35 Sunseeker Portofino

Source: Capt. Mike Whitehead, Sea Magazine

Posh or Sporty Spice? With this British cruiser, you get both

You’ll instantly notice the distinctive blue and white hull of the Portofino 35 — and the fact that other boaters point out this stylish offshore cruiser as it powers through the harbor. Then, the air will stir with excitement as people start asking if this is a Sunseeker.

Whenever I’m at boat shows, I always notice how people will stop dead in their tracks and stare longingly at the sleek hulls of Sunseeker yachts, with curvaceous lines sweeping up from the waterline to the deck. Sunseekers are distinctive — and they have an appeal all their own.

Sunseeker International is a well-known British boat builder, offering pleasure craft from 35 to 140 feet in length. The 35-year-old company is based in Poole, England on the southern coast, and it employs more than 1,400 craftspeople.

The builder exports more than 95 percent of its product worldwide and maintains large service centers in both Spain and the United States. Sunseeker prides itself on the availability of support all over the globe for its customers.

On the West Coast, the exclusive Sunseeker dealership is California Coast Yachts, a company that has been based in Newport Beach, California since 1998.

The Portofino series of offshore cruisers is one of the most popular design lines for Sunseeker, and the race-bred Portofino 35 is a stylish and well-designed boat that is new for 2004.

The 35 has Sunseeker’s familiar sporty, yet refined European styling, along with upscale comforts and cutting-edge construction. The company’s designers have listened to their customers, providing both “the look” and the luxury Sunseeker enthusiasts demand.

Testing the 35
We were excited to get the opportunity to test a new 2004 Sunseeker 35 Portofino — and the seas off Newport looked favorable to put the boat through its paces.

On a windy afternoon, we met with Joel Romero, vice president of California Coast Yachts. Romero knows Sunseekers inside and out, and he has cruised long distances aboard these yachts.

Our first impression was that this boat looked larger than its 37-foot, 1-inch overall measurement. This boat has an 11-foot, 7-inch beam with only a 3-foot, 1-inch draft, and it weighs in at around 19,800 pounds at half load.

The 35’s hull construction is hand-laid fiberglass with isophthalic polyester skin coat and a stitched multiaxial reinforced single-skin bottom. The hull topsides and decks are balsa cored, with molded-in skid-resistant deck surfaces. The company’s attention to detail was evident the instant we stepped aboard the boat.

We boarded the boat from a teak-topped swim platform that conceals a foldaway swim ladder. The transom has a large storage locker and a hot and cold swim shower.

The teak-decked cockpit offers seating for six in a U-shaped seating area that wraps around a dinette table. There is storage underneath the seating — plus, a wet bar on the starboard side.

Inside two separate starboard side lockers are battery switches and override breakers for electrical components, including the bilge pumps.

The engine compartment is accessible through a cockpit deck hatch — and the entire cockpit deck can be lifted for more serious maintenance needs. The compartment is compact, but well designed to provide access to the pertinent components for engine checks.

Our test boat was equipped with twin 300 hp Volvo Penta KAD diesels with twin stern drives and independently adjusted hydraulic trim tabs. The stern drives’ adjustment ranges from +5 to -5 degrees, with a digital helm indicator that integrates corresponding indicator lights.

During our test off Newport Harbor, we had 2- to 3-foot seas and 10- to 15-knot winds, creating a stiff breeze. We found that the boat performed exceptionally in the open ocean. The twin Volvos brought the boat up on plane very quickly — and trimming out the drives plus the tabs increased our top speed from 35 to 39 knots at wide-open throttle, at 3,700 rpm.

The boat got up on top of the water and left small symmetrical wakes that we flew over while doing figure-eight turns. Quickly cutting the throttles to idle, the boat glided to a stop with very little water coming over the swim step.

We tested the 35’s holeshot at various drive trim angles, from -5 to +5, and the boat seemed to like the negative numbers best for punching out of the hole. However, it responded well at all the settings.

Surprisingly, not a bit of spray made its way to our windshield during our various offshore maneuvers, except for a little wind spray during a hard-over-the-wake turn. The Portofino 35 gave us a very dry and stable ride, with no chine walking while cranking the wheel from side to side. The boat sat well at a dead stop in the swell’s troughs — and that is remarkable for a boat this light in weight.

The 35 is rated to cruise at around 26 knots, but we found that it provided a great ride at higher speeds.

The helm offers excellent visibility around the boat, and when backing down into a slip. There is a curved guest seating area on the port side, along with a built-in chart table with a clear plastic cover — with a molded-in section for chart tools and cup holders.

The starboard-side helm has a folding seat that converts to allow you to operate the boat from either a sitting or standing position. The console is sharp looking, with a wood-rimmed steering wheel and a burled walnut dash. It is divided into two sections, with the upper portion for gauges and the lower section for mounting two 10-inch electronic displays.

The dash is angled adequately to allow skippers to read the gauges whether they are standing or sitting: No more having to bend down to read the gauges when you’re standing up while running at high speeds.

Instrumentation on our test boat included tachometers, electronic speed logs, a depth sounder, a fuel gauge, a freshwater gauge, a compass and engine data gauges.

The shifters and bow thruster control are mounted for easy accessibility and, most important, the drive trim switches are located on the dash instead of on a shifter, unlike so many other boats. If you have ever been flying over swells while trying to fine-tune the drive trim, you will definitely appreciate the fact that you can’t inadvertently move the shifter in the process.

The Insider
The open layout of the main saloon and galley gives the interior a warm, inviting look. Portlights open to add natural ventilation as well as light.

The comfortable saloon offers a U-settee and table that convert to an extra berth, if needed. Cabinets are mounted above the settee and the main DC and AC circuit breakers are mounted aft, to starboard of the companionway stairs. A brilliant idea on the electrical panel is a light indicator to show whether the holding tank’s overboard discharge seacock is open or closed.

The wood-trimmed galley includes a 12v refrigerator, a microwave oven, a two-burner cooktop, a sink and cabinets with plenty of storage. A flat-screen television is mounted on the galley’s upper center cabinet door — and that door lifts up to reveal more storage.

Both the forward master and the aft guest staterooms have solid privacy doors and keyed door locks. They offer comfortable accommodations with hanging lockers and additional storage under the berths. The master has an island double berth and the aft cabin has two single berths.

The 35’s head and shower compartment has an Avonite countertop with a mist green translucent washbasin built on top of the counter. Having the washbasin sit on top of the counter like a sliced-open melon is a nice touch that breaks away from the typical utilitarian-looking heads found on most boats.

Big Boat Performance
Knowing how well the larger Sunseekers handle different swell conditions, I am impressed that the boat designers were able to transfer that feeling to the Portofino 35. I never had the feeling of being out of control — and the helm was extremely comfortable for the skipper at all speeds.

On the ride back through the harbor to the dock, it took everything we had to keep from pushing the throttles up and getting on plane again — but a ticket from the Harbor Patrol might have really ruined an otherwise perfect day.