Friday 22 June 2012

Swift Trawlers continued

Easy to dock with standard bow and stern thrusters. So easy in fact that the term child's play comes to mind. The seasoned mariner may balk at such mod cons but the reality is that features like this make everyone a better ship handeler and the end result is increased control and a way wayyyyyy lower stress level on board for all crew members. A large fly bridge lends itself to great visibility underway and a fantastic spot to survey the the scene at anchor.

Quick thoughts on a Seaswirl 29...




The day starts in Pedder Bay, the sun is present but not intense, a bank of fog hovers offshore. A quick coffee and off we go. The mission: quick delivery to Tsehum harbour. She's 30 feet overall, black hull, full pilothouse with whats known as an "Alaskan bulkhead", Raymarine plotter and radar and twin Volvo Penta 5.7s. Nice proven power, well suited to the boat, at 260 hp a side and duo prop drives she moves briskly and maneuvers nicely.  A small tide induced chop and a few wakes are nothing to test the 2901's capabilities, but they are enough to confirm that there are no rattles or odd noises present after 6 years of use...more than adequate build quality for Pacific Northwest waters in my opinion. Trimmed down and 2800 RPM gives me 22 knots, 3200 RPM gives me 25 knots and 3600 shows 31 knots on the plotter. Quick enough and economical to run, I had no need to try her flat out. The standout feature was definitely the pilothouse, in this climate and indeed as I write this, a little weather protection goes a long way. Its a season extender and provides refuge for everyone. The interior is basic and down below there is room for 4 to overnight and an enclosed head. A diesel furnace provides the off season heat and you provide the destination. 3.5 stars out of 5 in her class.

Thursday 7 June 2012

Show season is finally over....cruising season is just around the corner

Well, we made it through another grueling Boat Show season. Blessed this year with more liquid sunshine than the form we normally crave, we have high hopes for a warm Pacific Northwest summer. Rain in Vancouver, rain in Nanaimo, only Victoria came through for the " home game" with an almost solid 3 days of rays from above. Attendance seems up this year which is good,a gentle easing in the right direction for both sales and the boating community in general. Still, we would like to see more families getting involved in waterborne activities. There seems to be a lot of trawler types seeking trawlers these days, the majority looking for newer well equipped, upscale units. We recently had our hands on one of Beneteau's new Swift Trawler 34. I loved it... More than anyone else in the office perhaps. Why? Because its the right size for me. I don't need bigger and I don't want smaller, for now at least( maybe that will change in the coming years). I love the power package and she's just so happy tooling along at 8 knots or flat out at 20. Thanks in part to electronic engine controls and the slightly lumpy lope of the Cummins 435 inline 6, it seems as though Beneteau picked the perfect power for this boat. Space in great inside and out, design details are the result of contemporary thinking on the part of french( read: extremely progressive marine industry in design and technology).