Dream Machine
RETIREMENT ON THE HORIZON, A NEW ZEALAND COUPLE STARTED PLANNING FOR THEIR FUTURE, BEGINNING WITH A BRAND-NEW MARITIMO S70.
A brand-new Maritimo S70 is the focal point for a retired couple's far-flung cruising dreams.
“We are partners in everything, so a single helm seat wasn’t an option,” said Brian Carran as he and his wife, Cath, recently prepared their new boat, a Maritimo S70 Sedan Cruiser, for an extended cruise in the Whitsunday Islands. “I have been working in supermarkets since I was nineteen. Three years ago, knowing my retirement plans were looming, we started our journey to secure our dream boat, on which we’d enjoy life after years of hard work,” he said. “Up until then we didn’t have the time to spend extended periods on the water, and apart from annual trips to the Med where we would cruise with friends, most of our boating was on our Beneteau 473.”
Their journey to find the ideal boat for this next phase of their lives included time spent looking at trawler-style vessels in venues ranging from the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show to the Sydney International Boat Show. The Carrans even considered a purpose-built vessel from a yard in New Zealand.
Their worldwide search brought them to the Gold Coast of Australia, where they sea-trialed the Maritimo M70 flybridge motoryacht. They encountered big seas that day, and the boat’s ride convinced the couple this was the sort of cruiser that would suit them. However, they did not want a flybridge boat. “We were very impressed with the way the Maritimo handled the rough conditions and told the company we would be interested in the brand if they could produce a single-level sport cruiser model,” said Brian. “That started the whole process and now our magnificent sedan with four cabins called Waka Tete is a reality. Maritimo put together a mock-up of the boat and nothing was too much trouble for them, so the whole process has been relatively hassle-free.”
The couple pored over every inch of the boat in the design and build phase, changing and adapting various things to end up with a bespoke vessel that suits them to a T and is very much personalized. They took delivery of their new boat in July 2017, three months after Brian officially retired, which was exactly according to the plan they had laid out three years ago.
Bill Barry-Cotter, Maritimo’s founder, aptly describes the S70 as a big-volume, serious passagemaker that delivers all the M70 does, and more, on a single level. After taking delivery of Waka Tete (Maori for fishing canoe), the Carrans went north to the Whitsundays before the boat was delivered across the Tasman Sea to Auckland in time for the summer cruising season.
While Maritimo always planned to offer a sedan version of the M70 in its range, that intention was subject to obtaining an order. When
Brian and Cath signed up for the first S70 in June 2016, tooling began almost immediately and the boat was delivered 12 months later. Hull No. 2 of the S70 is now underway for a Gold Coast client. Common between the M70 and S70 are the accommodations, including the full-beam master. There is a VIP stateroom to port with its own en suite head, guest stateroom with bunks to starboard and another double-berth stateroom forward with a shared head that doubles as a day head. The four-cabin, three-head layout is essentially the only option available for either model, although depending on what an owner wants to change, there’s some room for customization.
The same is true for the salon and galley layouts. The galley, for example, is offered with a variety of equipment options and it is in this space that changes are common. Steam oven, oven, microwave, fullheight fridge or plate-warming drawers—they are all available. Maritimo even suggests to its clients that they visit a local Miele store and pick the appliances they want. In both Maritimo models, the galley is to starboard, while a lounge and dining table are forward and to port. The layouts differ opposite the galley: On the M70, there’s a staircase that leads to the flybridge; on the S70, that feature is replaced with more cupboard space, an area for a coffee maker and twin electrical panels. Salon layouts differ forward of the galley. On the S70, this area is reserved for a helm station; the M70 has a lounge.
Outside, the cockpit, lazarette and foredeck are identical on both models, and both boats are based on the same Maritimo-designed hull. The S70’s running bottom is the well-proven M60 hull, only on steroids. With the flybridge structure removed, the S70 comes in a little lighter, with a dry weight of 92,600 pounds, compared to the M70 at 94,800 pounds. That weight reduction enhances performance. All engineering and tankage systems are mirrored in both boats.
The superstructure (to the top of the cabin windows) is the same on both models, but there is more rake on the windscreen of the S70 and more headroom in the cabin. Without the height restriction of the flybridge, Maritimo designers were able to add a few more inches inside—not that the M70 is lacking in headroom, but you might as well make use of the space available. The absence of a flybridge also allowed designers to raise the helm almost 8 inches to provide better sightlines for the driver. With an on-water height of 17 feet, the Maritimo S70 has been crafted with the ability to pass under low clearances, such as fixed bridges.
The twin-seat helm on the S70 is all new, as is the side door, which, with the controls positioned aft, means you can stand in the coaming and dock the boat. There also is a second docking station in the cockpit. From the helm, the S70 offers near-360-degree sightlines and radiates a feeling of openness.
The sedan configuration keeps everyone on one level, with multiple entertaining and living spaces seamlessly working together. Overhead is a massive 6-foot 6-inch-wide fiberglass sunroof (with bug screens) that uses all Webasto control mechanisms.
Electronics are customer’s choice. Waka Tete is fitted with a pair of Simrad 19-inch MFDs that are flanked by Simrad autopilot and VHF. The boat also features armrest controls, ZF joystick and Vetus hydraulic bow and stern thrusters. In the next S70, the dash will be a little larger so it can accommodate the Simrad 22-inch MFD.
Standard engines are a pair of Volvo Penta D13 900s, although the test boat was running Aussie-built Scania D16 900s. These are the same engines that Maritimo uses on its M73. Other engine options are twin 1,000-horsepower Volvo Pentas, Scania 1200s, Caterpillar 1150 Acerts and 1200 MANs. If you really want some power, you can fit four 725-horsepower Volvos on board. (The S70 is the only Maritimo that can be powered by four engines.) Maritimo doesn’t build pod-drive boats, so all engine packages run through shaft drives. Waka Tete has twin Onan generators, a Seakeeper 16 gyro and Vetus thrusters.
For our sea trial, we cruised off the Gold Coast in a short chop and the usual 3-foot swells. The S70 was a pleasure to drive. I stopped sideways in the seaway and experienced the amazing benefits of the Seakeeper, which, in a boat of this size, should be a standard item.
With test power, we recorded 26.2 knots at the top end with a fuel burn of 88.7 gallons per hour and a range of 443 miles (with a 10 percent reserve). Drop that back to around 20 knots, which is a very common cruise speed for a boat like this, and the fuel use decreases to 56 gallons per hour; at that speed, range jumps up to 546 miles. If you did want to tow lures or plan an extra-long passage then you have enough fuel in the tanks to go over 1,100 miles at close to 10 knots. The delivery trip of Wake Tete from the Gold Coast to Auckland saw a fuel usage of about 2,113 gallons at an average of 12.4 knots.
The S70 is an incredibly nimble boat for its size, with a two-and-ahalf turn, lock-to-lock steering system. It is an extremely maneuverable hull with an instantly responsive helm and minimal heel in the turns. The boat runs very flat and transits onto plane with little bow up attitude. No tunnels, a shallow shaft angle and more running surface means the boat is slippery in the water. When we came back into Maritimo’s marina at Hope Harbour, I was impressed with the way Greg Haines, Maritimo’s marketing director, reversed the S70 into a very tight space, all on the throttles with no help from thrusters. I’m not sure I could have done that on the first attempt.
It was interesting to see that the S70 has no tender garage. According to Haines, some existing Maritimo owners have said they wouldn’t have one in their next boat as they are cumbersome to use and restrict the size of the tender. Because of this, the cockpit sole on the S70 is low and the tender is stowed on the hydraulic swim platform. There is still copious storage space in the lazarette and lockers around the cockpit. The lazarette also has rear access from the swim platform, which leads through to a washer/dryer, day head, watermaker and dive compressor. An option for this area is a crew bunk.
One of the obvious benefits of a sedan is single-level living, which means you don’t have stairs to climb. That’s something anyone getting on in years can appreciate, especially when docking. The low profile of the boat also makes it suitable to cruise routes like the Great Loop where low bridges necessitate boats without tall superstructures.
The S70 is the largest single-level vessel that Maritimo has created and joins the S51, S54 and S59 in the builder’s Sedan Series fleet. Maritimo calls it a penthouse on the water and they are right on the money. This is one very luxurious boat that delivers in every area, from performance and handling to quality and finish. Internationally, this sector of the market is very competitive, especially among European brands, but in my opinion, what Maritimo is offering in the S70 is equal to just about all of them.
Maritimo, +617 5588 6000; maritimo.com.au