David Lockwood•7 Nov 2012

REVIEW

Mustang 43

Name: Mustang 43
Brand: MUSTANG

Cummins QSB 480hp shaftdrive variant

LIKES

- Big indoor and outdoor living spaces

- Generous accommodation plan sleeps six

- Nice stoic motion through the water

- Cummins engine and shaftdrive reliability

- Fully optioned boat for serious pleasure boating

NOT SO MUCH

- Narrow walkaround decks due to maximised saloon space

- Personally, we’d prefer a cooktop in the galley

- Not quite as fuel efficient as the sterndive base boat

OVERVIEW

- Dealer input helps create great relaxation stage

We were first to test the new Mustang 43 in May this year. We deemed that boat the best Mustang yet. It has the standard offering of twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp engines with electronic controls and Aquamatic sterndrives. With a bow thruster and some other goodies the Mustang 43 amounted to a $722,780 drive-away sports-cruiser package.

Going into this Mustang 43 test, boat-building doyen Bill Barry-Cotter told Boatpoint and Boatsales that he thought the sterndrive package would be the most popular due the keen purchase price. Sign up for Volvo Penta’s upfront three-year servicing deal and warranty for the base D6 engines, which costs $12,400 up front, and you’re still well ahead of the outlay cost of the shaftdrive variant.

In fact, a dealer 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 and still be almost $7000 ahead of the cost of the shaftdrive option. Furthermore, the sterndrives with less draft have the advantage of allowing you to anchor close to shore, which might suit Queensland boaters in the skinny Broadwater, for example.

But at the end of the day it’s not always about money. And not everyone is a fan of sterndrives, especially the Mustang dealer located on (deep and accommodating) Sydney Harbour. Fact is, there’s less maintenance with a shaftdrive boat and sterndrives just don’t like sitting idle over, say, a long cold winter.

Furthermore, shaftdrives are more manoeuvrable for docking. With Sidepower bow and stern thrusters on the Mustang 43 you see here, the owners are in real docking heaven. Suffice to say, their previous Mustang 32 with single sterndrive, which they outgrew, was a lot harder to slot in their pile-style harbour berth.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

- Shaftdrive premium plus loads of goodies

From a $688,000 base price with the twin Volvo D6 330hp engines with sterndrives and electronic controls, you pay a $37,000 premium for the QSB Cummins 480hp diesel inboards with spinning shafts and five-blade propellers. The D4 300hp IPS option comes with a $20,000 premium, so this shaft variant is the top-shelf offering.

But Steve Batton at his eponymous Maritimo and Mustang dealership is an avid boater who much prefers shaftdrives. He also wants his customers to have the most reliable and pleasurable boating experience they can. So he’s tipped all his Sydney Mustang 43 owners into the shaftdrive option. We will add that the resale or trade-in value will be superior, too.

Anyway, even when fully loaded with a huge list of options, the Mustang 43 comes out $90,000 less than a base model Riviera’s 4400 Sport Yacht with IPS, Batton points out. So you’d have to say the Mustang 43 was good buying, especially when you weigh up what’s aboard this well-built Australian sports cruiser or, with shaftdrives, sports yacht.

But the owners of our test boat also had some ideas of their own. The new-boat market being what it is these days means boat builders -- begrudgingly in some cases -- are a lot more accommodating of customisations. Although the interior photos accompanying this story show the standard boat, this Mustang 43 had some interior changes that we’ll detail below.

Meantime, from a base price of $725,000 with shaftdrives, the Mustang 43 test boat cost $820,000. So this is a special boat with a lot of dealer-driven goodies and owner customisations to enhance the on-water experience.

To this end, there were the aforementioned Sidepower bow and stern thrusters with a remote for doubly easy docking. The optional hydraulic-lift swim platform, upon which you can tote the Zodiac tender, was topped with teak.

The cockpit gained a fridge and there was an icemaker fitted elsewhere. The boat had recessed barbecue, cockpit lounge covers and windscreen cover, half white rear awning, Clarion stereo with four speakers, roller blinds, Raymarine electronics package, chain counter, and opening side windows for ventilation.

The additional custom options included deleting both rear and saloon tables (credit), supplying and fitting a smaller lounge in lieu of TV/drinks module in the saloon, deleting the cooktop, using softer lounge foam, and a painted navy hull with double white bootlines.

Additionally, there were five of the latest Aqualuma 12 Series underwater lights with switchable white and blue lenses and an underwater camera so you can watch the fishies and squid swimming astern at night. A new Zodiac 3m tender with 5hp Yamaha outboard was added to the hydraulic swim platform, while a small 12V TV was mounted on a wall bracket above the end of port lounge. All set for summer fun.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION

- A lot of waterfront real estate for weekending

With tender easily dispatched, the additional hydraulic platform really adds to the waterfront real estate. Many boaters with these devices submerge them as quasi swimming pools for the kids and, moreover, stabilisers when doing lunch on the anchor. They really do quell a lot of boat movement.

We can only imagine what it’s like hanging out on the swim platform on hot summers night with a veritable aquarium of marine life is zipping about the underwater lights. There were also strip LED and cockpit lights on a timer so the whole boat lights up outside the owner’s harbourside house for a set period each night. Nice.

The cockpit is generous on the Mustang 43. The island amenities centre mid-transom is the hub. The large top-loading fridge was already filled with icy cold refreshments, the barbecue was alongside ready to cook brekkie, lunch and perhaps something just-caught for dinner. And with twin transom doors, getting around the chef isn’t an issue.

Meanwhile, an aft-facing L-shaped lounge is well shaded from the midday sun by the combination of moulded and soft rear awnings. A small casual table was employed in lieu of the usual fixed one. This frees up the teak floor space for the owners.

You gain a very spacious lazarette for stowing loose tables and chairs, fishing and crabbing gear, victuals and more on this shaftdrive boat. An electric-assisted hatch grants access to the simple engine room. Meantime, the opening saloon door and rear window create a a single-level indoor/outdoor living space.

The inbuilt 12V domestic-style upright fridge and freezer is handy to port and unobtrusively mounted in teak surrounds. Opposite is the L-shaped galley with solid counter, basic microwave oven, cabinets and draws, and an aft-facing sink behind which you wash up and enjoy the views.

But the usual four-burner cooktop was deleted as the owners feel the barbecue will suit them best.

Forward of the galley is the usual place for the teak cocktail cabinet and flat screen television. Instead, the owners fitted a custom lounge in the space to encourage social discourse with whoever is seated on the L-shaped settee opposite. With a pouffe and soft foam cushioning, you sink into the lounge and just relax. Another Mustang 43 with the same layout has now been sold into Sydney.

The owners also deleted the dinette table, as they envisage casual dining. This really opened up the saloon and made the Mustang 43 seem even bigger than it is, which is saying something as the boat has relatively narrow walk-around decks to maximise internal space. Opening windows, a manual opening skylight and air conditioning enhance your comfort throughout.

Back outdoors, there are well-positioned cabin-top rails to assists your passage forward. It’s good to see a deck wash is provided for washing the mud from your anchor. There’s a reasonable amount of flat foredeck for the teenagers, too.

Accommodation, meanwhile, spans two cabins at either end of the boat that can collectively sleep six -- quite an achievement in a 43 – while the bathroom and 400 litres of freshwater is sufficient to last a carefree family a long weekend at least. Water (and fuel) levels are read back at the simple AC/DC control panel in the saloon.

The aft cabin is almost 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. 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 measure up to 1.80 metres across. It’s flanked by twin portlights, with the escape hatch above, and entry to the en suite/communal bathroom nearby.

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

Additionally, the fit and finish has been lifted, with Blum soft-close drawers, high-gloss teak joinery, designer touches here and there. There are now surveyors at three different stages of build, with the dealer signing off on the latter two stages. So expect very few warranty issues.

MECHANICAL AND HULL

- Years of experience shows in the build

Both the base sterndrive and pod-drive Mustang 43s have their engine blocks located aft under the cockpit sole. The shaft option, demanded by this Sydney dealer among others, puts the engines under the saloon floor in what is otherwise a huge storage space with some plumbing items. Thus, in shaftdrive guise, the underfloor areas are better utilised..

To suit all engine types, Barry-Cotter modified the hull to support the extra weight of this shaftdrive configuration. The running surface or wetted area extends well aft, and there’s 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 signature Maritimo (sister brand) steps in the hull sides above the waterline.

Barry-Cotter has also 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.

Meantime, press a button and the cockpit sole lifts revealing the sub-saloon engine room with abundant servicing space. A sizeable 11kW generator "runs the lot," while clear access exists to the oil dipsticks, coolant bottles, sea strainers, fuel filters and maintenance-free batteries. Really, there’s not a lot else the owner needs worry about with Cummins backing on call.

Hull layup is handlaid fibreglass with cored decks and superstructure, glassed-in bulkheads and a collision bulkhead forward. Electrical, plumbing and fuel systems, Vacuflush sanitation and so on are all configured to time-proven and international standards.

ON THE WATER

- Surprisingly snappy and quiet

The Mustang 43 proved a surprisingly sporty performer in shaftdrive guise, accelerating swiftly in a straight line, without quite the off-the-wheel handling as the sterndrive version. It’s a heavier boat and seems to sit down and therefore offer a better ocean-going ride, however.

Yet it’s not wet. The deep forefoot rises above the ocean but such is the deck profile and trim angle you still get good vision. Of course, trim tabs keep you on an even keel in cross winds. Incredibly, sound levels were very low and certainly vastly improved on some of the old-model Maritimo Cabriolets. Barry-Cotter has done a lot of work in this regard.

As for performance, the sterndrive Mustang 43 hit 31 knots, with a cruising groove of 21.5 knots at 2800rpm for 3.35 litres per nautical mile (lpnm), equating to a safe 376 nautical mile range from 90 per cent of the tank. With the shafts, the Mustang 43 hits 32 knots, with a cruising sweet spot of 22.5 knots at 2500rpm for 4.09 lpnm and a safe range of 308 nautical miles.

The fuel efficiency differential is due to the added weight of the engine and running gear and increased drag. But underway, this feels like a more serious cruising conveyance than a mere sports cruiser.

VERDICT

- A better cruising boat and long-term investment

It’s a matter of horses for courses but if you want a boat to last the distance this shaftdriven Mustang 43 is a better craft. There’s bound to be less maintenance in the long run and the resale value of shaftdriven boats is much higher than sterndrives. Hey, you may eventually recoup the premium. We certainly know which one we’d prefer to buy second-hand. What’s more, Cummins are great engines with top national service.

In short, the proactive Sydney Mustang dealers has helped deliver exactly what this owner wants. In fact, he’s even cruised the coast to the Hawkesbury to show them his boating secrets, offer hands-on tuition and ultimately ensure their boat-owning experience is entirely pleasurable.

Specifications

Price as tested: $820,000 with factory options and additional custom options as outlined above.

Priced from: $688,000 base with Volvo Penta D6-300 and sterndrives, $720,000 with upgraded Cummins QSB 480hp, shafts and five-blade props

LOA: 13.45m

Beam: 4.09m

Draft: 1.20m max.

Weight: Approx 12,000kg base model lightly laden

Engines: 2 x Cummins 480hp QSB 5.9 common-rail electronic in-line six-cylinder turbocharged diesels with shaftdrives and five-blade props.

Water: 400 litres

Fuel: 1400 litres

Holding tank: 151 litres

Sleeping: 4+2

Supplied by:

SBM Maritimo

81 Parriwi Road

Mosman, NSW, 2088

Phone: (02)9968 1222

sbmmaritimosydney.com.au?

Built by:

Mustang Marine,

15 Waterway Drive, Coomera, 4209

Queensland, Australia

Phone: (075) 588 6000

See: www.mustangmarine.com.au

Read the latest Boatsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the Boatsales Network's mobile site. Or download the all-new App.

Mustang 43

Tags