SUNSEEKER THUNDERHAWK 43
BUILT: 1993 PRICE: £47,000
Designed by powerboat racer and designer Don Shead, the Sunseeker Thunderhawk 43 hull was based on a Class 2 race boat called Rejuga.
It has a sleek narrow hull with a deck moulding to suit, long and low, graced by a perfect sweep of stainless steel windscreen frame. There’s also a slender forward raked radar arch.
When it was launched it was utterly stunning and the years have been kind, the Thunderhawk segueing into an elegant classic that still cuts a dash.
INTERIOR Of course the cost of that slim, sleek, low profile is paid for inside — don’t expect much accommodation. What you get is a double berth right in the nose that requires a scramble over the semi-circle of dinette to reach. Privacy extends to a couple of curtains. But there’s a separate heads with shower and a compact galley. It’s all you need for a couple to overnight in comfort.
EXTERIOR The cockpit is no wider, but of course headroom is no problem. And actually there’s a fair bit of space, with a very social 270¡ sweep of seating and twin drop bolster seats at the helm.
Back aft, a huge raised sunpad stretches back across the engine space. This boat has the optional foredeck pulpit rails, which make access forward far more reassuring.
PERFORMANCE Sunseeker fitted a range of engines. Twin Volvo Penta or Mercruiser V8 petrols from 330hp-420hp and two diesel options, twin Volvo Penta AQAD 41 200hp or a pair of Sabre 370hp. This particular boat is fitted with twin Mercruiser 496 MAG HO 425hp petrol engines that were new in 2003 and have run for 350 hours. The broker claims 48 knots, which seems entirely realistic against Sunseeker’s claim of 54 knots for the 465hp engines when the boat was new.
SEAKEEPING Here’s where that super-slim race hull pays off. The Thunderhawk has the agility and the sheer ability to really make the most of that performance, slicing through wave tops and cushioning the landing when you do get airborne.
LOA: 44ft 0in (13.4m) Beam: 11ft 0in (3.3m) Draught: 3ft 10in (1.2m) Displacement: 7.3 tonnes Fuel capacity: 780 litres Engines: Twin Mercruiser 496 MAG HO 425hp petrol
FOR SALE: Waterside Boat Sales; www.watersideboatsales.com