Sports Boat & RIB November preview

ContentsNOVEMBER 2009

SB&RIB I �

31The best new boats of 2010

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09 Word from the waterLatest news from around the UK coast

15 Race chatThe endurance race of the year brings surprising results . . .

17 Cutting edge kitEight more boat accessories to tease your winter wish list

20 Forum FocusThe readers share their hard-earned boating lessons

22 Pub watchAll aboard the Mayflower in Lymington

25 Club of the monthWakeboarding at Box End in Bedford

29 RYA answers backWhat can be done to clean up our beaches?

31 Best new boats for 2010A 14-page feature packed with the cream of the crop from the Southampton Boat Show

68 All about AngleseyPart one of a two-part mini series exploring north Wales as a boating destination

75 Pick the perfect propWhether you want bottom end grunt, top end pace or better economy, picking the right prop is the most important upgrade you can make

80 Skipper’s tipsPerfecting the art of single-handed helming

85 Electronic expert Part one of our idiot’s guide to help you pick the right gizmos . . .

89 The Cranchi conceptThe Italian sports cruiser specialist comes under the spotlight

InsIde . . .

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68All aboard for undiscovered Anglesey

48 Sealegs 7.1All hail Sealegs’ new and improved amphibious flagship

55 Finnmaster 59SCCut price class from the Finnish Walkaround specialist

61 Military HalmaticJust how good is the new Special Boat Service RIB . . .

TesTed . . .

www.sportsboat.co.uk

p21: ‘When we

returned, the

front of our boat

was hanging

three feet above

the water’

p36: ‘It’s got a

forefoot like a

pelican’s chin

and more load

carrying capacity

than a B52’

p50: ‘While

some people

swear by

aluminium,

others just

swear at it’

p72: ‘Be more

respectful to

that man in the

kayak. He might

just work for

Special Forces’

Inside this month’s magazine . . .

news

After surviving 7,000 miles of open ocean, the Brown brothers stepped off their tiny fishing boat at Limehouse Marina in London disarmingly unsurprised by their success. Thousands of experts had said it was impossible and yet in making the trip from Tampa to London, they had also made history by setting several world records, including the smallest powerboat to cross the Atlantic, the first flats boat to cross the Atlantic and the longest ocean voyage in a flats boat.

A flats boat is, by definition, designed to run with the engine down in less than a foot of water. This particular craft, built by Ralph and Robert Brown at ‘Dream Boats’, their small boat building business in Hudson, Florida, is a tunnel-hulled catamaran filled with closed cell foam, which can run in just four to six inches of water. Called the ‘Intruder’, it is just 21-feet in length and powered by a single Suzuki 115hp outboard, with a 9.9hp auxiliary engine as an emergency backup.

What really separates this boat from other craft that have attempted the trip, however, is the fact that it has no cabin for shelter, no keel for stability, no sail for extra propulsion and no escort or support boat to carry fuel and supplies or to help out in an emergency. It is essentially a lake boat and yet it has taken on an ocean.

The two men were completely exposed to the elements for the entire voyage. During that time, they survived massive waves from the remnants of two hurricanes, as well as being slammed into rocks by gale force winds. they came close to running out of both fuel and money and they narrowly avoided being ‘run over’ by an iceberg in Greenland. Despite all the tribulations, they refused to be rescued and, although the boat retained its seaworthiness the attached equipment literally fell apart from the combined impact of an estimated 140,000 slams during the 7,000-mile crossing.

The voyage was made in honour of John Harvey, George Holmes, and Dewey Johnson, three fallen US Marines who died in ex-Marine Ralph Brown’s place during the ill-fated Operation Eagle Claw in Iran in 1980. The success of the voyage fulfils Ralph’s 29-year promise to honour their sacrifice and will be used to kick off the ‘Do More’ Campaign in raising funds for wounded hero foundations in the UK, Canada, and America.

To see some of the terrifying conditions they experienced, visit www.CrossTheAtlantic.com and watch them barefoot among the icebergs. It’s such an epic achievement, it beggars belief. We will give you more info on this astonishing boat the moment extra details emerge . . .

Mental Men in a Magic boat

Apparently, safety at sea is not just about pre-start checks and navigational acumen. It’s also about avoiding the vast array of superstitious pitfalls that may jeopardise your fortunes at sea. They go from fairly obvious mistakes like renaming your boat and throwing stones into the water, to more obscure harbingers of doom like bringing a banana on board, letting a dog near your fishing tackle or wearing the clothes of a dead sailor. Given the sheer variety of potential pitfalls, it is good to see that the Burnham on Crouch RNLI has hedged its bets by recruiting the services of Canon Lionel Webber, Chaplain to Burnham Life Boat. He gave the boat a thoroughly good blessing before the happily reassured lifeboat crew led him away from the craft. Well you wouldn’t want to invoke that other famous nautical superstition would you. Apparently, allowing a priest on board your boat is ruinously bad luck for the dedicated seafarer.

If you want to bless your boat life, look out next month for a sideways glance at the long and bizarre history of superstitions at sea . . .

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Mixed bleSSingS

Mr Henri, one of the best known figures in the marine industry, founder of Henri Lloyd in 1963, and still an Honorary Life President, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Boating Business/ Marine Trade Association Awards evening. His son Paul, currently Chairman of National Boat Shows and joint CEO of Henri Lloyd, accepted the award on behalf of his father, who was unable to attend due to other commitments.

Mr Henri was born in 1925 in Brodnica, Poland. He came to England as a Polish soldier after serving with the British 8th Army in Italy. At the end of the war Mr Henri elected to live in England where he studied textiles. This led to a career in clothing factory management and, as a keen sailor, he was quick to spot the potential the newly developed Bri-Nylon fabric could have in the boating market. His employer rejected his idea so he decided to establish his own company and develop the opportunity. Since then Mr Henri’s entrepreneurial spirit has led to the development of a number of design firsts which are now accepted as the industry standard.www.henrilloyd.co.uk

Hooray

Henri

Image by Graeme Sweeney, Marine Images

Apparently, 21 feet and 115 hp is all you need for a trans-Atlantic voyage . . .

The Burnham on Crouch RNLI enjoys a blessing from Canon Lionel Webber

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kit

Fish Finder Standard Horizon’s upgraded FF525 black box fish finder is designed to turn your plotter into a highly accurate echo sounder. The unit, which replaces the FF520, features improved waterproofing and shock resistance along with a higher power output for deep-water penetration. A single cable connects the module to the plotter, with another cable to the transducer, so it is easy to install without specialist help. The transducer, sold separately, can be tailored to various hull shapes and, rather cleverly, the unit’s ‘Transducer ID’ software allows the plotter to automatically optimise itself for the best results. Once tuned, fish are represented either as icons or as coloured echoes. When operating at 200 kHz, it has a range of up to 350 metres but for much deeper water, the 50 kHz frequency can give 1,200 metres of penetration, making it a handy nav aid as well as a potent fishing tool.

Price: £189.95 (transducers from £139.95) 01962 866667 www.standardhorizon.co.uk

Loud and cLear Digital Yacht has launched a new dual channel AIS receiver called the AIS400. AIS receivers pick up signals from any vessel equipped with an AIS Class A or B transponder and send the vessel’s identity, position, course and speed over VHF frequencies. Hook up an AIS receiver to a compatible plotter and you’ll see an overlay of nearby targets typically at ranges of between 20 and 30NM. It’s a bit like adding radar to your chart plotter with the added bonus of positive identification and it’s also a hell of a lot of fun. The AIS400 has connections for both a regular chart plotter via NMEA and a USB connection for a PC-based plotter system. It also incorporates its own GPS receiver, which means it can act as a GPS sensor and positional info can be combined with the AIS target data onto the USB and NMEA outputs. For £150 extra, you can even upgrade to a full-function Class B transponder, which means it will send data too. Nice . . .

Price: £349.99 01179 554474www.digitalyacht.co.uk

winter wear Apparently, Bollé is the official supplier to our Olympic Sailing Team, so they take their marine collection of sunglasses very seriously. These latest bins feature anti-glare lenses with a hydrophobic treatment that repels water, fights smudging and resists contaminants. Being polarised, they also do that most essential job of tackling aggressive light bouncing off the water’s surface. There are two lens colours (Offshore Blue or Inland Gold) and both are made of extremely tough and durable polycarbonate to protect against impacts as well as harmful UV rays. They also come with a floating neck strap, which is ideal, but there are plenty of alternatives around for far less money than this.

Price: £9302083 914700 / www.bolle.com

in the bag OverBoard, a builder of waterproof travel and sports gear, as well as official supplier to the RNLI, has launched a new waterproof camera case. It has transparent PVC from front to back that enables digital camera users to take shots when in and around the water and then view the screen without compromising the seal. The PVC window also covers the top of the camera, making the on/off and capture buttons easier to access. The case is submersible to depths of up to six metres, which makes it pretty good for recreational snappers. The slide-clip seal system also protects the camera from dust, sand and dirt and makes it buoyant if accidentally dropped over the side. Well priced too.

Price: £14.99www.over-board.com

As a boat tester I became intimately acquainted with the Mayflower Pub, largely on account of its location. Positioned right next to a slipway, a marina, a yacht club and the RNLI

station, and only a few hundred yards south of the busy waterfront hub with its town slip, staying at the Mayflower always meant I could drag my weary bones out of bed at about two minutes to ten and be down on the pontoons, ready to go at ten o’clock sharp.

In fact, more often than not, a decent lie-in would be useful, because a combination of the beer, the food and the generosity of the welcome, both from the staff and the local drinkers, would usually keep me up way longer than I intended.

But happily, both the accommodation and the breakfasts here are pretty good. Upstairs are six large en-suite rooms, all of them clean, spacious and pleasant feeling. Only some of them come with sea views and if you’re visiting at the weekend they will only accept

a two-night booking, which can be a hellish annoyance for the casual visitor but even so, you get a really impressive English brekkie to help you get over the night before and prices are just about decent too. A double room costs £85 per night, a twin costs about the same and a family room can be yours for £100 a night. True, it’s not as affordable as it was a couple of years back but in fairness very few things are . . .

Facilities

Apart from its ideal position by the Lymington River, one of this pub’s greatest assets is its garden. It’s a pretty vast patch of land with picnic tables, a large play area to keep the kids entertained and plenty of parking for guests. Dogs are welcome too and on sultry summer evenings,

the entire place fills up with a very mixed clientele, creating a really good buzz.

There remains, however, a distinctly yottie vibe to this place, with dramatic images on every wall, depicting ocean going yachts pounding through vast oceanic swells. In fact, you get the distinct impression that most of the people in here

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Pub watchIn the western reaches of the Solent, at the quiet end of Lymington, sits a pub famous among the sailing fraternity. Alex Smith heads for the Mayflower at Lymington.

There’s a bright and breezy atmosphere to the place but it still feels more like a pub than a wine bar

Box End ParkI

n last month’s issue we looked at the ever-growing popularity of Cable Skiing and Wakeboarding and how this particular form of getting out on the water is taking over the watersports world. When you think about it, it’s a pretty difficult thing to argue with, especially when you consider the overall cost involved in getting out behind a boat. There’s the fuel, plus the driver, the location and the logistics

of getting it all to come together at the right time. Compared to turning up for an hour or two on a cable, it’s a pretty labour intensive thing. Even so, you are never going to fully convert me from boat to cable because, to be honest there’s really nothing to match it. So for those of you who can’t get enough of being behind the wheel on the open seas or boosting something large off the wake, perhaps the only option left is to find somewhere that offers the best of both worlds.

Fresh from the cable versus boat debate, Matt Crowhurst attempts to find a venue that can satisfy both parties . . .

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club of the month

BOX END PARK

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The SouThamPTon

20

after the first day of the 2009 Southampton Boat Show, I got an email from a keen reader who claimed to have been disappointed by

the absence of some big name brands. I strolled around the next day, thinking about what he had said and I had to concede that, in comparison to previous years, some of the much loved names and faces had not returned to the stands where we had grown accustomed to seeing them, peddling their wares and chewing the cud.

It was a shame but it should not be blown out of proportion. The economic situation may have caused some dealers to be more selective about the places their boats appear but Southampton remains the UK’s most prominent on-water show, in the heartland of the country’s foremost boating region. Not only does it enjoy an ideal location but it also inhabits that crucial overlap between the end of summer boating and the start of the festive season, when people have both the inclination to spend money and the means to do so.

There’s no doubt that these things help create the buzz that makes the Southampton event so special. But the biggest draw of the show is the sheer scale of the product shift that it tends to attract. It’s an event set aside by many of the industry’s forward-thinking constructors as a place to launch their new products to an expectant public. For new boats, new ideas and new marine direction, it remains the only place to be. My aim then is to overlook the spattering of absentees and prove the doubters wrong by finding 20 genuinely exciting new craft to show us the shape of things to come in 2010 . . .

As the season draws to a sultry close, the Southampton Boat Show gives us new hope with a glimpse of things to come. Alex Smith hunts down the best new boats on the UK scene . . .

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RibcRaft 4.8As I amble down to the pontoons, the

first boat to catch my eye is a Ribcraft, presided over by a host of beaming Suzuki men. Now the Ribcraft 4.8 is small, I grant you, but it’s also an unfeasibly potent sea boat. It is essentially the same hull that in 2001 was used as a platform for the 1,600-mile Round Britain Challenge and, while it did a great job back then, the big difference today is the fact that it sports the new Suzuki DF60 four-stroke outboard on the transom. It’s a great match for this boat and, although it comes in at the top end of the recommended power spectrum, the Suzuki’s class-leading weight of just over 100kg keeps things beautifully balanced.

Build is first rate too, with everything from the hinges and latches to the wiring, the bolts, the stainless work and the deck configuration screaming out durability and permanence. True, there is nothing particularly ingenious about the layout. It consists of a simple jockey seat with a fuel tank secured beneath and a central helm console with space to move on both sides. But it’s beautifully, robustly and profoundly well built, to the point where, if anything, the rock solid five-year warranty seems slightly mean. The fact that it’s both British and affordable is just the icing on the cake. It’s a top class boat and a great way to begin . . .RibcRaft 4.8 SpecS

Length: 4.8 mBeam: 2.1 mWeight: 210 kgTube chambers: fiveCrew limit: sixCe Cat: CWarranty: five yearsPrice: Around £15,000www.ribcraft.co.uk

Suzuki’s new 60 sees it lead the way in lightweight midrange four-stroke outboards

Simplistic and solid, precisely as it should be

It’s as neat and tidy inside as out


UNDISCOVERED

ANGLESEYIn the first of a two-part mini-series, Simon Everett explores the delights of Anglesey in North Wales . . .

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With a pastime as weather-dependent as ours, the decision as to whether or not we go boating is often left in the lap of the Gods - and that’s especially

true if your stretch of coastline happens to face directly into a prevailing wind. There is one way of defeating the elements though and that’s with a well placed island. And if that island happens to have launching facilities in a location which is sheltered from the wind, almost regardless of the direction from which it decides to blow, that is pretty much the perfect solution. That place is Anglesey . . .

Anglesey is separated from the coast of north Wales by a narrow stretch of water known as the Menai Straight. Since time immemorial, this stretch of water has been a division between the island and the mainland. There used to be a crossing over the sands at low water. Then ferries were introduced as a means of crossing, one from Bangor and another towards Caernarfon. In the Industrial Revolution, however, Thomas Telford took the logical step of building a bridge across the Menai Straight and that same monument to the ingenuity of the Victorian engineers still stands today.

It’s certainly a landmark worth seeing in its own right but if you have a boat in tow you’re probably best off avoiding it,

as the lanes are quite narrow. The newer Brittania Bridge just down the road has much more space and is a far safer bet for a stress-free crossing.

Once on the island, your options are plentiful, both in terms of places to stay and cruising grounds to explore. The Menai Straight itself is well worth investigating in a boat and, being a sheltered stretch of water, even a south westerly gale shouldn’t cause you any more discomfort than a choppy day on the Solent. There are several places to visit along the straights, from hotels and pubs for a meal and a drink, to pretty towns and well preserved castles, which pay testament to the fractious history of the place.

The water itself, however, represents quite a testing piece of navigation. The tidal streams around Anglesey are quite peculiar and you do need to be aware of them, particularly in the Menai Straight where the tide and buoyage works in opposite directions from each end. It is quite bizarre, especially just off Caernarfon, where you will find a buoy rarely seen anywhere else in the world. It is marked ‘Change’ and it denotes the change in the buoyage direction. As you know, buoyage works in the direction of the main flood stream, but in the Menai Straight the main flood stream comes from both ends and this buoy denotes

where the switch of direction takes place. I told you it was an interesting place, but as long as you plan your trip and pay attention, it shouldn’t be difficult to keep yourself safe. quickly.

Orientation

Unless you come by boat from the north the Menai Straight is probably the first place you should take a look at. There are several boating orientated towns along the shores of the Menai, on both sides of the water. Bangor, Port Dinorwic and Caernarfon are on the mainland side, while Beaumaris and Menai Bridge nestle

CruISIng angleSey Part 1

Er, that will be a bit of a tidal stream then . . .

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SB&RIB I 55© Sports Boat & RIB magazine 2009

There’s something gratifyingly simple about an open sports boat. There’s none of the bulk or weight of a cabin. There’s no hard top to catch the wind, clutter the deck, wallow in the

turns or trap the engine noise. There are no tubes to inhibit internal space, drag on the surface or elevate the price. And there is far less in the way of GRP structure to separate you from the water. It’s just a hull with a deck, a console, a couple of seats and an engine on the back and, quite apart from enabling you to feel that bit more involved with the environment, there are at least three very desirable benefits to be gained from that . . .

Finnmaster 59SC

Open seasonThe 59 SC majors on style but is there substance beneath the swagger of Finnmaster’s latest open boat? Alex Smith finds out . . .

Never heard of fiNNmaster?

Oy Finn-Marin, the manufacturer of Finnmaster and Grandezza boats, was founded in 1990. The company has its headquarters in Kokkola in Finland, plus two manufacturing plants - one in Kokkola and one in Kalajoki. Their boats are designed to be fully inclusive family craft, easy to use and safe for kids with reassuring build and strong residuals. They look very much like traditional Scandinavian craft, many of them with aft anchors, step through bows, ready-rigged canvas covers and very classic, arguably conservative, lines and colourways. They are imported into mainland UK by Forth Yacht Marina in Grangemouth near Edinburgh.

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Picking the perfect propFinding the right prop is a very dark art but if you can get to grips with the basics, some light should begin to shine. John Cooke explains . . .

Nothing in the world attracts so many myths and old wives tales as the propeller. And yet it deserves so much better because this humble

chunk of metal is the very thing that enables us to do what we love. Without it, an engine is nothing but an an inanimate chunk of combustion - and that makes your boat no more than a floating lounge. But get yourself the perfect set up and the first time you drive it will feel like the first time you’ve ever driven your boat. Everything will snap into focus and finally, you will realise what you have been missing . . .

The three boating types

So how do you achieve that perfect set up and unlock the hidden potential in your boat? Well the first thing you need to do is decide what you need it for. There are essentially three basic groups of boaters - those who want cruising, those who want sport and those who want speed. With cruising you are looking for an all round package giving you economy and a prop that gives the boat easy handling. With a sport type prop you might want better acceleration for skiing and wakeboarding or for towing inflatables. In fact there are even props, like the High Five, that will make the back end of the boat hunker down in the water to generate a bigger wake for wakeboarding. And then there are the speed props, which should give you great economy when cruising and a long legged top end at Wide Open Throttle (WOT), but may sacrifice quite a lot in terms of low speed acceleration and be much harder work to drive.

The test process

If you know what kind of boating you want to do and you still think you can get more out of your boat, it is time to ask questions of other people with the same or very similar boat and engine packages.

Speed, sport and cruising are three very different pursuits requiring three very different props

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Mooring your own craft without assistance from your on board crew is a very useful skill to master. It gives you greater confidence in yourself and

allows you to relax when those on board are not as experienced as you might like. More to the point, the ability to go boating on your own opens up a whole new world of enjoyment. The chance to play around and improve your skills without being harangued by bored passengers is great but there are a couple of things you should consider . . .

Be safe

You should always think safety first, but if you want to go boating on your own, you have to be even more rigorous with that principle. If something goes wrong, who will raise the alarm? If you have a mechanical problem, who will assist?

With this in mind, you need to be pretty

much self-reliant, so some understanding of how the boat works and what you can and can’t fix is essential. Talk to most delivery skippers who move boats around professionally and you will discover that they tend to move craft as large as 50 feet single-handed because the going rate for the job rarely funds any additional crew. That tends to mean they have all had some fairly close shaves with difficult situations they wish they had avoided. For the average non-professional, therefore, getting breakdown cover from one of the excellent 24-hour recovery services like Sea Start is also a very good idea indeed . . .

Prepare yourself properly

Solo boating can be great fun if approached correctly and the first step is to make sure you have the right kit. Wear a lifejacket and a kill cord, make sure you know where your safety gear is stowed and

be certain that your boat is mechanically sound. As is always good habit, let someone know where you are going and when you will be back, pick a good forecast and always call it off if you’re not sure about conditions.

Question yourself about whether you really have the experience and knowledge to go out on your own and if the answer is no, do something about it. And make sure you double-check your insurance policy. While some will cover you for solo boating, not all companies are happy with operation of a boat either alone or at night.

Plan every manoeuvre

As with all enjoyable, stress-free boating, the key is to plan everything you do. Work out what the wind is up to and what effect the stream is having on your boat. Assess the overall movement of your craft and think about where the danger is coming from in your proposed manoeuvre.


GoinG solo . . .As the weather gets cooler and the evenings draw in, chances are you may find yourself required to enjoy your hobby on your own. Don’t worry. With a little forethought, going solo can be just as gratifying for the keen skipper. sue Baggaley reports.

No part of the marine world develops with greater speed or confuses with greater ease than that of electronics. Here, in the first of a two-part series, Craig Barnett provides the simple man’s guide to the latest state of play . . .

ElEctronics ovErviEw plottErs, pilots and playing it safE

Now we all know that there is no replacement for the paper chart and that all skippers should maintain a good working knowledge of

them. In fact, seasoned salties will often tell you that electronic chart plotters and GPS should only be used as back-ups, because paper and a pencil will never suffer from power failures. However, in an age where convenience rules, we often find ourselves sliding over to our electronic gizmos to plot our course with buttons . . .

Modern plotters

Chart plotters provide an electronic chart display and when integrated with your GPS are able to log your past and present positions without fuss or innacuracy. They can also process and display information received from a number of other inputs like radar, fish finders/sounders, AIS, instruments and Navtex to provide a fully integrated system. When plotting your course it is also possible to input waypoints directly onto your chart plotter, avoiding the possibility of human error when transcribing a course plotted on a paper chart into your GPS.

Most plotters now work on charts stored on small memory devices, like the flashcards used in digital cameras. This means you can buy charts separately for the area of water you are intending to cruise.

To create waypoints on the chart plotter, you simply zoom in and click the cursor on the position you would like to mark as a waypoint – the latitude and longitude are then stored. The course will then be drawn on the chart and enabling you to see a legend of the boat pointing along that heading.

It’s not all positive. While a display screen and small flash drives save a lot of paper, no screen is as big as a real chart, so

electronic navigation does involve a lot of zooming in and out. For this reason sailors sometimes navigate on paper charts, using a smaller display to visually remind them of their position.

Even so, electronic chart plotters are obviously very convenient at night, when visual points of reference are reduced in number and sometimes confused in nature and when the information can be easily read on a backlit screen.

Chart formats

Digital charts come in two formats - raster and vector. While raster charts are flat electronic copies of their paper equivalents, the vector versions are more intelligent and comprise a number of layers that can

be turned on and off independently. When sailing at night, some charts will flash the navigation lights within eyesight in the same sequence to aid identification. Equally, if you are not sailing at night, all light navigation symbols can be switched off to reduce ‘clutter’.

Another advantage of chart plotters and electronic charts is that updating and correcting is far easier. Modern electronic charts are having more information added all the time. Many now provide satellite

images that can be laid over the traditional chart, adding in not just photographs, but also 3D displays of landmarks, geography and bathometric 3D displays of the seabed. Some sophisticated systems even allow you to complete a video-quality ‘fly through’ of your approach to an unfamiliar marina, displaying features, marks, buildings and landmarks in relation to your approach. It’s a truly stunning thing to behold.

Obviously the more you spend the more sophisticated the system but be aware that not all cartography is transferable between manufacturers – most choose to work with one chart supplier. Check which style of chart you like and only then select your chart plotter. Also make sure you have demonstrations on the models you are considering. Try scrolling around quickly and check to see how quickly the map re-draws, as a sluggish update speed can be impossibly aggravating on a fast boat.

How about a pilot?

How much would you pay to have a crewmember on board who would take the wheel without complaint, allowing you to relax and enjoy your time on the water that bit more? How much would it cost for a crewmember that is always on call, never tires, constantly learns how to improve

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A Redbay RIB at the Southampton Boat Show operates as a Garmin testing platform for (among other things) Autopilot


even if you’ve never actually seen a Cranchi, a browse of their literature is a fairly loin quivering experience. The ‘Collezione 2010’ is

a wondrous volume running to 200 pages and weighing in at more than a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon. With photography to make you weep, models that could grace the pages of Vogue, scenes of Lake Como’s ultra-exclusive lifestyle

and any number of boats to which you can happily aspire, it’s exactly how a brochure should be.

Cranchi (pronounced ‘Crankie’) has been hand-crafting boats since 1870. Initially established to build wooden commercial craft to ply the waters of Lake Como, this family-owned company rapidly gained a reputation for both style and functionality which persists to this day. As road and rail transport usurped

waterborne commerce, a century ago, Cranchi turned its attentions to leisure craft and, being Italian, these were as beautiful as they were fast.

The introduction of GRP moulding in the 1960s provided Cranchi’s designers with the opportunity to develop new and adventurous styling concepts and now, under its fifth generation of family management, Cranchi is arguably Italy’s most prolific boat builder with

The Cranchi storyOnly a boater who has spent his life paddling a coracle in a remote Amazonian commune could be unaware of Cranchi. But just in case that’s you, Irving Stewart reports on the state of play at the illustrious Italian yard . . .

Range RevIew

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Sports Boat & RIB November preview