WINTER 2011
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now!
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now!
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
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Room with a view
WORDS: IAN MACRAE
PHOTOS: ALEX MARTIN
Here's the best value on-water apartment around.
Elsewhere in the magazine I called a $170,000 Whittley 2800 Cruiser a good value-for-money "caravan on water". And she is, considering what you get for your buck from that 28ft trailable boat. But at only $800,000, the Beneteau Swift Trawler 42 has to be the best value "on-water apartment" around. Where else in Sydney could you get luxurious apartment-sized accommodation, with a water view you can change daily for less than one million dollars?
Space saving design
An LOA of 44ft 6in and a beam of 13ft 7in have given the boat's designers plenty of space to play with and they haven't wasted any of it. The clever design starts in the aft cockpit where all underfloor crevices are used for storage. There are twin fish boxes, a lazarette and a massive central locker that even with the Onan generator installed still has plenty of room for a swag of extra gear.
The cockpit's teak deck adds to the luxurious feel of this vessel, as do the wide, easy-to-climb, teak stairs leading to the flybridge and high, teak cockpit handrails. But the biggest plus for this area are the port and starboard bulwark doors and flybridge overhang that enclose the aft cockpit from the elements and make it a useable area even in poor weather.
read on below advertisement
But it's when you venture into the traditional main saloon and become immersed in the smell of fine leather and surrounded by all that quality joinery and dark timbers that you will begin to appreciate the finer things in life. (However, I did find one small flaw in the saloon roof grab rail. The screws holding it in place are countersunk, but the screw heads need to be plugged, so the workmanship throughout the entire boat is on par).
This saloon may be traditional in design and oozes old world charm, a bit like a comfy gentlemen's club, but it offers modern functionality, has all the mod cons and quickly makes passengers feel at home when they step onboard. The helm is a beautiful wooden affair, the dual skipper's seat is adjustable, the dash features comprehensive instrumentation, including a Raymarine E120 Chartplotter, and all-round visibility from this lower helm station is excellent.
There's ample storage in the handcrafted cabinets and lockers to port and a stylish U-shaped lounge that converts into a double bed to starboard. But it's the galley that's a stand out. Again using clever design, there's a skipper's door on both sides of the saloon, but the port door is right in the middle of the galley. So what would normally be a single purpose space now has a dual role. The galley has a fridge/freezer, dual sinks with mixer tap, plenty of bench space and a microwave oven. Used in conjunction with a rail-mounted barbeque in the cockpit and entertaining would be a breeze.
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PHOTOS: ALEX MARTIN
Here's the best value on-water apartment around.
Elsewhere in the magazine I called a $170,000 Whittley 2800 Cruiser a good value-for-money "caravan on water". And she is, considering what you get for your buck from that 28ft trailable boat. But at only $800,000, the Beneteau Swift Trawler 42 has to be the best value "on-water apartment" around. Where else in Sydney could you get luxurious apartment-sized accommodation, with a water view you can change daily for less than one million dollars?
Space saving design
An LOA of 44ft 6in and a beam of 13ft 7in have given the boat's designers plenty of space to play with and they haven't wasted any of it. The clever design starts in the aft cockpit where all underfloor crevices are used for storage. There are twin fish boxes, a lazarette and a massive central locker that even with the Onan generator installed still has plenty of room for a swag of extra gear.
The cockpit's teak deck adds to the luxurious feel of this vessel, as do the wide, easy-to-climb, teak stairs leading to the flybridge and high, teak cockpit handrails. But the biggest plus for this area are the port and starboard bulwark doors and flybridge overhang that enclose the aft cockpit from the elements and make it a useable area even in poor weather.
read on below advertisement
But it's when you venture into the traditional main saloon and become immersed in the smell of fine leather and surrounded by all that quality joinery and dark timbers that you will begin to appreciate the finer things in life. (However, I did find one small flaw in the saloon roof grab rail. The screws holding it in place are countersunk, but the screw heads need to be plugged, so the workmanship throughout the entire boat is on par).
This saloon may be traditional in design and oozes old world charm, a bit like a comfy gentlemen's club, but it offers modern functionality, has all the mod cons and quickly makes passengers feel at home when they step onboard. The helm is a beautiful wooden affair, the dual skipper's seat is adjustable, the dash features comprehensive instrumentation, including a Raymarine E120 Chartplotter, and all-round visibility from this lower helm station is excellent.
There's ample storage in the handcrafted cabinets and lockers to port and a stylish U-shaped lounge that converts into a double bed to starboard. But it's the galley that's a stand out. Again using clever design, there's a skipper's door on both sides of the saloon, but the port door is right in the middle of the galley. So what would normally be a single purpose space now has a dual role. The galley has a fridge/freezer, dual sinks with mixer tap, plenty of bench space and a microwave oven. Used in conjunction with a rail-mounted barbeque in the cockpit and entertaining would be a breeze.
next page »
« go back