Palm Beach 32

This is one of those Remington stories. Well, almost. The story goes that the first Palm Beach motoryacht designed by Norman R Wright and Sons so impressed Bill Wright that he is ordering a hull and deck for fitout in his Queensland yard.

The new 32-footer is pretty, persuasive and convincing on the pegs. The last seven demonstrations have each resulted in a subsequent sale, the builder warned. Luckily my chequebook was in the car.

The baby of the range (a brunch boat, perhaps) the PB 32-footer was fetching, comfortable and stylish. While boat owners typically work their way up the ranks, this 32-footer could be something you work your way back down to. It's what I consider a big-little boat.

By my reckoning, the PB32 has everything you need for exploring your local waterway, overnighting at an anchorage, doing a waterfront crawl and entertaining guests. But head offshore and you'll find a ride that really impresses. Cruising range from single or twin diesel motors lets you decamp for coastal ports post haste. Top speed on the demo boat was more than 35kt.

BETTER BY DESIGN
Due to the old economy of scale - and labour - the cost of building an entry-level boat can be almost as high as a flagship. That was not stopping the Palm Beach 32, however, as it came about due to persistent customer demand. Many admirers of the sexy PB38 didn't have the $500,000 to get aboard. The PB32 is keenly priced at $300,000 for a hand-built boat.

Since its release early this year, the PB32 has accounted for 10 orders, says the boatbuilder, with a diverse range of boaties. They include well-known Pittwater identities, experienced cruising couples and ex-yachties.

The brand enjoys a good following among the latter due, one supposes, to its salty styling, traditional fitout, comfortable ride and modest fuel bills.

With a single diesel inboard motor, the PB32 will top out at 28?30kt and cost about $30 an hour to run at a cruise speed of mid-20kt. As seen here with twin 230hp Yanmar motors and sterndrive legs, the PB32 delivered sports performance. But more on that later.

Aside from motor options, the PB32 has a number of layout choices. This boat had an open bulkhead, which had the effect of creating a seamless passage from the indoors to outdoors. Every other PB32s has been ordered as a lock-up version, however. With a full bulkhead, the boat will be at home from Tassie to FNQ if you fit air-con.

The PB32 can be fitted with electric side windows, a bowthruster and electronics as per the test boat. It also had an invertor, big batteries and charger in a separate utility room under the cabin floor. The factory-fitted optional awning, which we removed from over the cockpit, is a neat addition for staging al fresco brunches in summer.

BUILD QUALITY
A shipwright and professional sailor by trade, Mark Richards has been building Palm Beach boats for three years. He says nothing has faltered with the construction side of things in that time.He adds that the Palm Beach boats have been thrown into the ring on more than one occasion. Delivery trips from Sydney to the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show and back again have been testing and arresting.

Far from driving blind, Richards has been involved in high-tech boatbuilding in Sydney for longer than his involvement with Palm Beach Motor Yachts. He has managed the construction of the high-tech yacht Wild Oats and is currently creating an even more futuristic yacht.

Palm Beach boats are best described as 'medium-tech'. E-glass, Corecell foam, foam stringers and vinylester resins are the key ingredients in the hull. And the boats are strong. For example, the hardtop on the new model features a sturdy 30mm foam core, so you can stage a roof-top party or carry a couple of paddle skis or a dinghy up top if you want.

The hull and deck are married with Plexus adhesive, and the bulkheads, liners and furniture are all 'glassed in place to create a monocoque structure. A four-year warranty covers the structure, and future boats will be built to USL code for export.

OUTDOOR LIVING
Palm Beach boats are eye candy. The new PB32 certainly looked the goods with a burgundy hull and forest of high-gloss teak indoors and natural teak outdoors. The groovy deck gear is all through-bolted and fashioned from 316-grade stainless steel, but it is the layout, headroom and sense of space that creates a very livable boat.

The way the boat flows from bow to stern, indoors to outdoors, means little wasted space. Underfloor voids are taken up by storage and impressive engineering. The finish, too, is a highlight. The joinery was due for a few more coats of lacquer, however.

The full-width boarding platform and teak-planked transom shimmied on the water. A lift-out transom panel creates a walkthrough into the cockpit. Guests will find the PB32 easy to access from the marina while juggling wine coolers and cheese platters.

You step through the transom onto a big engine box that has been cleverly disguised as a full-width sunlounge. Because it's topped with a split cushion, you can create a thoroughfare without risk of soiling the upholstery. This is especially handy for those post-lunch swims.

Remove both aft cushions and you will find the toggles for the engine-room lids, which rise on gas struts. I noted good access to the fuel filters and strainers, but only single hose clips on some of the plumbing lines. Obviously that will change on future boats built to USL code.

With the cushions and transom panel in place, the cockpit rates as a broad living area with a great sunpad and room for four to six people to do lunch. You could plonk an air mattress across the boat and sleep outdoors. Or use the sunpad as a daybed with full camper covers for sleep-outs.

A separate hatch leads down to the fuel taps and a big lazarette storage area that had a hot-water heater. The H/C water is available at a transom shower for those post-swim rinses or morning washes in your sluggos.

Thought has gone into the access route to the foredeck. The gunwales are wide, topped with non-skid, traced by toe rails and backed by handy handrails on the cabin top.

There is room to spread out a towel up front and the option of a bowrail. Tick the box marked 'electric windlass' if you want to anchor with the push of a button on the dash. A fold-out bowsprit lets you run with the plough - make it a stainless-steel model - in place.

INDOOR LIVING
Despite its sharp entry and planing hull, the PB32 has a big-hearted interior in which you can spend time cruising waterways in comfort, protected from the weather, with friends or family. In fact, the boat is a foot wider than the PB38.

All the key amenities - except cooking appliances headed by a cockpit-mounted stainless barbecue - were provided on this Palm Beach 32. The plug boat is not entirely indicative of future models, however, as there will be more mouldings and less carpentry to come.

Under the hardtop overhang to port was a cabinet with a big storage hatch for the picnic gear, plus a glass rack. The quasi wetbar was topped with a high-gloss teak counter with fiddle rail, upon which you could pour a G&T or perhaps a Pimms.

The boat's floor is teak, while the wall liners are moulded clinker fibreglass for added romance. Soft buff-coloured liners cover the hardtop, which offered lots of headroom without effecting the classic lines.

The dinette to port has facing two-person bench seats upholstered in cream Alcantara man-made suede. These seats will be lowered in future. The views out of the surrounding windows were good, but they will be even better when the seats are dropped.

Amenities include a small 12/240V fridge opposite a handy galley across to starboard. There are teak cupboards and three drawers, H/C running water, and enough food-prep space to wash and toss a salad.

There is an option for a microwave oven, which this writer would add to create a self-contained, all-seasons cruiser. Future boats will come with a gas or electric stove under the helm seat and the aforementioned dinette will convert into a double bed. There will also be a mirror on the dresser in the cabin so you can look your spiffing best before setting foot ashore.

BED AND BATH
Two steps lead down into the accommodation. You pass the so-called dressers behind the helm, the boat's AC/DC control panel and a Clarion CD player. Elsewhere I found clothes storage, a hanging locker and drawers.

The oversized head is designed to appeal to the needs of not-so-keen boaties. It's a huge WC for a 32-footer, with a moulded sink, electric loo and various forms of storage. Future boats will have a shower rose mounted on the wall.

The deep for'ard section is taken up by a generous vee-berth which, with infill, turns into a double bed that would do very nicely for weekends away. There is enough room for a lanky 1.9m skipper to stretch to sleeping across the bed. Sleeping or sitting, the cabin is a comfortable one. The production boat will gain an extra 5cm of floor space.

DRIVING STATIONS
I had a smile on my dial driving the PB32, partly because it's exactly the kind of cool conveyance I could imagine myself owning with not much imagination at all. The single helm seat will get a higher backrest in future, says Richards, and the clunky Morse cable shifts will be replaced with fingertip-control electronic models. Hooray.

I like the custom turned-timber knobs on the throttles, the timber wheel, and the cool retro-looking white and chrome gauges. A remote for the sound system was close to hand, along with a Raymarine ST60 GPS and bowthruster control. The stop/start engine button was mounted on a Palm Beach Motor Yacht plaque.

Views and ventilation rank highly at the helm inside the cabin for captain and guest seats opposite. There are two hatches, the open bulkhead, and the big picture windows. Press a button and they retract so you can drive arm-out the window with the fresh air in your face.

The hull is a darling, rising to planing speeds without thrusting its bow skywards, despite the weight of two four-pot Yanmar 230hp motors in the tail. My preference would be for a single 300hp or thereabouts. Inboard motor installation is with a jackshaft so you still get the big cockpit.

Comfortable cruising came in at anywhere from 22kt at 2200rpm to 28kt at 2600rpm.

And that was whether we were ocean-bound or running home. A wiper is provided, but it wasn't needed, as the spray is deflected down, not up.

I powered home at 27kt into the teeth of a 20kt westerly wind and the PB32 spoke. It conveyed the feeling of a boat whose forefoot is working to tame the waves without ploughing through them inefficiently like, say, a deep-vee mono.

The twin Bravo II sterndrive legs gave some thrills at the wheel, allowing me to jack the boat into tight turns. And despite being relatively close together, the PB32 was easy to park thanks to the bowthruster.

Despite its modest waterline length, the PB32 carries on the Pam Beach reputation for seaworthiness established by the PB38 and PB50. If 'smooth ride' are words that matter to you, then you really must go for a run in one of these sea-taming picnic boats.

Don't forget the cheque book.

Lows