Sanctuary for Big Boats

Never mind the the hype and hoopla, Sanctuary Cove Boat Show really was a big deal this year. A record 381 exhibitors flaunted a myriad of boating wares, attracting over 45,000 visitors, up 6% on last year.

But the biggest news wasn't the number of boats or would-be boaties strolling the stands. It was the quality of the boats on display and the number of big beauties bobbing at the marina.

The Sanctuary Cove Marina was bristling with motoryachts, megayachts, cruising yachts and boats bordering on superyachts. And this impressive flotilla sailed in from both local and overseas stables. According to the show organisers, there were no less than 50 new launchings onto the world and/or Australasian markets at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.

Thus, the marina was the place to be. There were marquees for manufacturers, dealers with afternoon digs, corks popping and white shoes shuffling. And such was the variety of big boats that one could play a four-day game of nautical hopscotch and never quite see them all.

After much legwork, here's what we unearthed - a collection of big boats that would be the envy of marinas and boat shows anywhere in the world.

NEW MODELS, PROVEN WINNERS
Sunrunner, winner of the Australian Boat of the Year Award for its well-finished 3400, had a new 3100 on display. In fact, it had three of these boats in varying configurations ranging from an open sportscruiser for around $198,500 to a Deluxe version with targa top, bimini, transom shower and more for $249,000.

Standard power on the new Sunrunner 3100 is twin 4.3lt 220hp MPI MerCruiser motors. These give a 38kt top speed. Sunrunner also had its 3700 with twin diesel shaftdrives, which won a Certificate of Merit at this year's BOTY awards, and is currently working on a new 46-footer.

Alongside, UK marque Sealine cruisers had the new T51, the flagship of the range. A three cabin boat with two heads and an aft crew cabin, the T51 has a galley one step up from the saloon, level with the internal helm. With twin Volvo D12 675hp motors, its price was around $1.65 million with everything including air-conditioning, genset, electronic controls and dinghy crane.

Mustang Cruisers, the Gold Coast boatbuilder launching an assault on the North American market, had its new 4600 Mirage Sportscruiser in fine fettle for the show. Notable features include a cockpit floor that lifts on a hydraulic strut for access to the engines, air-conditioning that also fans the helm, flatscreen televisions and cherrywood joinery.

With twin 450hp 3126B Cats, the 4600 Mirage has a smooth 34kt cruise. The Peter Lowe-designed hull is a beauty, while the whole boat has been crafted using cutting-edge CNC milling technology. It costs around $770,000 as displayed.

Mustang also had a full spread of cruisers ranging down to its trailerable 2400 Club Sport.

BAYLINERS BIG AND SMALL
American boatbuilding giant Bayliner had a fleet of trailerables on the water, including its bestselling 175, 185, 195 and 215 bowriders, while in the compact cruiser line there were the popular 24, 26, 28 and 30ft Ciera 'campers'.

The Rendezvous 2159 was a new boat for Bayliner, a kind of party boat-come-bowrider with lots of seating, a wide beam, even a toilet under the co-pilot console. There was also a new Trophy Pro 2052 walkaround with a 190hp MerCruiser sterndrive.

Bayliner's sister company, Maxum, had a new 33 for under $300,000 with all the bells and whistles (see Spotlight, page 295). Twin 350 Mag MPI MerCruisers with Bravo II legs give 35kt top end. Compared with the Bayliners, the Maxums have a narrower beam, higher spec, more Euro-looking interior and more performance.

BOATS WITH PURPOSE
Steber, a legend of the commercial world, had three versions of its 37-footer released in May 2001. There was the Coffs Harbour Fisheries Patrol Boat, a Shark Boat from the Gold Coast and a demonstrator. The 37 runs twin Yanmars from 350-420hp. The Steber 37 cost around $360,000 with a single 430hp Yanmar.

Among the smaller companies were the Tasman cruising cat made from composite construction, the classic Fairway 36, which keeps cruising through the ages, and the Kingfisher 50, a flybridge cruiser for $800,000 with the lot.

There was also the NoosaCat 440 Walkaround, an interesting fishing boat perhaps.

The Oceanmaster 50 is a West-Coaster designed and made by Wagners for ranging far and wide. The display boat had a top speed of 21kt, but at 17kt cruise its twin 430hp Cummins diesel motors consume just 17lt/h. In survey, the boat costs from $800,000. The owners delivered the boat all the way to their home on the Tweed River.

DAYBOATS TO PASSAGE-MAKERS
Two stylish dayboats couldn't be missed, the Boesch 680 Costa Bravo made in Kilchberg on the shores of Lake Zurich, Switzerland, and our home-built Divine Craft 29, a pretty hull with a nice twist of tumblehome, 440hp Yanmar diesel with Hamilton jet unit, promising fun on the throttles. Price around $280,000.

Luxury UK motoryacht maker Fairline had a tricky Targa 34 and Squadron 62 on show.

The importers, Squadron Boat Sales, also displayed a stunning Uniesse 48 Open from Italy, powered by twin 700hp MAN engines, ready to go wherever your mood dictates.

Nearby were the Classic 47 cruiser, a voyager-style boat for passagemaking, two stunning Horizon motoryacht models of 64 and 84ft, an Italian-made Azimut 46, which I had driven only days before in Sydney (see boat review, page 276), and the Kiwi-designed cruising powercat built by Signature to beat the bowser blues.

Gameboat great Black Watch trotted out a 26, 30, 36 and 40-footer for the show. Nearby were some American sports and fishing fliers - a Boston Whaler 295 Conquest, Baja 340 Islander Centre Console, and go-fast Baja 33 Outlaw and 38 Special.

A new entry from American company SeaRay, the 480 Motoryacht, offered a lot of boat for $1.35 million. The full width owner's aft cabin and big deck above made this very much a liveaboard proposition.

An innovative helm offered views to the bow and stern for parking. An emerging design trend was the split aft shower and head. SeaRay also had a 480 Sedan Bridge and 595 Sundancer on show.

BOAT OF THE SHOW?
The boat of the show, and the showiest boat, was undoubtedly the slick SuperNova 77 designed and built by Warren Yachts on the NSW Central Coast. The Italian-looking speedster had a metallic silver car finish, giant electric sunroof and a level of sophistication inside normally reserved for the boardroom of multinational corporations.

One of the real success stories from the big-boat boom, Princess Yachts, displayed a P40, V50, 20-Metre and 22-Metre, plus a P65 and a new P61 (see test this issue). The company also had a comfortable client tent with Chardonnay flowing, well-dressed staff looking after buyers and plenty of encouraging interest.

BUILT TO GO PLACES
A personal favourite, the Offshore 62 Pilothouse Motoryacht is built to go places. Some of the nice owner's stuff includes bow and stern thrusters, stabilisers, remote docking, full teak layout, ship-like pilothouse with sleeper bed and big amidships master cabin.

The boat does 21kt top end, but a sensible 15kt cruise will see you burn 120-130lt/h, giving roughly 30 hours running or a 450nm range. A nice liveaboard long-ranger for the Barrier Reef, it's priced from $2.6 million.

Trader Yachts, a 25-year-old boatbuilder, made a timely launch on the Australian market with its 575 Sunliner, one of a range of classic Taiwanese motoryachts from 41-120ft.

Most models have aft owner's cabins, walkaround decks and conveniences ranging from hydraulic boarding platforms to bowthrusters.

Trade-A-Boat is scheduled to jump aboard Trader Yachts' 575 Sunliner ASAP; stay tuned for our boat review in a forthcoming issue.

Kiwi boatbuilder Salthouse Marine, which has a strong family history in big-boat building, had three models: a 50, 55 and a new 60-footer launched just four weeks prior to the show. The big Sovereign was heading to the waiting arms of a Melbourne family, who planned to keep the boat at Port Douglas and employ a full-time skipper.

MORE BOATS OF THE SHOW
UK performance motoryacht maker Sunseeker had one of the most impressive boats at the show. With twin 406E Cats, a retractable sunroof, electric garage, and dripping style, the new Sunseeker Predator 61 was one of the boats of the show. (Watch for our test next issue...)

There was a spread of houseboats (I think the Coastal 46 looked the best); a Sundancer 31 Walkaround cruiser, based I think on the old Fastlane; a Resort 35 North Sea displacement cruiser; and a SeaQuest 28 cruiser with twin outboards first released some years ago.

The Lagoon 43 Powercat from Beneteau is tres French and futuristic. Other powercats included a Peerless 53, Scimitar 1010 (see boat review, page 286) and Broadbill 900 Sport.

I found a Sovereign 48 fly and Genesis 400 hardtop, plus local stalwarts the Caribbeans 24, 26, 35 and new 32ft sportsbridge.

The Precision 65 Brilliant Company, which I drove off Cairns late last year, stood out in its metallic-blue livery. Nearby were the Dyna 58, low-profile Pershing 54 performance cruiser and its Italian cousin, the Ferretti 48.

TIMBER STYLE-MASTERS
Then came a feast of timber style-masters, boats like the locally-made Azzura Commuter 50 and 36, with tumblehome, lots of teak and traditional cruising chic. Currently under construction is an Azzura 100-footer!

A berth or two away was the Aquamagic Riva-like timber dayboat.

However, the pick of the pretty boats must surely be the Palm Beach 50 Lobster Boat, a bigger brother to the already successful style-master, the 38-footer. Builder Mark Richards made it up from Sydney averaging 21kt with twin 420hp Yanmars consuming 60lt/h.

STAR ATTRACTION
Mariner, a branch of the Riviera Group, exhibited a full spread of boats including its tremendous 290 and 370 sportscruisers, pretty 3350 and 3850 flybridge models, and the terrifically well-priced M430 Express sportscruiser, which has a base price of $385,000 with twin 425hp petrol motors, and top speed of, wow, 43kt.

But if crowds were anything to go by, well, the star attraction of the marina wasn't hard to find. There was standing room only on Riviera's new 58ft flagship, an imposing beast of a luxury boat, which is the biggest Riv yet from what is now our biggest boatbuilder by far.

There is a lot to be said about the big 58-footer, which starts at $1.8 million with twin 900hp MTUs. During tests with full fuel, water, half the factory aboard and twin 1400hp Cats, the boat did 38kt.

I won't say anything more, other than I'm due to drive the big Riv within a week of penning this piece. Stay tuned...

David Lockwood

SAIL BASIN STANDOUTS

The longest queues in Sanctuary Cove's on-water sail basin led to the new Kay Cottee 56 cruiser, perhaps as much for the chance to chat with its round-the-world singlehander namesake, who was onboard throughout the show, as to view the impressive new craft itself.

Built in Yamba under Cottee's management, the Scott Jutson-designed deckhouse yacht is a big 56-footer set up for shorthanded passagemaking (eg, in-boom furling mainsail, bowthruster), and sumptuously fitted out and finished below, right down to the dishwasher in the galley, clear viewing windows set into the hull floor of both aft double cabins, and hectares of high quality joinery using Australian timbers. Tooling for production of more of the GRP composite hulls is now complete.

Also attracting attention was the MKL 49, winner of this year's Sailing Non-trailerable category of the Australian Boat of the Year Awards. The boat on display was the second MKL 49 built by Queensland's Mackman Boats, featuring the masthead club rig with aluminium spars instead of the more expensive regatta package seen on the BOTY entry.

Other monohull yachts on display included representatives of the imported Bavaria, Beneteau, Hanse, Hunter Yachts and Jeanneau ranges, as well as the Australian-built Northshore and the Elliott 1250 Tourer (see our boat review, page 282).

The most notable feature of Sanctuary Cove's sailing contingent, however, was the strong and ever-increasing presence of cruising multihulls, mostly Australian-built. This section of the industry is reporting rapidly growing interest, particularly in Queensland and export markets.

Judging by the impressive quality and luxury inclusions of a number of the big cats on display, and the amount of interior and exterior living space they have to offer, their increasing popularity should come as no real surprise, especially for cruising downwind through shallow waters.

Sailing multihulls on display included the Perry 43, two models from Seawind's popular range, Emultihulls.com's new E-1060 designed by Tony Grainger, the Tasman C35, representatives of Lightwave and Schionning Designs, the French-built Privilege 465 and the Conquest 1200 motorsailer.