Wellcraft Martinique 2400

I climbed aboard using the stern ladder like Jack on his beanstalk. On the trailer, the 24-footer seemed as big as the Queen Mary... as high as the Andes. Before I could find my cabin, we were heading backwards at a great rate of knots. The orders were being shouted from ahead. I lowered the leg, started the MerCruiser - at the turn of a key thanks to EFI - and reversed the boat off its trailer. My job?

Manoeuvring in a tightly-packed marina, parking at a little pontoon surrounded by imposing boats armed with deadly Danforth anchors, picking up the crew before heading upriver... The captaincy was something I had to do all on my own.

Having stepped out of a 17ft bowrider moments earlier, the 24-footer seemed like a big little boat. Below was a cabin with accommodation for four, a separate head, galley and dinette. Plus, a 260hp V-eight petrol engine.

But I needn't have worried. An entry-level cruiser, Wellcraft's Martinique 2400 is something you can command without chewing your nails to the quick. Designed for new chums to cruising, the boat performs like, well, an overgrown trailerboat.

Handling, manoeuvrability, berthing, touring tight waterways - no problem. Offering creature comforts for weekends away, easily managed single-handed, and the right size to complement the waterfront apartment, the baby Martinique is a cruiser to go.

BY GEORGE
In designing an entry-level cruiser, Wellcraft was undoubtedly faced with something of a juggling act.

While high on volume, the 24-footer needs to be sleekly styled and sporty. While nimble, the boat has to be big enough to weekend away. And while a good size to have at a marina somewhere, it is also trailerable.

For every design parameter there is an opposite, yet as testimony to the Wellcraft team there are very few compromises. Experience in making compact cruisers has seen it make the most of minimum space. There's hardly a void on the Martinique, except for the servicing room around the motor.

With three adults safely aboard, we headed upriver on a tour of duty. While capable of carrying eight people and sleeping four, to my way of thinking the Martinique is an ideal two-couple dayboat and a nice little love nest for the owners.

Two couples will find the cockpit comfortable and roomy, with space for doing lunch on the removable table and shade all-round. At night, the owners will find the necessary privacy down below to make liveaboarding something to look forward to every Friday night.

COCKPIT CAPERS
Coming from one of the world's biggest production-boat houses, the Wellcraft 2400 is equipped with industry-standard stainless steel deck gear, and intricate mouldings that reflect substantial tooling costs.

Nothing is superfluous, little is left wanting. There is a one-piece welded bowrail, aftermarket windlass for the anchor, chute for the chain, walk-through three-piece glass windscreen, through-bolted fore, aft and midship cleats, deck hatch with screen, water and fueltank fillers, and at least three drinkholders.

A fully-moulded, integrated boarding platform with handrails and a bifolding ladder graces the transom. An overhead targa arch adds to the styling and is useful for buttoning down the canopy. Lights and radio aerials are mounted on the arch, too.

Due to space constraints, the boat is not a walkaround. However, good access to the foredeck - which is covered in non-skid with plenty of purchase - can be found. Wellcraft has moulded a discreet step on the port side of the dash mouldings so you can step up and over the windscreen.

In the cockpit, the Martinique 2400 is all seats. Behind the windscreen, the passenger is treated to a full-length fore-and-aft sunlounge with a backrest. Three people can sit here or, if you're lucky enough, a Madonna could stretch out in the shade.

Additional seating includes a small two-person aft-facing benchseat off the tail end of the aforementioned sunlounge, a separate aft lounge at the transom with a backrest that can seat two people, and a single, fully-adjustable helmseat. All up, seats for at least six.

Storage space exists in a sidepocket, with padded facia on the starboard side of the cockpit, and a small icebox under the rear lounge. One of the few shortfalls of the 2400 is the icebox. (It needs to be bigger.) Also, I couldn't find a deckwash.

For lunching, the dinette table down below can be mounted in the cockpit, creating a dining setting or a buffet lunch.

It was a tad fiddly getting to the engine, however. You need to fold a lounge support away to lift up the hatch, though the gas-assisted struts help.

DOING AN OVERNIGHTER
Down three moulded steps from the helm you're met by a camel-coloured carpet which, I must say, doesn't seem to wear too well. A terracotta and blue patterned material is used for the boat's upholstery, with a high-quality cream runner applied a little slap-happily to the rooftop and walls.

The aft cabin was a good example of overly enthusiastic use of carpet. The walls were carpet-lined, the entrance carpet-lined, leading you to almost long for some foam-back white walls to break things up.

Nevertheless, the aft cabin was easily accessed, with sitting room near the entrance, and space for a couple or, preferably, two kids to bunk down.

To port, the galley is an example of, to use the architect's motto, "form following function". The moulded Granulon-covered unit was neither obtrusive nor undersized.

Facilities include a Norcold 12/220V bar-sized fridge, Electrolux 600W microwave, hot/cold pressure water several storage hatches and two shelves, plus a switch panel for shore power and the hot-water heater, battery charger, and other outlets.

Water capacity is a useful 106lt for weekending, while the 230lt of fuel will go far enough if you don't lean on the throttle.

At a guess, touring range will be in the order of 100km, which means you can swan around the city all day and take off to a quiet bay somewhere at night.

Two portholes and an overhead hatch bring light and fresh air inside. But the head, which has privacy and standing room, could do with an opening porthole or extractor fan due to its proximity to the galley.

Facilities include a mirror, vanity with storage and hand-held hot/cold shower, shower curtain and, full marks, a proper Vacuflush loo with room to sit down.

Forward is a V-berth with dinette that can seat four people, with plenty of storage underneath. The padded facias for the sidepockets provide useful backrests when you're seated. You can remove the table top, take out the base, relocate the table, add cushions and infill section, and create the second double berth.

You will have to sleep athwartships on the obtuse forward berth, though it seemed comfortable enough.

The cabin, with standing room and a lockable bifold door, galley and dinette, and accommodation for at least a couple, works well for overnighting, if not for week-ends away.

DRIVING STATIONS
Full marks for the helm set-up with adjustable tilt-steering, Faria gauges, waterproof switch panels and room for mounting a small depth sounder and perhaps a GPS.

The throttle fell nicely to hand, the windscreen was high enough to see over when seated, and the 260hp MerCruiser powerplant certainly answered the call.

Although we tackled nothing more than river conditions, the hull has a deep forefoot and 20° of deadrise to cut through bay and harbour chop. According to the Faria gauge, top speed was around 40kt, while comfortable cruising slotted in at close to 30kt.

The 5.7lt petrol V-eight was matched to an Alpha One single-prop leg and 19-inch alloy prop. The trim tabs help keep the boat on an even keel. Crosswind, the boat's high sides make it lean over as most deep-vee hulls do. With a big passenger load, the tabs will also help acceleration.

Cruising along the Georges River was like touring in a Cadillac on Pacific 101. There was plenty to see: pretty houses, gum tree-clad hills, powerlines, a derelict waterfront home, men fishing in tinnies, marinas filled with boats, the Como Bridge, sweeping bends and tight channels all the way to Lugarno.

Had we more time, I would have done an about turn and toured Towra, taken a swim, set-up lunch in the cockpit, played something sexy like Cafe del Mar on the stereo, flicked the freeloaders at the marina, and spent the night anchored in a quiet bay with a bottle of bubbly and my favourite crew.

More than anything, the Martinique 2400 is a lifestyle boat. It will appeal to up-and-coming cruiser owners, retiring couples looking to downsize, a young family, or a salty bachelor keen to get mobile. Anyone can drive it and, at $98,900, it won't break the bank either...