Patrick and Stacy Kennedy, Great Harbour TT35
Patrick and Stacy Kennedy have owned and cruised a variety of boats—including a 35foot cold-molded sloop built in Switzerland, and a Northern Bay 36 trawler—up and down the East Coast, from Florida to New England. While their newest boat, a Great Harbour TT35, isn’t that much of a lengthoverall downsize from their Northern Bay 36 trawler, the TT35 is less complicated and more utilitarian than any other boat they’ve owned.
Patrick, a retired harbor pilot, says a number of features made the TT35 appealing, but the simplicity of the systems spoke loudest to the couple. “We were looking for a boat that wasn’t so complicated, and all the systems on the TT35 scream simplicity,” he says. “The outboards are easy to access and require way less maintenance than a pair of inboards. There’s no diesel soot. There’s a composting head with no plumbing. The air conditioning is RV-style and is powered by an air-cooled generator or inverter that runs off batteries charged by solar panels, so there are no under-the-waterline throughhulls. Not one. My old 36 trawler may have only been a foot longer, but it was more complex, systems-wise, by a factor of 10.” Other features the Kennedys like have to do with design. “The TT35 draws only 18 inches and is completely beachable,” Patrick says. “That’s perfect for the Keys and the Bahamas, where we plan on using this boat. It also only weighs around 6,500 pounds, so I’ll be able to put it on a lift at my dock. The boat is highly efficient. The two 60-hp Suzuki 4-stroke outboards can push the boat up to 17 knots, but 10 to 16 knots is the sweet spot.” The TT35 gets 2 to 5 miles per gallon at those speeds, according to Great Harbour, and has a 1,000mile range at displacement speeds.
“We’re really looking forward to taking delivery in January,” Patrick says. “Great Harbour delivers the boats in two different places, but we might take delivery near Jacksonville, Florida, and then work our way south. We’re really excited about what we’ll be able to do with this boat.”