Highly Refined Lady Loves to Play Rough


If it's Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest, we can safely assume that
several million people will dine on turkey and cranberries. It is almost as
certain that we'll have an extremely windy day, possibly even a full-blown
storm, on or around Thanksgiving.
Veteran Northwest weather watchers were not surprised that small craft warnings
were flying on Wednesday, November 24, 2004. Sustained winds could be described
as Beaufort 6, ("Strong breeze, 22-27 kts, large waves begin to form, white
foam crests everywhere"). The higher gusts qualified for Beaufort 7, ("Near
gale, 28-33 kts, sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be
blown in streaks along the direction of the wind."). Conditions were perfect
for lounging at the dock with a hot toddy, watching the world literally blow
past the cabin windows. It turned out to be a perfect day to subject a 46 Grand
Banks Classic to a serious test.

John Howe, from Passage Maker Yachts in Seattle, introduced us to the latest
edition of the Grand Banks 46. After over forty years of production, Grand
Banks has established itself as an unofficial benchmark against which other
trawlers are often compared. It isn't unusual to walk through a boat show and
overhear an eager, young salesperson describing a vessel as "built like a Grand
Banks," (or) "similar to Grand Banks," (or) "almost as good as a Grand Banks
but selling for a little less money!" Nothing is more like a Grand Banks than a
Grand Banks. The trademark creates expectations of a consistent and high
standard, and the execution of the 46 Classic appears to fulfill them.

In an era when more boat builders attempt to strike a balance between building
a vessel to the highest possible standards and offering a product at a
competitive price, Grand Banks is something of a maverick. When Grand Banks
changes something on a trawler, most typically it is because they discovered
how to do it better, not cheaper. High caliber systems and materials are
meaningless without skilled shipwrights and craftsmen to create a precisely
built and sturdy boat, and even an amateur eye can detect important differences
in workmanship between a Grand Banks 46 Classic and a "more affordable" boat.
Grand Banks has moved its factory to lower cost labor markets during previous
decades, (the boats are currently built in Malaysia), but the cost of the labor
is immaterial to the quality of the product as long as the craftsmanship
remains constant or improves. The Grand Banks 46 Classic is built by a company
with a proud heritage and a well deserved, favorable reputation. It shows.

"When people ask me what makes a Grand Banks different than some other boats,"
remarked John Howe, "I like to tell them it's the difference between building a
quality product and a quantity product. The marketplace doesn't allow a company
to build both the highest possible quality and the largest possible quantity at
the same time. Many boat builders measure success by selling a greater number
of boats than the competition. Grand Banks measures success by comparing the
differences in quality, not by worrying about which company sells more boats."

John's explanation of Grand Banks' philosophy would seem to be correct. While
Grand Banks sales numbers are far from the highest in the industry, the vessels
attract a disproportionate share of buyers with high standards and the
wherewithal to indulge them. Most buyers will only own one boat at a time, so
it becomes purely academic to measure whether Company A or Company B builds
more boats each year.

A casual examination of the 46 Classic exterior confirms that the design
remains timeless. The striking similarity between the lines and proportions of
a brand new Grand Banks tri-cabin trawler and vessels built by the same company
over thirty years ago legitimizes the "Classic" label. A good-looking boat
doesn't need to be completely redrawn every few years, and Grand Banks buyers
can be fairly confident that when resale day eventually comes around they will
be offering a used boat that could, theoretically, still look as though it were
a current model

A number of improvements have been included in the exterior design. The 46
Classic in stock at Passage Maker Yachts features an all-stainless deck rail,
leaving the caprail atop the gunwale the only bright teak on the exterior of
the boat. The traditional teak decks remain, but Grand Banks now relies on an
adhesion technique for applying the teak deck for the flybridge to further
eliminate any possibility of water intruding into the cabin via deck screws.
There's just enough exterior wood to dress the boat. The 46 Classic will never
be confused with a soulless Clorox bottle, but maintaining the decks and
brightwork will be an occasional task, rather than a perpetual burden.

Grand Banks Classics maintain the traditional, wide side decks that many
experienced boaters prefer. Many competitors reduce side decks to almost
dangerously skinny dimensions, (some eliminate side decks entirely), and use
the space to create larger cabin interiors. The larger cabins make a nice
impression at a boat show, or when its cocktail time at a yacht club
rendezvous, but nothing substitutes for adequate space, solid footing, and a
full perimeter rail when doing deck duty in heavy weather. The resolution of
this compromise between deck width and interior cabin space in favor of the
saltier alternative is typical of the Grand Banks philosophy. While a Grand
Banks is as tastefully appointed, elegant, and comfortable as any boat in its
general size category, a Grand Banks can often be considered more seaworthy
than most.

Wide steps with stainless rail lead from the port side deck to the boat deck
above the aft cabin, and then up to the flybridge. The mast and boom are
fashioned from aluminum, and can be quickly folded flat when mooring in a
boathouse or a covered slip.

"When I show a Grand Banks," said John Howe, "I like to begin the tour on the
outside of the boat and one of the things I always point out are the engine
vents, because they aren't engine vents. Those are Delta T demisters, a system
that is ordinarily used only on superyachts. Grand Banks uses them on 42 and
46-foot trawlers They extract salt and moisture from the air to keep the engine
room as non-corrosive as possible. That's a lot different than just opening a
hole in the boat to let air into the engine room. That's typical of Grand
Banks, there are a lot of unseen differences. Small differences in equipment
and materials choices add up fast. You could build a boat a lot differently,
and many people wouldn't know it."





"One of the things that Grand Banks has paid careful attention to is sound
attenuation," said John. "Even some of the older Grand Banks were considered
pretty rattley underway, but you will notice as we cruise out that the current
models are very quiet."

We inspected the engine room prior to startup. Like many fine quality yachts,
Grand Banks furnishes a stout, stainless ladder to access and exit the engine
room from the salon. Unlike many, Grand Banks has positioned a teak handrail in
precisely the right spot below the chart table in the salon. The handrail
provides a welcome sense of stability when transitioning between the ladder and
the cabin sole.

The standard engines on the 46 Classic are twin 420 HP John Deere diesels.
Grand Banks claims that the standard engines will propel the boat in excess of
20-knots, with a cruising speed of 16. Larger and smaller engines are
available, and our test boat was equipped with twin 375 HP John Deere's. The
smaller engines won't put a 46 Classic sufficiently on plane to achieve 16-20
knots, but prove to be more than ample for boaters with an expectation of a
trawler-like 10-12 knot cruise. Engine installations feature flexible shaft
couplings and dripless shaft seals.

Headroom in the bright and spacious engine room, so while most boaters will be
required to crouch a little when moving about, there is no need for a
hands-and-knees approach. Optional 110-volt AC engine room lights, such found
on our test boat, provide enough light for even the most intricate mechanical
connection or adjustment. John Howe pointed out that Grand Banks put spring
loaded valves on the fuel tank sight tubes. "It's impossible to leave the valve
open," remarked John. "If for some reason a sight tube should break, the only
fuel that would leak out is the small quantity in the tube itself."

The 46 Classic is offered as either a three-stateroom model with two staterooms
forward (and an "up" galley the salon), or a two-stateroom version with a
larger salon and a "down" galley rather than the second forward stateroom. Our
test boat featured the down galley, two-stateroom configuration.

The forward stateroom consists of two single berths in a "V" arrangement. The
standard mattress is 5-inch foam. Teak battens line the gunwales, with
perfectly matched rows of screws. There are lockers aft of the bunks to both
port and starboard, with the starboard locker intended for general stowage and
the port locker cedar lined and fitted with a hanging rod. There are two
stainless port lights in the forward cabin, and an overhead hatch with
interchangeable, retractable, insect and privacy screens. The cabin sole
throughout the boat is teak parquet, and all joinery is finished with a satin
marine varnish. The interior fits so precisely, and the surfaces as so
flawless, that the impression is almost as though the entire interior is a
single exquisite piece of furniture.

The guest head is just of the forward stateroom, to starboard. If there were
anything to criticize in the Grand Banks 46 Classic interior layout, it might
be that the heads are just large enough for a boat of this size and less
elegantly furnished than some competitors.
The heads are built to a high standard, with VacuFlush toilets, cultured marble
vanities and tops, bi-fold shower doors, power ventilation, and the same
detailed attention to fit and finish that characterizes the rest of the boat.
The functional heads are meticulously meld very nicely into a top quality
yacht, but prospective buyers hoping to find enough gaudy fixtures, mirrors,
glitter, and "mood lighting" to embarrass a French bordello in either head of a
46 Classic would be seriously disappointed.

The galley on our test boat was to port, immediately opposite the head. Grand
Banks went absolutely top caliber on every item in this compartment. The
Galley stove is a Force-10, three-burner propane cooktop and oven. A
microwave/convection oven is built in as well. Cold stowage abounds, with
optional Grunert (tm)cold plate refrigeration/freezer systems in upper an lower
teak lockers backed by the forward bulkhead and a deep freezer box built below
the Corian countertop. The Grunert cold stowage systems incorporate stainless
steel interiors.

The double stainless sink has Corian covers, as one would expect, to increase
the amount of counter space when the sink is not needed. Something Grand Banks
though to include, that most people would not expect, is a maple cutting board
on the underside of each Corian cover. Curtains in the galley are treated with
a fire retardant spray, and a power ventilation fan expels smoke and steam.

Grand Banks provides doors from the salon to both port and starboard side
decks. The helm is to starboard, so when the lower helm is in use most traffic
will pass through the port door. A low table fixture with two barrel chairs and
a pair of chart lockers under folding tops is opposite the helm, to port. A
liquor locker with built in icemaker and a fold down cutting board is just aft
of the helm, followed by a settee wrapped inside the aft starboard quarter of
the compartment. The individual sections of the settee can be raised to gain
access to stowage, and held aloft by gas struts while retrieving or replacing
an item in the bins below. Our test boat had an optional hi-lo rectangular
"yacht table" with flip up sides and a maple inlay- permitting the table to be
set high for dining or low for cocktails and snacks.

Plasma TV's have created new options that allow a large TV screen in a salon
without the normal hassles of securing the screen underway or blocked
visibility. An optional entertainment center with a remote-controlled "pop-up"
holder for a flat screen set.

Most aft is the master stateroom. A large queen or small king size "island"
berth, with a 6-inch mattress, is set somewhat starboard of center against the
aft bulkhead. A writing desk is built into the aft port quarter of the
stateroom, with plenty of space adjoining to set up a computer or create a
library. The VacuFlush head and Corian lavatory are in an efficiently defined
compartment in the port forequarter of the aft cabin, and an amply dimensioned
shower stall is opposite to starboard. Most boaters would be challenged to fill
the large hanging locker in the forward bulkhead of the master stateroom.


Observations underway:


Almost any boat will provide a decent experience when conditions are benign. In
the relative shelter of Lake Union, Portage Bay, and the Montlake Cut, the 46
Classic did seven knots at a very quiet "fast idle". Twin-screw boats, with
smaller rudders, are often less responsive to the wheel, but there was no such
tendency observable on the 46 Grand Banks. We were running from the lower helm,
an area simply and logically arranged with a set of dual analog gauges, a large
Ritchie compass, power windlass controls, and a shorepower/generator selector
switch. Grand Banks has provided a console across the top of the forward cabin
windows to allow a skipper to install a vast array of electronics without
cluttering up the area between the compass and the wheel.

The wind had abated, momentarily, when we first entered Lake Washington. John
and I estimated that wind at about 15 knots. We encountered 1-2 foot chop- but
notable whitecaps didn't appear until a bit farther north on the lake after the
wind found enough fetch to stir them up on the on the lee side of the bridge.
Conditions were very similar to those encountered about the time the "thermals"
come up on a typical summer afternoon in the San Juans. The 42,960 pound 46
Classic negotiated the light chop as if the lake were flat as a mirror. I made
a note that the 46 Classic would likely prove very comfortable on a summer
cruise. Within a very few minutes, that observation would be a mere footnote in
a far more dramatic, and impressive trial.

Every boater familiar with Lake Washington is aware of the unusual effects of
Seattle's floating bridges. Our strongest winds are northerlies and
southerlies, and the bridges run east and west across the lake. On a very windy
day there is almost always an expanse of calm water on the leeward side of the
floating span. Conversely, the waves can be steep and confused on the windward
side of the bridge, as waves driven into the bridge by the prevailing wind
rebound to collide with other crests following close behind. On a day with 25
knot winds, the lee side of the bridge is nearly as calm as if the wind were
only half that speed, while conditions on the windward side of the bridge
always seem to resemble those associated with a wind speed approaching 40
knots. On this 25-knot day, we ventured over to the south, or windward side of
the bridge.

We encountered an obstacle course of extremely steep chop, with many of the
larger waves several feet in height. Neptune was throwing a tantrum on the
south side of the bridge. Most prudent boaters would have stayed in port if
seas in general resembled the mess we found south of I-520. We were about to
discover how the 46 Classic would behave on a day when conditions get crazy
halfway through a long crossing of an open strait.

As we motored under the west high rise, we began quartering into some steep
waves.
We maintained a speed of about 9 knots, and did not experience any appreciable
bow lift.
The 46 Classic was not rising up the side of the chop and slamming down on the
back side as a lighter boat often tends to do, but more generally splitting
apart the foaming peaks and proceeding through a valley of splashing water and
flying spray.

Note on performance in head seas: Extremely good.

Grand Banks provides a windshield wiper for each of the cabin windows. We put
the wipers to good use. The hull design itself may provide a reasonably dry
ride while bursting through head seas on a day with substantially less wind,
but once the water and foam were airborne the wind would carry them across the
windshield.

The head sea experience was so wonderful, we decided to run parallel to the
bridge and take the wind and waves directly abeam. As luck would have it, just
then the wind decided blow just a bit more enthusiastically. It was far too
rough to stand without grabbing the overhead rail in the salon. We motored
through beam seas for several minutes, never really slowing below 9 knots.

Waves were cresting at the rail. The foredeck was assaulted with broken wave
tops and flailing spray. All three wipers were employed to clear the windows,
but often the rubber blade would be only partially across the glass before the
recently wiped portion was once again obscured. The foredeck and side decks had
become teak creeks as we drained away our windy, Thanksgiving baptism.

There's no way to describe our test of the 46 Classic as a "dry ride". Not in
conditions like we encountered in our artificial gale south of the floating
bridge. However, there are very few boats in this class that would have felt as
secure and controlled taking those wailing seas broad abeam. The Grand Banks
hull has the ability to work with the waves, rather than to fight them. It's
almost as though rougher conditions simply tap a reserve built into the design,
rather than stress a calm-water party boat to a near breaking point.

We eventually turned south into the more highly energized winds, once again
taking the waves on the bow. The 46 Classic again demonstrated a keen ability
to keep her bow down. The busted waves flew past the cabin windows, but we rode
far steadier than I would have thought likely. When we had established
sufficient clearance, we made a slow, beamy turn back toward the bridge to
experience the effects of a following sea.
Even in the nutty conditions south of the floating bridge, I made a note:
"following seas are a non event, no substantial deterioration in handling."

We splashed around long enough to develop a sincere appreciation for the
seakeeping ability of the 46 Classic, and then motored back to Passage Maker
Yachts.


Conclusions:

John Howe likes to say that Grand Banks concentrates on quality, rather than
quantity. As well turned out as the 46 Classic may be, as meticulously
assembled and finished as the interior is and as "classic" as the exterior
lines may be, the ultimate value and quality of the 46 Classic is something
that can be best experienced. One can sit and compare features and
specifications between Brand A, Brand B, and Brand C and eventually arrive at
an informed, intelligent choice. It's a shame more people don't get to sample
the same type of assuring, confidence inspiring ride through a frothing,
boiling, beam-on, fiasco we enjoyed with the Grand Banks 46 before they buy a
boat. Boaters who first encounter such conditions long after they choose at 46
Classic will know, in an instant, that they got their money's worth.

Speaking of money, manufacturer's suggested retail price for a new Grand Banks
46 Classic, with the John Deere 375's, is $726,153. The boat we tested at
Passage Maker Yachts has an extensive list of options that bring the total
price to $783,393. That may well be more than most people will ever spend on a
boat, but then again a Grand Banks 46 will prove to be a lot more boat than
most people will ever own. As John Howe says,
"It's about quality, not quantity." All the while he's talking the talk, the
product he sells is walking the walk.

On 29 Nov 2004 08:36:44 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

Highly Refined Lady Loves to Play Rough


Article Snipped

Great article! That made me want to run out and buy a Grand Banks, as
soon as I win the lottery.

I especially keyed on one line, "...the cost of the labor
is immaterial to the quality of the product as long as the
craftsmanship remains constant or improves."

Seems like a great reason to outsource jobs, doesn't it?

John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

On 29 Nov 2004 08:36:44 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:
Highly Refined Lady Loves to Play Rough


If it's Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest, we can safely assume that
several million people will dine on turkey and cranberries. It is almost as
certain that we'll have an extremely windy day, possibly even a full-blown
storm, on or around Thanksgiving.

=================================

Did the GB46 have stabilizers? Out GB49 came equipped with a Naiad
unit and it is truly remarkable the difference it makes, even in
inland waterways. One of our local hazzards is encountering a fast
running motoryacht or sportfish in a narrow channel. The gyros on the
stabilizer unit pick up the first little hint of a roll and
immediately dial in a correction. It's like a big hand reaching down
from the sky to straighten the boat out, a very unusual feeling the
first time you experience it.