The Grand Banks Aleutian 72 SC

Boatworks Yacht Sales, with two Connecticut locations and one in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is offering “serious” discounts on several Grand Banks models. The discounts include both factory and dealer concessions. As an example, the first 2010 72 Aleutian SC in the U.S. is at their docks and is significantly discounted from its MSRP of $4.07 million. It’s got twin Cat C-18s, 4-cabin layout with 3 heads plus crew quarters, Naiad stabilizers, bow and stern thrusters, a second generator and a Garmin electronics package. That’s all stuff you’d normally pay extra for.

The new Grand Banks 53 Aleutian RP

Other models with big discounts include the soon-to-arrive 53 Aleutian RP, reduced well below its MSRP of $1.87 million. The dealer also has several late-model 59 Aleutians for sale as well as some other Aleutians in the brokerage listings.  If you’re interested in one of the Aleutian series from Grand Banks, you might check them out. Any time a factory gets involved in discounts, there’s an opportunity to get a true deal and the Aleutian line from Grand Banks are truly elegant cruisers.

Copyright © 2010 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

Current 59 Aleutian RP from Grand Banks - New 55 Aleutian RP Has Similar Profile

An e-mail from Grand Banks last week to current and prospective customers invited them to a private micro website which reveals the existence and details of a new junior member of the Aleutian raised pilothouse series of yachts the company is building.  The new 55 Aleutian RP is intended to offer “outstanding long-range capability,” according to an overview of the new yacht on the website.

The new 55 Aleutian RP is not simply a smaller 59, according to Grand Banks, although in renderings it retains all the classic lines of the Aleutian models.  The company says it did a complete re-evaluation of everything from hull design to layouts and made a number of changes as a result, including a new three-cabin layout, and a redesigned engine room with significantly more space.  The website shows video of  a hull model of the new 55 being tank-tested under various simulated sea-states and speeds at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Grand Banks says it also built full-size, walk-through mockups to validate the new layouts and storage areas.

The website was noticeably vague on propulsion details, although one section notes the yacht will be outfted with -blade props from ZF, measuing 34 inches in diameter by 31 inches in pitch, and tuned to S-class tolerances.  The boat will also be equipped with Delta T™ Air Demisters and a full Fireboy automatic fire suppression system with automatic engine, generator and ventilation shutdown.

When asked for artist’s renderings for this article, a Grand Banks representative said the company was not ready for a full-blown media launch but would start advertising in October.  It seemed clear from the website information that the first hull was already under construction but that could not be confirmed by press time.  As we find out more about this boat, you will see and read about it here on OceanLines.  In the meantime, here are the basic specifications of the new Grand Banks 55 Aleutian RP as provided in the preview website.

Grand Banks 55 Aleutian RP
Preliminary Specifcations

* All specifications preliminary, as depicted on GB preview website as of 09/03/2009.

Copyright © 2009 by OceanLines LLC

Grand Banks is also offering the new 72 SC with an optional fourth stateroom. The new model also sports a waterline more than two feet longer than the RP — from 64′ – 5″ to 66′ – 11″, with a 19,000-pound increase in displacement, to 120,000 pounds.

The boatdeck extension at the aft of the flybridge means more room for a larger tender, as well as more shade and protection from the elements for folks in the extended cockpit. The changes should be welcome to cruisers. The new model is expected to debut in 2009. The builder also released a small series of 3-D renderings of the helm, salon, VIP and guest staterooms, which are in the galley below.

Copyright ©  2008 by OceanLines

Grand Banks Aleutian 65RP

Grand Banks says the new layouts available on the 65RP provide more options for both living and entertaining. A more spacious aft deck features dual wing doors and a new enclosure that protects the outside dining area from harsh weather.  The 65RP also features port and starboard-side pilothouse doors, easier engine room access through a new port-side door, and a host of othe rperformance and luxury features.

David Lockwood, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald just before the Sydney International Boat Show last month, tested the 65RP and reported a top speed of 23 knots and calculated a range of about 800 miles, at a near-hull speed of 9.5 knots and 1270 RPM on the big Caterpillar C18s.

Together with the 59RP and 72RP models, the 65RP is contributing to the strong performance of the Aleutian line wtihin Grand Banks. “These new Aleutian models have driven terrific sales for Grand Banks across the globe,” said Neil McCurdy, vice president of sales for Grand Banks. According to McCurdy, the Aleutian series “now accounts for over 40 percent of revenues this past year, and more than 20 percent of our current production backlog.”

Specifications

• Length Max                                 69′ 5″ (21.16m)
• Length Overall                             65′ 4″ (19.91m)
• Length Waterline                         60′ 5″ (18.42m)
• Beam Max                                   19′ 10″ (6.05m)
• Draft Max                                     5′ 4″ (1.63m)
• Height (DWL to Hardtop)            19′ 2″ (5.84m)
• Height (DWL to Mast)                  25′ 11″ (7.90m)
• Displacement                      106,500 lbs (48,308 kg)
• Water Tank Capacity                  440 USG (1,666L)
• Fuel Tank Capacity                 2,200 USG (8,328L)
• Black Water Capacity                 150 USG (568L)
• Grey Water Capacity                  150 USG (568L)

Photo Gallery

Copyright ©  2008 by OceanLines

Grand Banks' new 41 Heritage EU Shot from Above

Here are the photos of that boat, the first, to my knowledge, to be published.  Each photo is a thumbnail; click on it to get the full-size picture which I’ve uploaded here without reducing in file size. If you have a slow connection, stick with the thumbnails.  If you have a good connection, look at the originals to appreciate the amazing cabinetry, finishes and overall Grand Banks build quality.  A summary of the boat’s specifications is at the bottom of this post.  Let’s hear what you think of this boat — leave a comment.

View Forward Through the Salon

Grand Banks' New 41 Heritage EU Running

Raymarine-equipped Lower Helm on the GB41 Heritage EU

Looking Aft Through the Salon

Galley Up to Port Aboard GB41 Heritage EU

The Queen's Bed in the Master's Stateroom

Nicely Finished Helm on Flybridge

No chafing for these lines

Aft Cockpit Hatches aboard the new GB41 Heritage EU

Stern View of New GB41 Heritage EU at Anchor

The latest specifications on the Grand Banks 41 Heritage EU:

Why the second wave? Well, the first wave was basically a quick “bolt-on” application, with only minor modifications to hullforms and interior hull arrangements. But these demonstrations proved worthwhile even in their own right and stirred the creative thinking in naval architecture organizations throughout the industry. The new GB 41 Heritage EU takes the technology the next step. A new underwater hull design belies the iconic topside appearance of one of the best-known and loved trawler designs. And inside that hull, designers have taken best advantage of the compact installation of the Cummins Mercruiser Zeus drives to create a full second stateroom — a feature rare in trawler designs of this size.

So this new Grand Banks boat is a big deal. An even bigger deal is the likelihood that within a certain few years, nearly all new boats for sale will sport this kind of drive technology and be capable of the same things this boat is capable of.

And capable she is. Her maker says she will cruise efficiently at both 10 and 24 knots. We already know that with her Zeus drives and with precision autopilot technology, she will be as maneuverable in the water as a helicopter is in the air — but a whole lot easier to drive.

Are Zeus, and Volvo Penta’s IPS drives the wave of the future? Absolutely, unless some hidden downside reveals itself as installed numbers grow. The main concern boaters have talked about is related to groundings. The angst is typically expressed in terms of, “Gee, that’s a lot of money hanging down there waiting to get sheared off when I run aground at high speed.” I don’t really understand why this is more of a concern than shearing off double shafts, struts, props and rudders under the same scenario in a conventionally powered boat. Cummins Mercruiser thinks it has addressed concerns about underwater impacts on the Zeus drives, putting the propsets behind the transmission leg and putting a skeg on it to deflect debris. True, you can still shear the whole mess off if you hit something hard enough and immovable enough, but even then, the breakaway characteristics of the drive pod are designed to prevent the sea from joining you aboard the boat.

But there is another element to the leading-edge nature of this technology. I believe it is the logical transition step to diesel-electric drives in recreational boats. True, they’ve been deployed in giant cruise ships, and in megayachts like Lurssen’s Air/Ice; and even some smaller yacht manufacturers are working on those installations in boat sizes the rest of us might actually own someday. The principal obstacles have been designing lightweight applications that are affordable. Drive systems like Zeus and IPS, however, are paving the way in terms of hull re-design, maneuvering control software and interior design. Imagine the further advantage coming with diesel electric propulsion; if Zeus gives a designer an extra three feet because of its compact design, how about being able to place the diesel generator anywhere in the boat and just having to run electrical cables to the completely separate drive pod hanging under the hull (and, by the way, anywhere under the hull that the designer thinks it works best). Now THAT is flexibility. Instead of being the big “iron problem” in the bottom of the bilge around which everything else has to be adjusted, that heavy diesel can become part of the weight and balance solution. That is technology that provides real benefits to boat designers and, ultimately of course, customers.

So look hard at boats like Grand Banks new 41 Heritage EU. It really is the wave you want to ride.

© 2007 Thomas M. Tripp