New Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490 | Hinckley Sport Boat 40x | Tiara Sport 38 LS - 01/17/20
BoatTEST Newsletter January 17, 2020
New Captain's Report
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490:
Well-Equipped for Short-Handed Sailing
The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490 has an uncluttered deck balancing safety and efficiency with performance. With her full-length hull chine, generous beam, and L-shaped iron keel, she provides stability in most sea conditions. Our test captain reports that her twin spade rudders provide low helm load – no fighting thanks to a well-balanced rig. Her cockpit-lead rigging, combined with the aid of optional electric winches, make her easily sailed short-handed. With the available aft Bimini and forward dodger, she provides full protection from spray and sun when needed. More...
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Editor's Report
Hinckley Yachts Sport Boat 40x:
Luxury-Grade Express w/Outboard Power
Hinckley Yachts Sport Boat 40x
Luxury-grade outboard-powered express and dayboats have been on a roll in recent years, thanks in part to production of large, dependable and fuel-efficient outboards. The new Hinckley Yachts Sport Boat 40x is a case in point. She’s a Downeast design riding on a Hunt hull with a 23-degree deadrise. Purpose-built for a rugged offshore environment from epoxy infused carbon-fiber and Kevlar, the 40x was designed specifically for outboard power and is not a warmed-over sterndrive or inboard boat. She comes standard with three 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards but can be upgraded to higher horsepower and even twin Seven Marine outboards. The cabin has sleeping accommodations for four with the conversion of the forward settee into a berth. More...
Test Video
Tiara Sport 38 LS:
Asymmetrical CC w/Twin 527-hp
Seven Marine Outboards
The Tiara Sport 38 LS is a center console with an asymmetrical design that includes a walkway to the bow only on the starboard side, allowing added space belowdecks to provide weekending accommodations for two. Powered with two Seven Marine 527s with twin counter-rotating propellers, she got on plane in just 5.0 seconds, which is impressive for a package weighing over 22,000 lbs. (10,018 kg). The supercharged engines, now owned and warrantied by Volvo Penta, pushed her to a top speed of 54.6 mph. The V8 outboards were also surprisingly quiet. At a best cruise of 3500 rpm and 29.4 mph, we recorded only 82 dBa and only 88 dBa at WOT. She got 0.8 nmpg at this speed for a range of about 242 NM with the 331-gallon (1,253 L) fuel capacity. More...
Test Video
Fleming Yachts 55:
Long-Range Cruising Classic
w/Premium Woodworking
The Fleming 55 is a true cruising classic. She’s now well over 30 years old and shows no sign of aging. That's longer than the venerable Bertram 31 was in production, and she still turns heads any time she enters a harbor. Perhaps her most distinguishing feature is her profile, with high flared bow, raked stem, molded-in faux planking, her raised pilothouse and Portuguese bridge. That’s from the outside — step inside anywhere from the bridge to any one of the three staterooms, including the master at the bow seen here, and you’re likely to be amazed at the amount of teak and the quality of the woodworking. Fleming buys teak logs, ages the wood, and does all of its own mill work, ensuring perfection in fit-and-finish. More...
Test Video
Everglades 335CC:
Fully-Loaded Premium Class CC
We don’t often see Pompanette Platinum seats anywhere outside the flying bridge of a big sportfisher, but these premium diamond-stitched and bolstered seats are standard equipment on the Everglades 335CC, a mark of the quality built into the package. The dash has plenty of space for the twin 16” (40.64 cm) Garmin GPSMap XSV screens, which flank the centrally-positioned 7” (17.78 cm) Yamaha Helm Master display. Angled footrests are covered in anti-fatigue foam as is the deck. Hatches in the seat base open a tilt-out storage tray and access to the circuit breakers. The three-panel safety glass windshield provides good wind and spray protection, and the center panel lowers at the touch of a switch to maximize air flow. The oversized hardtop is also standard, and an optional tower gives the captain a bird’s eye view of the water. More...
Correction
IMO Emissions
Requirements Redux
On Wednesday, we reported that the IMO emission standards that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021 applied to boats with an LOA of 24 meters (78.74’), which was incorrect – rather it applies to the LWL (load waterline) instead. This makes a big difference as yachts this size can have a large bow or even bow and stern overhang. We apologize for the mistake.
Happily, builders of large motoryachts have told us it is nevertheless business as usual, and they will make provision for the cumbersome and expensive equipment required. So customers should know that their dream motoryacht can still be built.
This is all good news, of course, but nevertheless, it is clear that the international body promulgating these emission requirements before engine makers have a practical system to implement them has been ill-considered. The segment of the yacht building industry from 80’ to 130’ is a delicate one, employing thousands of people worldwide. A delay in the implementation of the new standards is the prudent course to take. Only a couple hundred of these yachts are built each year, and whatever emissions they might produce are infinitesimal in the large scheme of things.
Pat Healy, CEO of Viking Yachts, is leading the effort to delay the implementation of the new IMO standards. “It’s a jobs issue,” he says, much like the 1990 10% luxury tax. We urge concerned parties to contact him with support c/o [email protected].
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