New Grand Banks 54 Heritage EU

A big hit straight off the drawing board

Straight off the drawing board, before even being launches, the new Grand Banks 54 Heritage EU has made its mark as one of the builder’s most successful models in recent years.

The new model was unveiled at the end of last year and already 12 of the 54 Heritage EUs have been either delivered or are now under construction at the company’s Malaysian yard.

Boat No 8 is scheduled for delivery to Australia in November.

Hank Compton and his team at Grand Banks Australia have been responsible for the sale of four of the new boats into the Asia Pacific region.

“These boats were all sold sight unseen,” Compton said. “We showed people the detailed drawings and specifications for the boat and they trusted us to deliver.”

SPACIOUS CABINS

The first 54EU to arrive in Australia is being delivered to Perth boating enthusiast Julian Walter (pictured), who has a strong focus on quality as he is the founder of Australia’s third-largest home builder, JWH Group

“We have owned Halvorsens over the years and we have always admired the styling and build quality of the Grand Banks brand,” Mr Walter said.

“The new 54EU is built on the 53 Aleutian hull which has given it more beam than you would expect of the Heritage series. This translates to terrific space throughout the cabins, particularly the midships master suite which runs across the full beam of the boat.”

WA CRUISING

Mr Walter praised the versatility of the Grand Banks design.

“We do most of our cruising at sensible speeds,” he said. “There is no need to rush. Our Heritage is built to cruise all day at eight to 10 knots. But it has a turn of speed if I need to get back to port quickly or get out of the way of a storm. The boat is capable of planing speeds up to about 21 knots.”

He said the family had used their boats mainly for cruising to Cockburn Sound and Mandurah, as well as extended trips to Rottnest Island.

“We will spread our wings with the Grand Banks,” he said. “Our plan is to voyage north to the Abrolhos Islands and further along the coast.”

Mr Walter visited the Grand Banks yard four times during the build of his 54EU.

“I was impressed by the attention to detail,” he said. “The people at the yard have the same focus on quality as I do.

“Our company builds about 1400 homes a year and our objective is always to deliver quality so that people will come back to us when they want to upgrade.”

CUSTOMER FOCUS

He was impressed by the Grand Banks’ team’s openness to suggestions during his visits to the yard.

“When we suggested that the davit on the flybridge deck should be stronger they promptly upgraded it – at no cost,” he said.

“The list of standard features was also impressive. A number of items I assumed would be paid-for options turned out to be standard, down to monogrammed bath towels.”

Mr Walter decided to add one significant option to his boat. It is equipped with the Twin Disc Electronic Joystick System (EJS) for tight manoeuvring. It is the first Grand Bank delivered to Australia with the system.

“We must reverse into our boat pen at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and that can be difficult in the frequent heavy crosswinds,” he said. “My wife, Cheryl and I often sail two-handed and berthing can be stressful in those conditions. We expect the EJS will solve those issues.”

FLAGSHIP TRAWLER

The Grand Banks 54EU is the largest of the company’s Heritage fleet of classic trawler-style cruisers.

The standard three-level layout includes three cabins and two bathrooms in the accommodation suite below decks, a midships galley and aft salon on the main deck along with the lower helm station and a large entertaining area and helm on the flybridge.

On the main deck, the galley is equipped with convection microwave and four drawers for freezer and refrigeration. An L-shape dinette is opposite, on the port side, and an expansive salon aft leads to a fully covered cockpit with transom lounge.

A large engine room features two-metre headroom and enough space to walk around the standard twin Cummins QSM 11 turbo diesel engines.

Specifications

Max length (incl. swim platform and bowsprit): 18.72m

?Length overall: 16.55m

?Length at waterline :14.96m

Beam: 5.41m

Max Draft: 1.54m

?Height (to mast top): 7.88m

Displacement (half load): 41.7 US tons?

Fuel capacity: 5678 litres

?Water capacity: 1136 litres

?Black water capacity: 379 litres

Grey water capacity: 197 litres

Power: Cummins QSM-11 715mhp

Details: See www.grandbanks.com.au

Distribtuor: Hank Compton, Managing Director, Grand Banks Asia-Pacific.

Ph: 07 5530 8872. Email: hankc@grandbanks.com

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.

New Grand Banks 54 Heritage EU

Tags