SANCTUARY COVE TASTER

We like to think of ourselves as a nation of boaties but let’s be honest – for a large part of the year the weather is either marginal or downright hostile. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a practical boating solution even when the weather isn’t so good?

ORGANISERS OF THE 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) have announced a precursor event – the Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival – scheduled to take place at the vibrant Marine Village from November 13 to 15.

The Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival aims to whet the appetite of marine enthusiasts in the wake of SCIBS 2020 being postponed.

The event will showcase a broad range of exhibitor displays across both land and water, with some of the biggest names in the Australian marine industry expected to make an appearance. The Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival will focus on supporting the local marine industry, with South East Queensland brands among those invited to display the latest in boating and fishing.

SCIBS general manager Johan Hasser said while SCIBS will be back better than ever in 2021, the Cove Boating Festival is an important stepping-stone to help the local industry get back on its feet.

Exhibitor registrations are now open. www.sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.au

review

Nimbus 405 Coupé

rust the Swedes to come up with that solution. Nimbus has been producing boats since 1968, and in the 1970s began working closely with its compatriots at Volvo Penta to design craft which would complement the engines. The result was the popular Nimbus 26, and the company’s been producing a range of small cruisers and ‘commuter boats’ ever since.

The Nimbus 305 and 365 Coupés have proved popular in New Zealand over the past few years, and now another of their bigger sisters, the 405 Coupé, has arrived. She’s the third 405 in New Zealand (first of the new generation), and her new home is at Whitianga on the Coromandel.

The 405 shares some similarities with its siblings: the

TKiwi-friendly interior layout, the ‘Sidewalk’ asymmetric deck layout, the hull shape designed for efficiencies across the speed range. But as well as being larger – it has three cabins and two heads, rather than the 305 and 365’s two cabins and a shared head – it also has twin engines, a pair of 300hp Volvo Penta diesels.

It also has enough seating for five people to travel facing forwards, thanks to the reversible sofa seat in the saloon, twin touchscreens at the helm, and an electrically-powered table in the cockpit which can be lowered and covered with squabs to produce a comfortable lounging area.

Speaking of the cockpit, this one’s half-covered by a solid roof extending aft from the cabin top, with a fabric extension. This area can be fully enclosed with clears to

create an outdoor room when the weather’s less than ideal. And then there’s that second feature which makes it suitable for year-round boating, which we notice as soon as we step aboard on a chilly midwinter’s day: the cosiness of the cabin.

Firstly, sunshine is streaming through the large windows and roof-lights, but there is other magic at work here: central heating, thanks to an Eberspächer D5 system. The boat’s also fitted with an air conditioning system, which requires the genset and can be used to cool the boat on super-hot summer days too.

When the weather is more conducive to boating, the fullyglazed sliding door at the back of the saloon can be opened up for indoor-outdoor flow, the teak flooring of the cockpit running through into the interior for a practical yet stylish look. The cockpit isn’t huge, but there’s plenty of room for seating across the stern and up the port side, upholstered in practical weatherproof fabric, and the aforementioned electric table, which folds out to double its size.

A walk-through on the starboard side of the transom leads to a large boarding platform, in which you’ll find two wet lockers. On the outside of the transom a stainless steel bracket holds a brace of four Nimbus-branded fenders, with a further locker behind built into the transom.

Forward, the flat foredeck with teak insets can be converted into another sun-lounging area with the addition of squabs. The anchor is suspended below the sprit at the bow, keeping this area clear and unobstructed, and it’s controlled by an electric winch. There is also a second anchor at the stern, for Europeanstyle mooring, also with a power winch.

Can’t fault the style and quality of the layout. The unusually-shaped bed is remarkably spacious.

The sliding door next to the helm gives you quick and easy access to the foredeck – great for mooring when short-handed.