Cruisers Yachts’ New 460 SC Aft Cabin Has 6’4” Headroom!
When we first entered the aft cabin
of Cruisers Yachts’ 520 earlier this year we thought…“Now this is a real yacht.”
Amazingly the Wisconsin builders’ designers have done it again, this time in a 46’
boat that we think may change the way express cruisers in the mid-40s are built
not only in the U.S., but all over the planet. This one important design breakthrough
catapults the new 460 SC into a category of an ideal cruising boat for two baby-boom
couples. And now one of those adult couples doesn’t have to get down on their hands
and knees or crouch into the aft cabin. This is simply a huge advance in a popular-sized
boat.
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Cruisers Yachts is flinging down the gauntlet
and we suspect this is the start of something very big in the mid-40s range.
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aft cabin will have full 6’6” headroom in their huge aft stateroom.
Set to officially debut at the Cruisers Yachts dealer meeting in July, 2009, these
special artist renderings of the new Cruisers Yachts 460 Sports Coupe are the first
to be published. By looking closely at the drawings you can see how Cruisers Yacht
engineers have managed to get 6’4” headroom from the forward entrance into the stateroom
right through to the head and shower, along the foot of the queen bed and about
halfway up both the port and starboard sides of the bed. Headroom is about 5’9”
we’re told from the mid-point of the bed aft. Nevertheless, this is a huge accomplishment
in a boat of this size.
Surprisingly, this headroom was accomplished without raising the profile of the
boat more than a couple of inches, say the builder’s spokesman. As you can see from
the drawings published here, the new design avoids what we call the “the pregnant
guppy” look that might have appeared had the deck been raised 6” to 8.” Cruisers
Yachts’ use of a colored hull, large portlights, and horizontal lines that break
up the hull sides gives both their older boats and this new 460 pleasing lines.
How Did They Do it?
The designers raised the bridge deck 6” along the port side under the bench seating,
thus giving the 6”4” headroom – something that builders having been doing for years.
The crucial part was lowering the master stateroom’s sole 4” around the foot and
to mid-way toward the head. Cruisers’ engineers cut down the height of the stringers
in this area and doubled them up to keep the strength required.
IPS Helps Make the Difference
It is the IPS system which has made the all-important aft cabin the fore-and-aft
length that it is. Conventionally-powered boats of this size would be inboard straight
drives. The IPS system allows the engines to be moved much farther aft, and even
with V-drives Cruisers’ has picked up 18” to 22” of interior fore-and-aft space.
This is a huge amount in a boat of this size and some of that room has been distributed
to the forward cabin, making it a foot or so larger than it otherwise would have
been with conventional drives. Volvo-Penta’s IPS propulsion system will be available
in both diesel and gas options, according to the builder. Standard power is the
370-hp IPS 500 diesel x2.
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fixtures on the bridge deck creates headroom below where it is needed. Look
carefully.
“The striking exterior profile of the new 460 SC will make her look just as grand
on the water as her luxury sister vessel, the 520 SC”, says Jon Viestenz, product
manager for Cruisers Yachts. “Our engineering team truly held nothing back when
it came to designing the 460 SC. In fact, amenities like the walk-through windshield,
cockpit A/C and heat and a 15.5 KW generator are standard features on this new model,”
says Viestenz.
Hull #1 is scheduled to go into the water around March 1st. Pricing has not yet
been set.
There is much more to say about this important new design and BoatTEST.com will
be following this boat as hull #1 makes its way through production.
To read the full press release on the new Cruisers Yachts 460 and to see its detailed
specifications…click
here.