AQUASTAR 33 OCEAN RANGER
BUILT 2000 PRICE £69,750
Aquastar Ocean Ranger – it’s a name that has such a sense of maritime solidity to it. And it’s backed up by the strongly built boats that bear that nomenclature, as this 33ft example shows.
Launched in 1980, two versions were available, either aft cockpit like this boat, or a raised aft deck with a cabin beneath it. Aquastar also sold hull and deck mouldings for customer fit out, so it’s always worth checking the provenance of any potential purchase. About half of the production went to commercial users such as fishermen running charters, a good indication of the esteem these boats are held in.
INTERIOR Just the one cabin, a double in the forepeak, leaves plenty of space on the lower deck for a galley and the heads (an alternative layout put a second bunk-bedded cabin in place of the galley, which moves to the saloon). Head up to the main deck and you’ll find a good-sized saloon area with social seating on both sides behind the two helm seats.
EXTERIOR The aft cockpit layout of this boat means a deep, well-protected cockpit with a large storage lazarette beneath it. Wide side decks and sturdy rails that reach well aft make it an easy boat to work, and the trademark Aquastar thick blue band wraps itself around the superstructure in time-honoured tradition. A flybridge was a rare option.
PERFORMANCE
A huge range of engines found their way into Aquastar 33s. Many commercial boats were fitted with single engines for lower running costs, but the majority of boats built for leisure use got twins. Ford diesels were common in early boats, but later examples generally got Volvo Penta engines, and the KAMD 44 260hp engines fitted to this boat were about the largest ever offered, giving top speeds in the mid twenties.
SEAKEEPING
Designed by Aquastar Managing Director Geoff Wilson, the semi-displacement hull is fuller in the bow than contemporary Nelsons, a move designed to reduce the wetness of the ride into head seas and improve handling in following seas.
Inevitably, it’s still a relatively wet boat but the trade-off is a lack of slamming in heavy head seas that many similar sized planing boats are prone to.
LOA 32ft 6in (9.9m) Beam 11ft 3in (3.4m) Draught 3ft 3in (1.0m) Displacement 8 tonnes Fuel capacity 400 litres Engines Twin Volvo Penta TAMD KAMD 44 260hp diesel
FOR SALE South Pier Marine; www.southpiermarine.co.uk