Grand Banks 43 Eastbay SE

 

Issue: March 2005
Manufacturer: Grand Banks

Grand Banks 43 Eastbay Saloon Express may be the little sister of the GB 49 Express Cruiser, but as the name implies she is fast, comfortable, easy to drive and has all of the sea-keeping capabilities of the Grand Banks deep-vee hull. While the 49 SE is more likely to be owned by a mature or retired couple, the 43 SE is, quite obviously, aimed at a younger market. Bill Alle, who with his father, Adrian, operates Grand Banks Yachts Australia on the Gold Coast and distribute these legendary craft in Australia, are quite unashamed of the fact that he has a soft spot for the 43 SE. In a previous article I mentioned that the Grand Banks 49 was like stepping up to a Mercedes SLK from a domestic brand of motorcar.

Well, the 43 could be likened to stepping up to a C-series Mercedes. Built in the Grand Bank?s Malaysia factory, the Eastbay Express Cruisers don?t follow the traditional displacement hulls of the Classic and Europa trawler-style craft that people associate with Grand Banks. The Grand Banks Eastbay series are built on a modified deep-vee hull designed by noted American designer C. Raymond Hunt, who has a reputation for designing hull forms that are smooth, give a dry ride and a good turn of speed. The hull features a flared bow with a stepped chine and a short keel to add stability and tunnels have been introduced to raise the propeller shaft by about three degrees.

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In a seaway the flared bow literally flings the water away. Although, we pushed the limits by taking the swell head-on as we drove out through the Southport Seaway. We took a fair amount of water over the windscreen, but the big windscreen wipers took care of that and the boat didn?t even flinch. Outside it was a lumpy day and this was where the sea-keeping capabilities of the hull came to the fore. At 14,969kg the 43 is a relatively heavy boat and with the narrow 4.01m beam it has a soft motion through the water, there was certainly no crashing and banging in the 2m swell.

It would take some exceptionally bad weather to cause the boat any concern or to frighten the passengers. Although it is designed for cruising, the 43?s accommodation focus is on the main saloon and entertaining. There is the usual lounge on the port side, but the foldout table with its fiddle rails is more like one found on a yacht. It has bottle storage underneath and two compartments in the centre where salt and pepper and the odd bottle of tomato sauce can be stored. Turn the lids over and there are four bottle holders set in the lids. The height of luxury is the large armchair in the starboard side aft corner.

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