What do you get...
by John Curnow, Global Editor, Powerboat.World 23 Jun 2022 23:00 BST
Magnificent rake and continuous radii around the front of the windshield. Solar panels adorn the hardtop to eliminate the need for a genset © John Curnow
What do you get when you cross The Jacksons, Milli Vanilli, and Engelbert Humperdinck all together? Honestly, I have no idea, and it could get amazingly weird, but I do know we have the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s all covered in that lot. So if we threw in say maybe Coldplay and Katy Perry, then in terms of pop we're right up to now by covering off the Noughties and teens right there.
Accordingly, the key word in that lot is 'now', which is handy, for this is exactly where the items below fit in. First up, we're going pink, or even more precisely, was pink! Yes, the old Stefan Racing that appeared in Engelbert Humperdinck has certainly been a hit with readers and former racers alike.
I mean right now it is a mix of high build primer and good old splotchy guide coat, but just what is it going to look like when done? So in order to find out I went to her owner, Grant Wharington, and asked the question. What colour does Kylie (his wife) want? "Thanks for that. Shows you how much say I've got. You're very correct there Johnnie. She's talking about Tiffany Blue, which to me looks like the colour of bog (filler, light teal in shade), and I don't think it's right."
"I kind of like the colour of my car, which is like a metallic indigo blue really. Yeah I think indigo. I like it, but anyway it's to be advised. To be negotiated," said Wharro. To me that means we'll see when it's in the spray booth, and Wharro quickly replied, "Exactly!"
At any rate it is a wonderful project. Obviously a lot of weight's come out, for the two massive GM/DDA 8V92 donks, gearboxes, surface drives, and hydraulics are gone. They would have been something in the order of 1650hp each, and generated the kind of mountain moving torque only severely blown Diesels could even contemplate dishing out. And if memory serves, these were actually twin charged Iron Ladies. So cop that!
Now there's a little bit of mass going back in, with the new alloy structure and the glass. That front screen does look pretty cool BTW and that LowE or Low Emissivity glass with its thin metallic coating on the glass that reflects thermal radiation reducing heat transfer through the glass is pretty cool. The aim is to be back around 8 metric tonnes (lightship) with the engines on board, which was its old race weight.
"I'm hoping for eight but it's probably, with people and 1600 litres of fuel, going to be closer to nine. OK. It will probably be more like ten really when you account for things like ice. And if Kylie's Champagne's on board, well we might have to allow a couple of hundred of extra kilos."
I think we might be at ten tonnes - Champagne bottles are thick, and they weigh a lot. That particular point earned another, "Exactly."
The thinking is that it will be a 45-knot vessel (WOT) with a 1200hp propulsion package on her transoms. "It's a number that we'd be more than comfortable with. Let's face it when you're actually doing 45 knots, it's blowing your hair back pretty quickly. We know that this package has done 275km/h an hour as Stefan Racing back in the day so if with outboards and a similar overall mass we can get that type of pace, then we'll be very happy, and I think it will be a really fun boat."
It might do more you know, but at 45 you almost have to have the stopwatch out to calculate your time to turns. Things happen pretty quickly at the elevated numbers. "Absolutely. I mean you're only allowed to do 30 in most places on the Broadwater (on Queensland's Gold Coast)."
So it will be more than enough I think. I also like the fact that there's either twin cabins if it's in weekender mode, or boys' and girls' toilets on charter. Not a bad idea.
And the barbecue and the icemaker are there for the cold drinks and snacks, right behind the helmer.
There are a couple of twin daybeds at the back, so it would be super comfortable with ten people, but you could probably take fifteen or so. "I haven't sort of looked at the final numbers for survey with the surveyors yet. Well that will be the next project to decide how we can configure it."
"Yes exactly. But look it will all fall into bed and it's all structural." I'm a bit amazed. I thought there'd be much more Kevlar given its age, and there is a lot of carbon on it. "Yes all the stringers are carbon capped. But yes, solid glass. I wasn't involved back in those days in any kind of racing powerboats. We were out racing sailboats. Anyway, the hulls have a small grid of many, many stringers and frames. And I guess they stayed away from cores because of the flex, core shear failures and all that sort of stuff, so they don't have any of that."
"I guess they still needed some weight to stop them from flipping. Otherwise, with so much weight at the back and so much aero, some speed and the air wedge down the middle, you know, the nose would go over the transom pretty quickly if it was too light. It is just nice to rebirth an old girl that's seen the end of its racing life." As we said earlier, it's far better than just sitting on the trailer.... (and that got another 'Exactly' as well.)
I am a real fan of the huge windows. They do look really cool in black, and are joined right over the mullions. Wharro explains further, "So they're actually cambered. Benton Curve Glass in Sydney made them, and the radius is identical. They're curved in one direction, but the corner windows are cut through the diagonal, so the radii meet in the corners and that will be just a nice black silicon line down there, so it will look seamless around the front."
And the huge topside windows will be really good too. The rooftop also sports a soft radius from the centre out for drainage, and will carry solar panels to charge the lithium batteries that will serve the house - i.e. no genset. "So we're nice and quiet you know in the evenings (other than the music might be taking over a little bit)," explained Wharro, and I think we need to add in clinking Champagne flutes at that point too. (And yes there was another 'Exactly' there in case anyone is counting.)
"So I think it will be a cool boat for the Broadwater or Sydney Harbour, or up in the Whitsundays. We'll see where we find ourselves." It will be a great day boat if you're up in those parts, that's for sure. Really easy to get somewhere quickly and then, more importantly, get back. "True. For when the supplies run out," added Wharro.
In finishing, many thanks to Wharro, but also and very importantly, DT (David Turrell) for his time explaining his methodology, and the plan for the final push to launching before Christmas. This is one Master Craftsman who is absolutely still on the tools, and his pedigree goes all the way back to the McConaghy Heroes of Mona Vale.
Iberian sun and Costa Blanca history meets Balearic chic
Now some boating brands are way old, and some are new. Well new in comparison, for Alicante is a place where time gets marked in centuries, not minutes - a very old port city, indeed. So the brand under consideration here is Tesoro, which kind of brings up images of bulls, but as you can see here, whilst they might be as strong as bull, and can get on the plane smartly and charge like a bull at the proverbial red flag, they're much less oldy worldy, and see themselves way more in the here and now set.
That's kind of handy, for they are all about dayboats, which would have to be the swiftest growing sector, maybe vying for the title with powercats, and as such are the 'now' kind of item. Tesoro are no ordinary dayboats either. Having only been around since 2015 means history is the town they stem from, heritage is all about the ethos they espouse, and style is all about the Western Med they hail from. Grab a clean sheet of paper, and it is quite amazing from whence you can cometh.
They started with a 38, then came a 40, a 55 followed and soon a 46 will join the fray, and you can have them as inboard or outboard power. That sort of customisation is just the beginning, for everyone from Rolls Royce to Mercedes-Benz is going black (in some shape or form), and Tesoro is no different, now offering a Black Series, and you can see about that in this video.
So the customisation is evident, especially as you dig a little deeper. Yet for me, the standouts were not skin deep, but rather much more about skeleton and tissue. Now that would mean construction, and you had me at vinylester resin infused core cell, which is going to be strong, uniform, lightest possible mass per metre without going exotic and taking the price tag with it, quiet under way and at rest, as well as long term durability. All good things to have. Big Time!
There is a spacious interior, which frankly has to be as result of her styling. And for this I hark back to a wee little ditty called, Incoming! Man the guns. The reason for that is simply that the Tesoro is not so much G-Banger to me, as it is Lamborghini Urus. The Geländewagen becomes pedestrian in this discussion, for you just simply know when you are in the presence of the Super SUV. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Tesoro are now a bit of a global success, and recently, The Yachts Sales Co here in Australia recently expanded it all that bit further. Their next availability is February 2023 for the T-38 and T-40 models, with either engine configuration. Don't forget there is also the 55, and a 46 that is currently in development (so I guess that removes the '?' from the website). Now if presence means something to you, then give yourself a present in the form of a Tesoro. This is a feel and do, not a think and do kind of thing...
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John Curnow
Global Editor, Powerboat.World