Boat Review: 47 Grand Banks Eastbay FB

Boat Review: 47 Grand Banks Eastbay FB

Source: David Lockwood, Boatpoint.com.au

If exploring new ports or fast passages is your thing, then the Grand Banks 47 Eastbay FB is worthy of consideration. It’s an agile motoryacht that’ll appeal to cruising couples, writes David Lockwood

Boats come and go, but Grand Banks is a stayer, a boat that enjoys pride of place with cruising aficionados, as their definitive craft, with which they will live out their golden years. Teaming tradition with modern performance and must-have amenities, Grand Banks have airs and graces, but while sacrificing none of the latest conveniences or amenities that are the mark of a modern motoryacht.

You can fudge along at 8kts and sip the fuel in a Grand Banks, as people have done for decades, but on the latest models, like the 47 Eastbay FB tested here, there’s a huge amount of horsepower in reserve. Therefore, you can complete fast passages and open up many more weather windows, which means a lot to those of us who like to make the most of our precious time afloat.

Personally, as one who thrills to coastal cruising and new-port exploration, the 47 Eastbay held great appeal. Compared to the throngs of a la mode go-fast cruisers, this boat had a timeless quality that, to my eyes, would render it a sound investment in the boating future. I can’t see the boat looking passe in 10 or 20 years or more. A household name in boating circles, Grand Banks probably needs no introduction to many readers. However, with a new distributorship in Australia, the brand is bound to enjoy a fresh new start. An American-owned company, Grand Banks builds its boats in Asia, where labour is cheap. In this way it has the jump on many global boatbuilders that are only now sniffing out the prospects of shifting to Asia.

The key to building boats well in Asia and other countries with a cheap labour base lies entirely with product controls and project managers. From what I have seen so far, Grand Banks has its hand firmly on the tiller. The main factory in Malaysia builds the hulls, decks, furniture and stainless steel, with a second factory used for some minor assembly in Singapore. The end result is an undeniably well-built boat.

Grand Banks uses in-house stainless steel engineers to create all its deck gear that, as you can see with the rails, is all thick diameter and well-polished stuff. It also owns its own teak mill. Plantation teak, I’m supposing. At any one time, there are 25 to 30 Grand Banks on the go and the company is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a big rendezvous in North America, where its following is most loyal.

Presently, Grand Banks has three ranges: the Heritage, which are classic displacement trawlers with walkaround decks; the Eastbays, which are fast but traditional-looking and available with or without flybridges; and the Aleutian series, which are stately motoryachts with pilothouse helm stations.

Given our predilection for flybridge boats, the Easybay 47 FB should appeal in Australia. The boat has dual helm stations for all-weather cruising, walkaround decks and a stairwell up to the bridge for easy access, and as a 47-footer, with the optional three-cabin layout, it’s a user-driver boat, aboard which you can holiday with the whole family.

The only hurdle is the price, but prospective buyers should consider the boat’s resale value. On this score, Grand Banks’ owners have always fared well and on the local market Grand Banks remains among the most closely held of all preloved motoryachts.

BUILD QUALITIES
The construction of the Grand Banks isn’t rocket science: all solid handlaid GRP with foam-cored grid and decks ‘glassed together. The hull is backed by a five-year warranty, with three years on the C12 Caterpillar engines, and one year on all the other stuff.

It should also be noted that the 47 Eastbay has a Raymond C. Hunt hull. It proved to be an amazingly smooth-riding and dry boat, keen to plane thanks to decent hard chines, with a big keel to assist with tracking and cornering. Think of it as a turbo Bentley through the water, especially when you put the throttles down.

The all-important engine room is accessed via a push-button hydraulic hatch in the cockpit or a day-inspection hatch, which has a fold-down ladder, in the teak saloon floor. I entered via the former route, passing the 13.5kW Onan generator aft, noting hot-water service and air-con units outboard of the 715hp C12 Caterpillar engines. The motors are mounted on huge steel bearers and there’s an abundance of sound insulation. This is an exceptionally quiet boat.

There is almost standing room in the engine room, which will please senior folk, and all the basics – the Racor fuel filters with redundant filters per motor, the dipsticks and sea strainers with inspection bowls, and the coolant reservoirs – are within easy reach. Ventilation comes courtesy of a Delta T system with washable membranes and, I like this, the vents are mounted inboard of the bulwarks on the superstructure. Thus, no salt air. There are also vents to keep the accommodation fresh when cruising.

The tin-coated 12/240V wiring throughout is coded and details schematics are provided for pretty much everything. A 2500W invertor and additional battery are options to consider if you want an AC power source at night without running the gennie. The boat comes with a Cablemaster shorepower lead retractor.

I thought the engineering systems were first class and uncomplicated. There are ‘glassed-in fuel tanks fore and aft – a reasonable 2650lt supply – with a DC changeover pump. The alloy water tanks carry a useful 780lt and there is a factory-fitted provision for a desalinator in the engine room. You will want one if you’re into cruising, along with an inbuilt gurney for washing the boat at anchor, especially this optional navy-blue hull.

AUSSIE COCKPIT
The cockpit on the 47 Eastbay is just huge and, along with the customary teak boarding platform, handheld shower and door, makes it well suited to the Aussie way of life. I liked the fact the saloon was a few steps up, thereby lessening any chance of putting water aboard. Hey, with outrigger, rodholders and a remote helm you could take this boat gamefishing.

An extended awning would be nice for al fresco entertaining on an aftermarket deck setting, which would thereby be shaded. The removable aft lounge for six provides impromptu cockpit seating for guests during flat-water runs. But it will be more difficult to shade being so far aft.

Cockpit amenities include an icemaker, sink, fridge and barbecue griddle, all built-in, while storage space is huge in the lazarette for watersports gear and victuals. The boat has hawsepipes and below-decks cleats to keep the coamings clean, plus steps to wide sidedecks backed by high rails for a safe passage forward.

Mums and kids can therefore access the foredeck, which is just that flat and expansive as to be another lifestyle area. There’s even room for a table and chairs for cocktail hour.

Meanwhile, tender storage is best addressed by having a GRP extension made to the cockpit awning, which can be done at factory level, and putting a crane up top. You would want a decent davit and a decent RIB to carry four adults on this boat. For shorter passages you could probably pull a small rollup ducky onto the foredeck or boarding platform.

Hands-free access exists up the spiral staircase to the flybridge. There’s enough room on the starboard L-shaped lounge to seat and entertain six guests around the small teak table. Thus, doing drinks and lunch up top is a very real possibility. An optional fridge would assist, as would the option of a second helm seat for cruising couples. The fair-weather flybridge was shaded by a bimini top, but not clears, which you don’t need since there’s a lower helm where you can escape wet weather. But, even during the wild and windy test conditions, the 47 Eastbay proved exceptionally dry thanks to its hull shape with big flared bow.

Among the other flybridge features were Ultraleather upholstery on the comfy Stidd helm chair, a big teak ship’s wheel, a Raymarine E120 combo unit, autopilot with wireless remote (very cool as you can sit back and alter course), and a Quickshift electronic gearbox with synchro, fast and slow idle, and so on.

My only gripe was the compass, perfectly ahead, but a tad high where it bisected the otherwise great view of the ocean. You can see the transom from the flybridge through the stairwell opening, which could do with a safety cover, but, for berthing, the lower helm with side-opening door is ideal.

SALOON LIVING
I like the fact, as you will if you go boating at bushland anchorages, that there are insect screens on all hatches and doors. The saloon, while losing space to the walkaround decks, big cockpit and three-cabin layout with the galley up, is still big enough for serious living. Besides, indoors isn’t somewhere that you overcrowd too often on a motoryacht.

The joinery was typically Asian, meaning teak and quite terrific, with all satin-finished timber furniture and flooring and, you should note, handrails and fiddle rails are everywhere. There were traditional navy (Ultraleather) upholstery and cream liners and lots of fresh air and light courtesy of the surround glass, some of which opens. The electric window vent in the windscreen is especially effective.

Seating ranges from a three-seater settee to starboard, besides which is a concealed TV linked to a Bose Lifestyle system, across to a portside L-shaped lounge around a teak table that converts to a spare bed just in case. All up, you can seat six inside if you have to, though the outdoor decks are so grand that it’s unlikely you ever will. This boat had a two-person helm settee that cruising couples will like, though it takes up a lot of room. The dash was graced with twin Raymarine E120s, Onan genset panel, Cat panels, bowthruster controls, autopilot, trim tabs, and overhead radio boxes. You can berth and stick your head out the sliding side door. Won’t be too hard at all. Plenty of boat in the water, a big keel and bowthruster will help.

Traced by granite counters, the galley isn’t particularly big for a 47-footer and storage space was rather light on. You will have to use the lazarette to good effect, decanting goods as you need them. A barbecue would be handy back outdoors, too. But the L-shaped arrangement is preferred for cooking on the run, if ever you need to.

Amenities included a top-loading freezer, bar-style Subzero fridge, Miele convection microwave, four-burner Miele electric hob, twin sinks and some pantry, pot and crockery space. The combination water/fuel gauge was nearby. With the galley on the same level as the saloon you get to cook and enjoy the views, which will be especially nice in the morning. Lunches served outdoors. Dinners on the barbie or indoors if it’s cold.

SLEEPING BEAUTY
Though there are compromises, the three-cabin layout is, in my opinion, preferable to the two-cabin one with lower galley. The optional third cabin can be ordered as an onboard office. That makes perfect sense to me. The double cabin to port, where the galley is otherwise located, has an albeit small double bed (with an innerspring mattress) against the wall and no hanging locker. Still, I would sleep here with my crewmate just fine.

The planked teak cabin walls impart a nautical flavour in the guests’ double cabin, which runs throughout the accommodation plan, and there are opening ports for light and fresh air. Head and shoulder room are in abundance, with scope to fit a washer/dryer aboard, too.

Across to starboard is the second guest’s cabin with twin single berths, a good deal of storage space for packing away your carry-on clobber, mirror and more. But the owner’s cabin up front is by far the grandest, as it should be, with an island bed flanked by teak planking and nautical touches like fetching reading lights. Very Grand Banks, indeed.

Both the owner’s ensuite and second head are generous American-sized compartments, with full showers, Vacuflush loos, Corian counters and extractor fans, as well as natural ventilation – all good liveaboard stuff for those of us who enjoy retiring below-decks.

GRAND DAME
In the 25kts of bitter wind, it was the ride, the handling, and the feeling of solidity that gave the 47 Eastbay such a sense of purpose. The twin 715hp C12 Cats returned great cruising figures for a boat that borders on 30 tonnes when loaded. Though it is surprisingly agile, the Eastbay also suits plodding along at 8kts if you want to mark time and take in the views.

At a pleasant low-speed everyday cruise of 19.8 to 20kts, the Cats were loping along at 1720rpm and consuming 149lt/h for a safe range of about 320 nautical miles. The boat felt even happier at 25kts, where the Cats drank 185lt/h and returned a similar cruising range. Fast cruise was record at 28kts and top speed was 30.5kts on the day.

Off the wheel steering was surprisingly sharp, but it’s the dignified motion that lets you know this is a boat for cruising. Discerning, experienced boaters will spot the difference. While every boat is a compromise, those on the Grand Banks Eastbay 47 are in the right areas. The things that matter most, comfort at sea and at living on the anchor, are in abundance in what will surely be the ultimate boat in the eyes of seasoned sailors.

It’s traditional but fast; classic but contemporary where it counts; a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. And it’s a boat that makes me want to grow old in a hurry.

HIGHS

• Famous name with excellent resale value
• Great performance and a dignified ride
• Very good engineering with time-proven systems
• Walkaround decks and walk-to flybridge
• Double helm stations for all-weather cruising
• Sophisticated Cat C12 motors make for a wolf in sheep’s clothing
• Accommodating decks, cabins and heads with a timeless nautical feel

LOWS

• Big-ticket item
• No tender storage, second flybridge helm storage, or fridge in bridge on test boat
• Compass is in line of sight on flybridge
• Small double bed and no hanging space in third cabin
• Small galley is short on storage space

Boat Specifications: 47 Grand Banks Eastbay FB

GRAND BANKS 47 EASTBAY FB

Options fitted: Upgraded motors, Quickshift single electronic controls, bowthruster, air-con, Raymarine electronics, painted hull, cockpit icemaker, Heritage pack inc. teak decking, bimini and more

GENERAL

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

Type: Raymond C. Hunt deep-vee planing monohull with keel

Length overall: 14.48m inc. bowsprit and boarding platform

Hull length: 13.18m

Beam: 4.57m

Draft: 1.17m

Weight: 25,487kg dry w/std motors

CAPACITIES

Berths: 6+2

Fuel: 2650lt

Water: 780lt

ENGINE

Make/model: Twin Cat C12s

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

Rated HP: 715 at 2300rpm

Displacement: 12L

Weight: 1174kg ea.

Gearboxes (make/ratio): Twin Disc

Props: Four-bladers