WINDY TORNADO 31
BUILT: 1998 PRICE: £49,500
Windy threw the textbook away when it launched the Tornado 31 in 1997. A conventional (but good looking) boat from afar, once you get up close you notice some unusual thinking, not least the aft section of cockpit and central helm position. Underpinning these new ideas were core Windy values of quality and seakeeping that we know and love. It ran for seven years.
INTERIOR Windy’s latest weekender at this size, the Zonda 31, offers a very focused fixed double bed and a loo in the compact cabin, it’s basically a low-roofed ensuite bedroom. The Tornado 31 cabin, although still compact, was a little more traditional, with a dinette forward, the gorgeously styled table dropping to create a double berth. There’s a galley opposite the loo and room for two more to sleep on a double that extends back beneath the cockpit.
EXTERIOR Outside, the Tornado swaps places with the Zonda, the latter offering the more traditional layout of a large sunpad aft. The Tornado by contrast has a completely open area behind the main cockpit. The idea was to create a versatile space that owners could use for any number of things. For instance it would be fantastically useful for storing a rolled-up inflatable tender, SUPS, wakeboards, fishing gear or even diving equipment.
Further forward, the central driving position is unusual but pleasing, putting the helmsman right in the centre of the action.
PERFORMANCE There were a staggering nine engine options, petrol and diesel, single and twin, from Mercruiser and Volvo Penta. The twin Volvo Penta KAD 32 170hp four cylinder engines fitted to this boat were extremely popular and give about 32 knots. Windy later offered the option of twin KAD 44 260hp engines, which pushed the speed up to 40 knots.
SEAKEEPING Epic — it’s a Windy so you already knew that. But while the 40-knot top end of the larger motors is tempting, many people familiar with the marque reckon the smaller engines give a better balanced boat than the heavy six-cylinder 44s.
LOA: 30ft 10in (9.4m) Beam: 9ft 10in (3.0m) Draught: 3ft 0in (0.9m) Displacement: 3.3 tonnes Fuel capacity: 530 litres Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD 31 170hp diesel
FOR SALE: TBS Boat Sales; www.tbsboats.com