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Boat Review: 45 Grand Banks Eastbay SX

Boat Review: 45 Grand Banks Eastbay SX

Boat Reviews & Articles

Source: David Lockwood, Boatpoint.com.au

The Grand Banks have an enduring sense of quality and style. David Lockwood takes the timber wheel of the 45 Eastbay SX and finds a stately ride, too

Timeless Beauty

Boats come and boats go, but some hang around longer than others. In the passing parade that is boating fashion, modish or a la mode craft too often end up as yesterday’s heroes. You can wait a lifetime before the wheels spin far enough for them to be back in vogue – if at all. Yet a boat like the Grand Banks 45 Eastbay SX has an enduring quality. Here’s a well-tailored timeless craft that appeals to the senses and sensibility, which is kind on the eye and the ageing bones, and which will be as relevant in a decade as the day you bought it.

That said, the exchange rate at the time of writing, where one Australian dollar buys about US65¢, doesn’t help the cause of American companies like Grand Banks. Or does it? You need to think of a Grand Banks as a long-term investment. At least, most owners do. The only thing you are speculating on here is whether or not you will have that anchorage to yourself. And by the time you are thinking about a boat like this, you will have the freedom to head-out mid-week to avoid the crowds and reap the lifestyle dividends.

Design-wise, there’s a lot to like about the 45 Eastbay SX: its single-level cruising and driving stations, the big cockpit, walkaround sidedecks, the wide island double bed, the second cabin with another double, not to mention the big galley and homelike shower. Having said that, it’s the first-rate engineering and performance that appeals to discerning Grand Banks buyers as much as the fine finish.

With a Raymond Hunt-designed hull, a Grand Banks is always something to savour at sea. Add a pair of Cummins’ latest QSC 8.3s, which are fully electronic 500hp engines with common rail fuel injection, and the GB45 Eastbay SX races to more than 27kts top speed. If you want more speed, twin 600hp Cummins are a $4000 option. But why bother?

At 2100rpm, the GB4 Eastbay settled into a smooth cruising groove that was at once dignified and dashing and, despite the engines being under the saloon floor, none too noisy at all. We were travelling in fine fettle at 20kts consuming about 110lt/h, and against a backdrop of verdant national park the blue hull looked the part.

That’s the thing about Down East styling, you get timeless beauty in your boat.

DOWN AND DIRTY
It’s in the engineroom that the Grand Banks journey begins. But due to time constraints, Trade-a-Boat had only a brief window to test the GB 45 Eastbay SX. So I cast my eyes around before deciding to draw from past experiences, which is to say, you count on GB’s construction and engineering.

The hull has solid GRP running surfaces with foam-cored sides and stringers. All the key seacocks are labelled, the wiring is coded, the manuals are impressive and there are access points for most everything. Best of all, engineroom access is easy through the saloon floor, encouraging owners to check the basics before casting off.

With a displacement of 19,381kg (dry), the 45 Eastbay isn’t a lightweight. Rather, it’s the combination of its hull shape and weight that delivers the great ride. From 90 per cent of the 1938lt fuel supply, you get a range of more than 350nm at a fast cruising clip. And with 549lt of water, you can range away for a week or more.

So consider this Down East cruiser as more than just a picnic boat.

Though it excels at that, and would make a particularly wonderful weekender, it’s also a boat aboard which you can cruise the coast to nearby ports and even range much farther.

DESIGN LINES
Quite by design, the Grand Banks 45 Eastbay SX appeals to the wants of ex-sailors and experienced motorboaters. Even with dodgy knees you can get around this single-level boat with ease. Solid, easy-to- reach deck gear plus an optional Sleipner bowthruster, make berthing the low-windage boat a breeze. And as the 45 Eastbay SX measures just four metres from waterline to teak masthead, you can pass under bridges that otherwise hinder flybridge craft.

GB highlights the 45 Eastbay’s primary features, such as: optional layout with office in place of the second cabin, two heads and the galley shifted up and back aft; double bed in the second cabin, which the demonstrator had, instead of single berths; standard-issue retractable saloon windows and optional electric sunroof; utility room for storage; sliding helm seat to suit all frames; and a particularly accommodating master cabin with en suite up front.

R Marine, the retail arm of Riviera and the importers of Grand Banks boats to Australia, added some good gear by way of options. There were upgraded 9kW Onan generator for the air-conditioning, $12,900 worth of the latest Skysol blinds in the saloon, but the sunroof was a fixed number instead of the trick optional push-button electric model. But with opening side windows and an electric aft window there’s abundant natural ventilation.

Outdoors, the GB 45 Eastbay SX holds just as much sway. The big teak-topped cockpit has room to plonk a teak table and chairs and, with a Euro-style awning trailing off the hardtop, stage a long al fresco lunch. Salt and freshwater deckwashers or showers are handy to the swim platform, there’s good underfloor access to the lazarette for storing watersports and fishing gear, while steps lead up to the sidedecks that are backed by a high bowrail with lifeline. The boat’s flat foredeck offers somewhere to sit at anchor to catch the breeze.

And teak-capped toerails add to the boat’s salty tradition.

The so-called Australian package includes heavy-duty ground tackle by way of a 60lb anchor and a good length of 7mm chain, three fire extinguishers and full-leather upholstery back indoors. As ever, the joinery is timeless satin teak and created with great attention to detail. The off-white leather lounges and teak and holy flooring add to the nautical style. And a lot of thought has gone into the ergonomics. Oodles of head and shoulder room make for an easy boat to move about.

INDOOR LIVING
Traced by safety glass, the saloon and helm station are the perfect place from which to cruise for views. It was here that the prettier parts of Pittwater, the western national park shore, pass like a panoramic postcard. Seating ranges from an U-shaped lounge around a folding drinks/dinette table on high/low pedestal to port to two club chairs split by a wet-bar opposite. There’s also a two-person navigator’s seat behind the windscreen and a single helm chair to starboard. Between them all you can carry eight people in comfort.

The galley is set down, traced by solid counters and serveries, with a network of overhead cupboards, an opening port and rangehood above the two-burner stove with potholders, plus a combo convection microwave oven. There’s an under-counter fridge and top-loading freezer – adequate refrigeration on a boat like this – plus the optional icemaker back in the cockpit.

As touched on, there’s the interesting option of an office in the second cabin to starboard opposite the galley. But as you see it here, fitted with an upgraded double bed, the cabin vies for pole position as the stateroom. Instead of listening to waves thumping on the chines in the forward or bow cabin, sleep amidships and sleep better at those not-so-calm or oceanic anchorages.

That said, the island double bed in the bow takes pride of place and beckons the boat owner. Storage space for clobber, bedding and personals exists in the neat array of timber cupboards, drawers and hanging space, plus there’s an en suite that, as the only head in the boat, also serves a communal role. The man-sized shower stall was impressive.

GRAND CRUISER
Back at the teak dash, I note provision for a serious spread of electronics, electronic gearshifts, bowthruster controller, plus twin Cummins MerCruiser VesselView electronic engine monitoring panels.

Vision to all quarters of the boat is excellent, with wipers and freshwater washers to keep the salt at bay. And you can’t help but feel like a proud skipper with your mitts on the timber wheel.

Acceleration is snappy and the boat lifts bodily, nice and level, to 18kts at 1950rpm for 90lt/h, 19kts at 2000rpm for 94lt/h, after which I note the cheery cruising clip of 20kts at 2100rpm for 110lt/h. Maximum continuous of 2400rpm returned 24kts for 144lt/h and top speed was 27.5kts for almost 200lt/h.

But with a nice sheerline and high bow, plus some flare in the topsides, you can plod about at nine knots hull speed and use about 15lt/h for a lovely dry ride.

The boat’s low centre of gravity means it doesn’t rock and roll too much in displacement mode, and with time on your hand you can enjoy a slow river or bay cruise just as much if not more than a fast coastal passage.

A blend of old-world charm and new-world technology, the Grand Banks 45 Eastbay SX is perfect for the discerning cruising couple who are done with hoisting and trimming sail. The boat’s not cheap at $1.2 million, but you get what you pay for and that’s quality boating time… for many years to come.

HIGHS

LOWS

Boat Specifications: 45 Grand Banks Eastbay SX

GRAND BANKS 45 EASTBAY SX

GENERAL

Materials: GRP hull, and foam-cored decks and grid stringer system

Type: Modified deep-vee monohull with keel

Length overall: 13.94m

Waterline length: 12.73m

Beam: 4.45m

Draft: 1.19m

Weight: 19,381kg (dry w/ std motors)

CAPACITIES

Berths: 4 + 1 Fuel: 1938lt

Water: 549lt

ENGINE Make/model: 2 x Cummins QSC 8.3-500

Type: Fully electronic inline six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine w/ common rail fuel injection, turbocharging and aftercooling

Rated HP: 500 at 2600rpm

Displacement: 8.3lt

Weight: 858kg (each)

Gearboxes (Make): Twin Disc

Props: Four-bladers