Luxury Yacht & Speed Boat

Tagged ‘Full Power’

Australia-based Riviera Yachts is known state­side for its line of convertibles, but the builder made a big splash at last year’s Fort Lauderdale Internation­al Boat Show with a two-stateroom, 36 foot express. Now, to appeal to those with bigger families—or more friends— Riviera has upped the ante with the three-stateroom 4700 SportYacht.

The 47-footer takes her kin’s concept of one-level living and expands it. The resulting flexibility of the saloon-helm area is outstanding: Aft, a glass and stainless steel door folds away, and the bulkhead’s expanse of glass flips up and latches firmly into place to the hardtop. Read the rest of this entry »

When introduc­ing the 57 Su­per Sport five years ago, the big news at Oc­ean Yachts was her innovative hull con­figuration. In the pursuit of better effi­ciency and course tracking and a gen­tler ride in rough seas, naval architect David Martin configured her running bottom with some innovative twists.

Most notable, she has just a single pair of longitudinal strakes (not the usual two pairs), and the strakes aren’t paral­lel to the center line. Instead the sharp­ly down-angled strakes are farther a­part at the bow than at the stern, a fea­ture Martin introduced in order to im­prove lift and to straighten the flow of water into the props. Combined with an exceptionally deep forefoot to soft­en the ride in heavy seas, the strakes help keep her dry while stabilizing the hull in slop and chop. Read the rest of this entry »

A portable oil-changer is basically a five- gallon plastic bucket with a pump mounted on top; the pump sucks up old lube oil through a cocktail-straw-size tube via the dipstick hole and dumps it into the pail.

I used one of these for a couple of years on my GM-powered Hatteras, and it worked fine, albeit slowly—very slowly. If you’re talking twin engines plus gears, plus a genset, pack a lunch when you change your oil, because you’re going to be there a while.

A better solution is to invest in a built-in oil-change system, comprising a reversible electric pump and a manifold of valves plumbed to your engine crankcases, trans­missions, and genset. You pump the used oil into a container, and then move the exhaust hose into a five-gallon pail of fresh oil (where it now becomes the supply hose), re­verse the pump, and refill. The oil is quickly pumped out and in via the oil pan drain, rather than through the dipstick tube. You’ll also have to find a place to dispose of the old oil properly—ask your marina manager or even your dockmates for their advice.

Reverse, X-Change-R, and Jabsco sell oil- change systems to suit multi-engine setups. Installation is straightforward, but drains each engine before pulling the oil-pan plug, or you’ll have an EPA-size cleanup job. I’d bite the bullet and pay the yard—its mechanics are skinnier.

Sometimes less is more, especially if doing less means doing it better. A case in point is the layout of Cheoy Lee’s 78 Sport Motoryacht. Rather than maximizing the number of guest staterooms, the sav­vy builder opted for just three. But each one is so generously proportioned that it’s like every stateroom is a master suite. All three extend full-beam, the master offering a king berths while the two guest suites offer queens. For extra privacy, the forward stateroom is accessed via its own stairway alongside the lower helm. Even the crew stateroom is exceptional; full-beam at the stern with upper and lower berths, a dinette, and a private head with separate shower. Read the rest of this entry »