hand values hold up.

That said, the Mustang dealer on Sydney Harbour took deposits on his first two 43s with shaftdrives. One boat, in particular, was optioned right up, even with a coloured hull, and the dealer said it was still some $80,000 less than Riviera’s popular IPS-powered 4400 Sport Yacht.

With options such as cockpit fridge ($2,100), barbecue ($3,700), cockpit lights ($420), Simrad electronics ($7,240), bow thruster ($8,400), Dave Stewart soft furnishing upgrade ($7,900), roller blinds ($1,550), Clarion indoor/outdoor sound system ($1,220) and saloon TV ($2,250) our demonstrator weighed in at $722,780 as tested on the Gold Coast. This is good buying, up to $50,000 less than other remotely similar boats in the 40-something league.

Depending on the depth of your pockets there is the option of a hydraulic platform upon which you can carry your tender or PWC. Then again, at $35,000, it’s a lot more cost effective adding a pair of Weaver snap davits on the tail or, given the amount of subfloor space, inflating a roll-up tender and retrieving a small outboard stowed on a custom bracket.

Step into the teak-topped cockpit and you’ll find something familiar. Despite the Mustang badge, there’s quite a lot of the DNA from his Maritimo boats.

The central amenities centre in the transom is a case in point. The moulded island, with walkways either side, is exactly what you get on a long-range Maritimo motor yacht commanding twice the price.

From here, handrails on the cabin top assist your forward journey around the side decks. The Mustang 43 comes standard with a stainless-steel anchor, 50 metres of chain and freshwater wash.

Cockpit amenities included the optional hot-plate style 240V barbecue, an inbuilt top-loading insulated 12V fridge/freezer, and a sink with hot and cold water atop a large moulded storage cabinet. The requisite hot/cold handheld shower is nearby, yet none of these things get in the way of the Australian-sized cockpit.

Barry-Cotter makes the point that many imported boats have lounges at their transom that face back into the boat. Instead, his Mustang 43 has an aft-facing L-shaped lounge to starboard set around a reasonable-sized teak table that can turn athwartships or longitudinally. It needed a tweak so it was less wobbly, but maybe all the previous dealers were responsible for that. Across to port was the optional cockpit fridge.

The moulded overhang above offers some shade from the midday sun, but we’d still add a Euro-style demountable canopy to maximise that. Otherwise, unlike some imported sports cruisers, the Mustang 43 hasn’t bothersome canvass and clear curtains but a full hardtop with manual sunroof over its lock-up saloon.

Barry-Cotter is quick to point out his galley-up layout, again, not always found on imports. The L-shaped space back aft is traced by Corian counters, there’s a domestic-sized fridge/freezer opposite, four-burner F&P cooktop, standard microwave oven, scope for a dish drawer dishwasher, and pot lockers.

With a retractable counter-weighted aft saloon window, you can pass platters straight outdoors when catering for a crowd. True, the rear aluminium bulkhead framework looks heavy but that’s because its designed to take high loads.

The internal dinette faces a smart new entertainment and drinks cabinet with (optional) concealed television, GPO, servery and abundant storage. It's a real feature. Ahead is the helm with two-seater bench seat and, we’re told, an imminent new footrest. The dash is also new. You get a sporty Maritimo-branded wheel and trick Volvo Penta electronic shifts, among other things.

As for the touted attention to detail, there are stainless-steel inserts in a tread at the saloon door, ducted air conditioning, leather or vinyl bound grab rails, snake-eye screw heads rather than naff self-tapers, and storage spaces wherever you can create them. Evidently, dealers requested more storage.

Blum soft-close drawer runners add to the sense of quality, while the curves on the windscreen and the raked headliners remind us of, well, a high-class European-built boat. Meanwhile, the high-gloss teak joinery, vinyl upholstery and soft furnishings step up a level compared with his motoryachts. Everything is gun-barrel straight, Barry-Cotter adds. And it is.

The all-important accommodation spans two cabins, though it’s almost as though the aft one is two cabins rolled into one. The transverse queen-sized berth is some 200mm longer than standard, while a lounge alongside converts to upper and lower (pullman) bunks. You can store bedding beneath the mattress.

This way, a young family of four could sleep together. Although standing headroom exists only around the lounge and cabin entrance, new big portlights direct plenty of light and fresh air inside. And being away from the bow means the chine slap should be lessened, although these hulls do have full-length chines.

The VIP stateroom up front has an island queen-sized bed that at its widest is said to measure 1.80 metres across. It’s flanked by twin portlights, with the escape hatch above, and entry nearby to the en suite/communal bathroom.

You get a decent shower on your Mustang 43, Vacuflush toilet, Corian sink, deep vanity and natural and fan-forced ventilation. The interior spaces were upsized and, says Barry-Cotter in conclusion, "this is the most practical of the lot".

So the challenge with this boat was making sure it was flexible. To this end, Barry-Cotter modified the hull to support the extra weight of the shaft-drive configuration, with the running surface or wetted area extending well aft, and a full-length chine for lift. At the same time, the entry is quite fine to deliver a smooth ride. But the boat isn’t short on volume thanks to a couple of steps in the hull side above the waterline.

Barry-Cotter has included terrific access to everything on his Mustang 43. For example, lounge backrests pull out to reveal the air-con units. And because they’re mounted up high they drain overboard. No sump pump to worry about when the "air" is arced up. While talking pumps, after exhaustive testing in the factory, they settled on Whale models all round.

Press a button and the cockpit sole lifts revealing the engine room and abundant servicing space. Attention has been given to bilge access, there’s room for watertoys and chairs, we noted the Racor fuel filters but not a lot else. That’s because the sizeable 11kW generator that "runs the lot" is in a separate utility space forward. Yes, it has its own start battery.

A watertight hatch from the utility room lets you access the quasi shaft-drive engine room, which beside plumbing items has wing fuel tanks that can be checked with supplied dipsticks if you’ve got issues with the combo fuel/water gauge on the control panel. But the tanks haven’t balancing lines. Still, the catacomb of underfloor storage wins out.

The sweet spot in respect of range is 2800rpm and 21.5 knots. Here you use 3.35 litres per nautical mile and can safely cruise 376 nautical miles using 90 per cent of the 1400 litre supply. Sound checks by the factory reveal the boat runs at about 70dBa with the doors closed, we’re told. The floor has been sealed in a special way to assist that, too.

As with most sterndrive boats, the handling is snappy and you definitely get the sports cruiser experience. A small keel means you heel over only so far in tight turns, while vision is fine, and the boat seemed very dry. It actually rides quite high in the bow where the freeboard will be appreciated when off the plane and, say, crossing boat wakes. No water on the windscreen.

"We have reviewed and reviewed this boat and the attention to detail that has gone into this model will ensure its success. It is the complete package when it comes to comfortable, safe and relaxed family boating particularly with a base price of $688,000 for the standard twin sterndrive," Maritimo marketing director, Luke Durman said in an earlier press release.

We will add that, with 400 litres of water, the Mustang 43 will sate a family of four for long lazy days between fills. You could add a watermaker. Either way, think of the boat as a holiday house. When asked what his best boat is, Barry-Cotter is adamant. Right now, at least, it’s the new Mustang 43.