Boat Review: 68 Sunseeker Predator

Boat Review: 68 Sunseeker Predator

Source: David Lockwood, Boatpoint.com.au

Talk about rolling out the heavy artillery … David Lockwood takes aim and lights the fuse aboard the latest big gun to hit these shores

Even this old seadog finds reason to take stock, draw a deep breath and pinch himself from time to time. The last time I found myself wondering if life could get any better was during an adrenalin-charged moment doing 30-something knots in the $3.685m Sunseeker Predator 68 across Sydney Heads.

There was just the importer and I, a sea of summer-blue water flanked by golden sandstone cliffs, and not another boat in sight. It was a fleeting but memorable moment at top revs on the twin 1050hp MAN V10 motors, which like the boat were fresh out of the box.

From this you might gather that the Predator 68 from Sunseeker is no ordinary craft. It’s certainly different when pitted against other UK-made luxury boats. But it’s also different compared with the numerous other Sunseekers that have landed Down Under in the last two seasons.

The Predator 68 rates especially well in the detail department. Despite being just launched and receiving no pre-delivery treatment before I ventured aboard, the doors all fitted perfectly, all the catches worked, and there were very few rattles. Thanks to new production efficiencies, the quality of Sunseekers has stepped up another notch.

Another reason for the boat’s undeniable charm is the input from the local Sunseeker importers, who sat down some years ago and decided to heck with cost-cutting, let’s create a Rolls Royce with all the bells and whistles. Their input — more than 10 pages of specifications on this boat — has taken Sunseeker to another level. The semi-custom boatbuilder is receptive to such things.

POWERFUL STATEMENT
It wasn’t till we made it back to the marina that I decided life could in fact be better. Down below I found one the best dining rooms outside a superyacht. We’re talking a full-width saloon with a cherrywood table that can seat a mob, a galley with the goods for cordon bleu cooking, a dedicated wine fridge within arm’s reach, and a giant plasma television for playing the Pavarotti DVD.

The first-class dining facilities are a great addition to the Predator range of boats, which are mainly designed with daytime entertaining in mind. The Predator’s single-level deck — topped with an electric sunroof, tailed by a hydraulic boarding platform, surrounded by picture windows and loaded with amenities — is of course a wonderful host. Now you can also take your guests down below.

This new Predator 68 is an attractive boat for other reasons, too. Sunseeker isn’t afraid of innovation. Rather than adopt conservative design lines, the company strives to be the latest and greatest. Dashing, daring and different, the Predator 68 makes a powerful statement.

Visually, there are lots of complex curves, designer stainless steel deck fittings, factory-fitted teak decks, a rakish blue hull, classic blue-and-white striped upholstery and a superyacht-like radar arch — a custom addition borrowed from the Predator 75. Down below, the boat has a more austere atmosphere.

On our run across Sydney Heads, sports wheel in hand and throttles briefly down, the boat was enthralling. At the marina, it gently sidled up to its berth. Hire the skipper for harbour parties afloat by all means, but despite measuring an impressive 21.20m overall, the Predator 68 is an owner/driver boat.

FIVE-STAR CRUISER
Chances are your first few footsteps aboard will be on the giant — and I do mean giant — teak-topped hydraulic boarding platform, which is designed to carry a RIB and to act as a launch pad for water sports. Those who run Sunseekers with these submersible boarding platforms consider them a must-have.

Lower the platform a metre under and you have a quasi kiddie’s pool. Other features include a concealed swim ladder, pop-up cleats for hanging fenders or tying-off a tender warp, a handy hot/cold handheld shower, a convenient shorepower connection with a 20m lead and a freshwater marina tap.

You can also keep a ducky — this boat had an Avon Seasport 320 Jet RIB — or two jet skis in the Predator 68’s aft garage, which opens at the push of a button near the cockpit door. The garage has an electric winch with deck and cockpit controls.

Lift the garage sole and you can work on the motors while working on your tan. Tell me another boat with a sun-drenched engine room?

The transom corners have electric capstans with foot throttles, giant cleats, groovy stainless steel fairleads and stainless steel grabrails where you need them.

An Italian-made stainless steel Besenzoni passerelle is recessed into the transom to port. Press a button and it extends, guide ropes springing into place, ready to pick up dinner guests from a public wharf somewhere.

Sunseeker owners will also tell you the passerelle is underrated in Australia. It’s a godsend for passenger pick-ups because you can easily see its furthermost edge from the helm.

ROOMY ENGINE ROOM
Day-to-day access to the twin V10 MANs – matched to V-drive boxes to increase internal volume – is gained through a hatch in the cockpit sole. The engineroom is a whopper, with standing room between the motors and a surfeit of servicing room. There is a factory-fitted option of triple engines, I’m told.

You could also get around three sides of the big 20kVa Kohler generator, which feeds the powerful air-conditioning units, and access the hydraulic pump and the 12/24V chargers. The strainers and fuel filters for motors and generator are near the entrance for easy inspection. Air pours inside via big intakes and an extraction fan.

Everything of importance is clearly labelled and easily accessible. This and white surfaces with lots of lighting, workmanlike checkerplate flooring, and a tome of manuals and spares make the Sunseeker owner-friendly. Just a few visits and you will be well acquainted with the layout.

Wet exhausts, an underwater silent exhaust for the genset, and loads of sound insulation make for a quiet boat, too. Like all good big boats, the Predator has external fuel shut-offs at the helm, an automatic fire-extinguisher system, bilge and engineroom alarms, a manual bilge pump, and a dozen batteries.

A nice touch for owners was the addition of an engineroom camera and a second camera that looks across the transom and boarding platform. Underwater there are substantial prop tunnels built into the Don Shead-designed hull, and five-bladed props linked to two-and-a-quarter-inch shafts that exit dripless seals. The engineering is a real highlight.

A nearby hatch in the cockpit leads down into one of the biggest storage rooms I have seen on this style of boat. In Europe they specify crew quarters. Australians being more hands-on, this area would make a neat workshop.

FULL WALKAROUND
Despite all the intricate mouldings, there is a lot of practicality. The boat is a full walkaround with wide sidedecks backed by European CE build certification. A thigh-high bowrail leads to the foredeck, which is traced by moulded toerails and topped with a good non-skid.

Pretty Italian-designed deck lights, modern deck fittings and a serious anchoring arrangement are features. The anchor locker is deep enough to climb inside, so there’s no risk of popping the deck when the chain mounts up, and there’s a freshwater deckwash.

A chic blue-and-white striped sunpad is big enough for two sunseeking couples. There are six glassholders. You can accommodate quite a few guests when swinging on the anchor.

Looking back, the boat has rakish lines, a big wraparound safety-glass windscreen, and pantograph stainless steel wipers with washers for all-weather boating.

DANCING ON THE DECKS
Open the big electric roof over the cockpit and you can change the boat’s atmosphere to suit the weather. Sunny days at the helm, the reverse-cycle heating on in winter, parties under the stars, lunches in the shade – all of these things are available along with views, views, views.

The cockpit flows right from the transom to the helm station like one big social flightdeck. The importers added a smart aft awning to increase the shade over the curved rear lounge, which can seat six people in and out of the sun around an excellent teak lunch table with folding leaves.

The lounge wraps around the cockpit’s port side, past a teak sidetable on which you can plonk drinks, with room for four more people under the hardtop. All up, there are seats for 10 people plus seats for the skipper and navigator.

Therefore the Predator 68 must be one of the most social boats about town. At rest, the big teak deck space could be used as a dance floor. Headroom is about 2m and the lighting, like the upholstery, is gorgeous.

There are amenities to keep the throng entertained, fed and watered. A moulded unit to port has white-ice Avonite counters, recessed drinkholders, a concealed garbage bin and a top-loading icebox with fridge unit and icemaker.

An AEG ceramic hotplate provides somewhere to cook the lobster tails. A moulded sink with hot/cold water and a grabrail that doubles as a fiddle rail helps with such operations.

The helm, which is within talking distance, is flanked by electric opening windows that enhance the views, aid communication with crew and boost ventilation. The navigator/copilot and skipper seating is ergonomically designed with nicely contoured cushions.

The two-seater to port is headed by a handrail, chart locker, drinkholders and light. A giant no-glare graphite dash reaches across to an automotive-style driving station at the very forefront of boat design.

The Aussie spec includes serious electronics: two 10in Furuno Navnet screens with menu-driven operation and split-screen function for the engineroom video system, GPS chartplotter, radar and depthsounder.

The importers have added, at not insubstantial cost, computer-monitoring systems with electronics displays for the MAN engines. The furthermost brow on the dash also has two sets of VDO analogue engine gauges.

I noted a remote for the sound system, switch panels for everything from lights to bilgepumps, searchlight and bowthruster controls, Raymarine autopilot, Multiview data screens, and Mathers electronic controls. The Predator 68 is almost stupidly simple to drive.

DINNER RESERVATIONS BELOW
A different boat unfolds below in the full-width saloon. The interior makes full use of the boat’s 5.20m beam, and headroom is a high point. The three cabins and two bathrooms are separated by a tremendously accommodating saloon.

The cherrywood dinette with four folding leaves is joined by a leather lounge. Add two ottomans and you have room for eight dinner settings. The table base holds a spread of crystal glasses and there is lovely lighting and two big skylights to create atmosphere.

There is also a lot of factory-supplied ambience derived from the warm high-gloss joinery, cream Berber carpet, cream leather upholstery and gold-and-black Roman blinds. Five portholes and air-conditioning keep the cabin cool.

The entertainment system resides in a cabinet opposite the big lounge. This boat has an 80cm plasma screen with DVD, video, surround sound and an input for laptop presentations in case you want to wow the board. In a nearby drawer, I found seven remote controls.

The galley to port is big enough to place inside a house, but probably better equipped than most home kitchens. Serious cooks will embrace the separate fridge and freezer, dishwasher, concealed garbage bins, microwave oven with turbo bake and grill function, four-burner ceramic cooktop, extra deep sink, black ice Avonite counters and extractor fan.

Cupboards and drawers are abundant and given over in part to holding the supplied Sunseeker gold-and-blue Royal Doulton crockery and silver cutlery.

But nothing can hold a candle to the dedicated U-Line wine fridge near the dinette with a 26-bottle capacity. Say farewell to the bang-crash that so often accompanies the opening of bar fridges on boats. And make mine a chardonnay.

SUPER YACHT CABINS
A third cabin is located immediately to starboard near the steps leading down below. It has two single berths of adult length with wide and low mattresses. Gold bedspreads, porthole, air-conditioning outlet, man-made suede surrounds and cherrywood joinery add to the comfort.

You also get a full-length mirror, large hanging locker, and sufficient floor space to pull on a pair of trousers. Kids and crew are the likely inhabitants, though I’d be just as happy here following a night of fine food and wine.

The VIP guest cabin in the bow is bigger and entirely private. A blue-and-gold bedspread and warm cherrywood trim mark out the island double bed. Champagne-coloured carpet, suede liners and an impressive parquetry bedhead create warmth.

Full marks for the huge cedar-lined hanging locker, which has shelves for shoes and is big enough for a week’s worth of clobber. There are also twin cupboards for personals, and drawers for spare bedding. From the bed I noted a pretty ceiling feature and hatch, and a separate flat-screen television and CD player across the way.

The guest ensuite is large. There are two mirror-backed lockers over an oval sink, trendy Italian bathroom fittings, a Vacuflush loo, cedar blinds, downlights and a teak-planked floor.

The full-sized separate shower stall has a lockable bifold door to stop rattles at sea. I counted no less than five shower nozzles for an all-over body wash. A good bottle of moisturiser after a long hot day of sunseeking will be icing on the cake.

The boat’s AC/DC panel is located in the foyer near a door to the owners’ ensuite/dayhead, which has a separate shower with five nozzles, a Vacuflush loo, a sink, an extractor fan and so on. If it were my boat, I would direct all onboard guests to the forward head and keep this aft bathroom solely for my use.

Two steps lead down from the foyer through a door to the full-width owners’ stateroom, which is of superyacht proportions. A ceiling feature, burgundy and gold Roman blinds and bedside tables flank the island berth. There is a dedicated dressing room with a swing-out seat and drawers for the cosmetics.

Headroom is generous. There are twin hanging lockers, additional cupboards and drawers, twin mirrors and pull-out ottomans. A separate television and a DVD player are recessed into the wall. But it’s the amount of space, not the amenities, that impresses. A great aft stateroom, indeed.

EASY RIDER
While the Predator 68 performs like a big weapon offshore, it’s dignified about the marina. A touch of the starboard engine and a quick blast of bowthruster saw us slip in and out of our berth without incident. The effortlessness of the drive continued no matter where we pointed the bow.

Lovely soft touch Mathers controls and high-performance bronze rudders make the 68-footer quite responsive. Good forward vision, improved by using a touch of in-trim without making the boat in any way wet, adds to confidence at the internal helm.

Predators can be serious cruising boats if you want them to be. I’ve heard of at least one couple taking their Sunseeker 61 to the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef from Sydney for a three-month adventure.

The Predator 68 is likely to appeal to people who have a penchant for champagne cruising with friends and family. But at night the boat turns into one of the best dinner-party venues afloat and a great entertainer.

Speeds of 28kt at 2000rpm and 32.5kt at 2300rpm were recorded on the GPS, the latter while steaming between Sydney Heads. At sea the boat was a real darling and, well, I’d rate it the best of the Sunseekers I have driven in terms of ride. It was one of those days when I had to pinch myself, remember.

Boat Specifications: 68 Sunseeker Predator

Sunseeker Predator 68

OPTIONS FITTED Engine and generator upgrade, air-conditioning, bowthruster, upgraded electronics, computer electronic monitoring systems, engineroom camera, and lots more

GENERAL

Material: Fibreglass with composite balsa decks

Type: Modified-vee planing hull

Length (overall): 21.20m

Beam: 5.20m

Draft: 1.44m inc props

Deadrise: n/a

Weight: 30,000kg (dry)

CAPACITIES

Berths: Six

Fuel: 3900lt

Water: 700lt

ENGINE

Make/mode: Twin MAN D2840 LE403

Type: V10 cylinder diesel engine w/ turbocharging and aftercooling

Rated hp (ea): 1050hp @ 2300rpm

Displacement (ea): 18.27lt

Weight (ea): 1560kg plus gearbox

Gearboxes (Make/ratio): ZF 1.97:1 V-drives

Props: Four-blade Tainbridge bronze