New Boat: Carver 44 Sojourn

Easy Does It

Carver’s 44 Sojourn makes maneuvering simple

With my first glance at the new Carver 44 Sojourn, I immediately flashed back to 1990 and my first look at a Carver Santego. The Santego was billed as a 38-footer but actually was slightly over 41 feet with a 13-foot 2-inch beam. What distinguished the Santego was the bridge forward design, creating a large cockpit from which one entered the saloon through a large sliding glass door. Stepping down to the saloon, the interior was on one level. Over the decade or so that the Santego was manufactured, it did not vary much from that formula. With its walk-on swim platform leading to a transom door to the cockpit, access was easy compared to many yachts of this caliber and this genre.

Specifications
LOA: 44’ 4”
Beam: 13’ 11”
Draft: 3’ 10”
Displ.: 30,000 lbs (loaded)
Fuel/Water: 412/100 U.S. gals.
Power: 2 x Volvo Penta
IPS 500 @ 370 hp
Top/Cruising Speed: 29/26 knots
Range: 283 nm @ 26 knots
MSRP: $607,770 (base)

Contact
Carver Yachts
Pulaski, Wisconsin
920-822-1600
carveryachts.com

The Sojourn brings the concept forward, making room for a larger cockpit. This Carver is a little longer, a little wider and more curvaceous, but both boats have the same mission, to maximize the enjoyment of entertaining family and friends on the water. However, the new Carver 44 Sojourn takes a thoroughly modern approach. Although you can get it with a choice of two 385-horsepower gasoline engines, the 44 Sojourn was designed to be powered by the Volvo Penta diesel IPS drive system, giving the operator the ease of joystick control when docking or slow speed maneuvering and electronic controls when underway. The sporty styling of the Sojourn’s helm is up-to-date with the engine instrumentation in full view; engine controls and the joystick are on the right. An area for a large multi-function display just to the left provides the operator with all the data to stay on course and away from trouble. But what I found remarkable was the second joystick on the port side of the bridge that makes docking from either side a cinch.
The Sojourn’s bridge is the epicenter for entertaining alfresco with seating for 12, wet bar, refrigerator, grill, and lots of storage. The aluminum arch and integral hardtop provide structure for the bridge enclosure making the deck comfortable in any weather. Basking in the sun while enjoying fun on the bridge is not a problem with a sun lounge aft. This extension of the bridge not only offers a place to lounge topside, it also provides shade over the cockpit and an awning for that sliding aft door.

What makes the model truly special, however, are its more esoteric design considerations, which have become the driving factors as to why the boat is so unusual and presents such a unique look. Its aim is to make moving about astonishingly easy. Carver’s approach is to offer plenty of space in the saloon below the helm, while ensuring ease of access to every spot on the boat. Wide, molded-in stairways lead from the cockpit up to the bridge on both the port and starboard sides. From the bridge level, catwalks descend on either side to the foredeck and the molded-in sunpad. Secure rails provide safety. Carver added little touches of style such as sea foam green-toned Plexiglas ornamentation below the handrail on the bridge level.
The focus on ease of use continues in the cockpit and on the deep swim platform, which makes boarding a breeze. At the transom, fold-down bench seating faces aft for use at anchor. The portside transom door leads to a large, open cockpit where there is plenty of space for chairs and a table or two.
Carver did not spend all of its creativity topside. Entering the saloon through the elegantly curved sliding door is one vision of the future of boating. Carver uses a very European approach to the interior with a blend of various types of gloss-finished hardwoods. It is a visually appealing approach with a warm, contemporary look. The main deck arrangement, which is not apparent from the outside, becomes surprisingly clear and smart once inside. Along with the large side windows in the superstructure, the design team placed three large windows on each side of the hull bringing more light into the saloon and providing views of surroundings regardless of whether the passengers are seated or standing.
The single-level deck layout makes it simple to move about the interior. The saloon area is to port and a convertible dinette is to starboard. Forward of the dinette is the well-appointed galley with a microwave/convection oven, ceramic cook-top, over-under refrigerator/freezer, coffee maker, sink, and plenty of counter space. Across from the galley is a mid-cabin stateroom that sleeps two in complete privacy. The owner’s stateroom is forward and has a walk-around centerline queen berth and ensuite head with separate shower. A second guest head is located just forward of the mid-cabin.
Just as the 38-foot Santego models stood the test of time for Carver, today’s Sojourn, with its ease of operation, modern electronics, safe and comfortable egress, European-inspired interior décor, and stateroom privacy presents an exciting package approach combining sport yachting and entertaining onboard to a new generation of boat owners, as well as those who enjoy a trip back to the future.

New Boat: Maritimo 60

Form Follows Function

This sport coupe follows a string of successful convertibles

On Australia’s Gold Coast, where Maritimos come to life, leaving the harbor at Hope Island, Queensland, presents the skipper with two options: The next inlets are 90 miles north or 130 miles south; the primary cruising grounds are 600 miles away. For a yacht model to be successful in these parts it needs both range and speed. Australians average more vacation time than Americans, but they are just as impatient to get where they’re going. There’s one other common requirement–safety and the ability to hold together in challenging conditions.

There’s an old expression, in fact it’s the title of a book, Gentlemen Never Sail to Weather. That’s a nice fantasy; weather and schedules often create other scenarios. The day before Southern Boating Sr. Editor Risa Merl and I were scheduled to put a Maritimo 60 Sport Cabriolet through its paces, our usually benign winter weather became, as optimists say, “unsettled,” and was predicted to remain so. Given that we were testing a stock boat that was soon to attend a show, we asked Steve Martin, the Maritimo sales director for local dealer YachtBlue, if he wanted to reschedule. He was puzzled, perhaps a touch insulted. I assured him my hesitation was concern for the thorough cleaning the boat was going to need afterward.

“I have people for that,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Go we did. With the optional Caterpillar C18 engines Maritimo installed to lure Florida buyers, the Cabriolet at idle was a bit too powerful for the confines of the narrow canal leading to the ICW.  “I run on one engine out to the channel; the transmissions are cross cooled,” Steve said. Once beyond the port security zone, Steve was able to nudge both throttles north of idle. “The optimal cruising speed for the boat is about the same with either engine package,” explained Steve. The larger engines, which push the boat to about 35 knots top, are a $115,000 upgrade. “With the C18s at 2100 rpm, I cruise at 29 knots, with the standard C12s, it’s twenty-five knots and the fuel burn is about the same, approximately sixty gallons per hour per engine.” The difference is that the C18s are humming at about 70 percent load while the 12s are running at 85 percent of maximum.

Specifications
LOA: 61’ 7”
Beam: 17’ 4”
Draft: 4’ 7”
Displ: 30 tons
Fuel/Water: 1,480/210 U.S. gals.
Power: 2 x Caterpillar C18 @ 1,015 hp
Top/Cruising speed: 35/31 knots
Range:  518 nm @ 28 knots
MSRP: $1.94 million as tested

Contact
954-376-4795
YachtBlue.net
Maritimo.com/au

With one eye on a big bank of charcoal clouds to the southeast, we passed the Port Everglades sea bouy and turned north to take advantage of easier conditions while we learned the boat. With a fine entry and 33° deadrise forward transitioning to 8° aft, the 30-ton sport cruiser quickly found her way up on plane, and at 26 knots delivered a smooth, nearly flat ride. Surprisingly, in a deck saloon surrounded by glass, wood and hard surfaces such as the granite counter top and galley appliances, there was no rattling and no need to shout over the thundering herd below. Maritimo has really put a lot of care and assets into isolating engine noise and vibration from guest areas.
The starboard side helm station is small and low so as not to overwhelm the area with technology, but the use of a pair of large multi-function display screens for plotting, soundings and radar, plus a pair of smaller displays tuned to the power plants was lacking for nothing. Throttles and shifters as well as the thruster controls were in the right places, as was the array of rocker switches and alarms on the burled dash. Visibility is excellent through 360° and the sharply raked tinted windscreen gives confidence when passing under bridges or needing to keep an eye on the weather. An opening to the side deck is behind the helm seat.

While much of the time owners and guests will likely choose to take meals on the aft deck–which is one of the reasons the L-shaped galley is aft in the saloon–there is a large lounge with a hi-low table opposite the helm for indoor dining. Between the two are steps to the lower accommodation, typically fitted with four staterooms. The master is aft in this space where it takes advantage of the depth of the hull under the saloon area to provide good ceiling height. The three vertical hull windows add light and a design accent. A spacious VIP stateroom with an island bed is forward. Its head can also be accessed from the corridor to serve the other guest staterooms fitted with bunks.
To get a feel for the steering and handling, we made a series of hard-over turns at 25 knots and full circles. Responsive power steering developed by Maritimo’s offshore race boats delivered both ease and control with just enough feedback. In the hard turns, the chines bit into the sea, but they aren’t the only stability factor. This boat maintains a shallow full-length keel for just this sort of action and also to improve downwind tracking. Even turning with the sea that was beginning to build, there was no sliding at the stern. Equally impressive was the boat’s performance upwind toward home, where Steve showed he could maintain plane down to 15 knots, although considering the sky, everyone was happier when we picked up the pace and headed home.
The Maritimo 60 Cabriolet is a big, powerful boat for a sports cruiser and with surprising range. The builder is already working on 55- and 50-foot versions for the U.S. market.

New Boat: Salt Shaker 26

Salty Sibling

Custom Details in a pocket-Size Package

It wasn’t far into my interview with Salt Shaker Marine’s owner Joe Maggio that I asked him why his newest model was smaller than the existing models in the company’s lineup. Joe thought a minute and begin rattling off a business explanation about how he thought the market for open boats bigger than his Salt Shaker 330 is saturated and so on, and he trailed off. After a few seconds he started again.

Specifications
LOA: 28’ 3”
Beam: 8’ 6”
Draft: 20”
Gross Weight w/o power: 5,100 lbs.
Fuel/Water: 160/20 U.S. gals.
Power: 2 x Suzuki @ 150 hp
Top/Cruise Speed: 44/27 knots
Range: 400 statute miles @ 27 knots
MSRP: $103,466

Salt Shaker Marine
25096 Marion Avenue
Punta Gorda FL, 33950
941-575-0900
saltshakerboats.com

“I don’t want to sound like a smart guy know-it-all, but the truth is, ‘been there, done that.’ I already built the biggest center console in the world at fifty-three feet, and then we built a fifty-one walk around.” That production dominated Salt Shaker’s facility between 1979 and 1988.
“Now my customers are asking for a small second boat or a tender, or they are downsizing and want a custom boat that fits the dimension of rack storage,” says Joe. “I looked around and found no custom boats in that size, so we started developing a twenty-six footer.”
The Salt Shaker 26 is all about agility, weight, balance, and maximum fuel efficiency, as witnessed by the numbers–400 mile range on 160 gallons of gas and a top speed of 44 knots on twin 150s. At 4,000 rpm, the boat cruises at 27 knots delivering 2.8 miles to the gallon. It isn’t that the boat is an ultralight, in fact, all up with fuel it weighs 7,000 pounds. The trick, says Joe, is where those pounds go–concentrated in the center of the boat– and how the hull is designed to reduce drag. The deep-V 21° deadrise bottom, for example, is accompanied by a series of inverted strakes for maximum lift.  At the transom, the lightweight, carbon fiber-reinforced outboard bracket–Joe calls it a power tray because it isn’t really an engine well or a bracket–remains out of the water when the boat is running up on plane, essentially lengthening the hull to 28 feet but without the extra two feet of drag.
Many of the ideas that go into all of the Salt Shakers come from the other half of Joe’s business–repair and customization.
“We’ve been drilling into and fixing other guys’ boats for 35 years,” he says. “In that time you see good things that work and things you don’t want to repeat. As a retrofitter and fabricator, I have the opportunity to use other boats and my customers’ modification requests as my crystal ball.”
Utilizing that insight, Joe and staff engineer Tom Smith developed a stringer system that allows them to customize the placement of wells, fish boxes and storage compartments in the hull to suit each customer without having to sacrifice strength or resort to multiple hull molds. Each of the compartments is larger than the hatch above it.
I’m especially pleased with our solution to forward seating,” says Joe. “It stops fights between the husband and the wife,” he joked. “If we had gone with molded-in seating, we would have added weight in a bad place. No seating–unhappy passengers. Plus, fixed seats would have eliminated our best storage for rods. You can actually get down in that big forward locker in the sole and place up to twelve rods in secure racks. No more lying on your stomach to get to your gear.”
According to Joe, production of the Salt Shaker 26 is limited to a maximum of just 12 boats per year and all sales are factory direct.