Maritimo C47 to debut at Lauderdale

New model powered

by Volvo Penta IPS

600 power plants

Maritimo Yachts of Queensland, Australia, is probably the first boat builder ever to introduce a new model by talking about the possibility of a catastrophic hull breach. With the launch of its new C47 Sports Cabriolet in May—the model will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October—Maritimo introduced the concept of buoyancy chambers built into the engine room. Not coincidentally, the C47, which features twin Volvo Penta IPS 600 power plants, is Maritimo’s first foray into pod-drive technology.

Maritimo founder and CEO Bill Barry-Cotter said, “We realized that, with the weight of engines and drives under the cockpit, there was a possibility that a breach of the hull in the engine room could result in catastrophic sinking from the stern. Such an event could trap people forward. We worked with naval architect Stuart Ballantyne to integrate positive buoyancy tanks on either side of the engine room to prevent such a disaster.”

According to Andrew Nicholson, national sales manager for Volvo Penta in Australia, the introduction of positive buoyancy was entirely driven by Maritimo. Nicholson said that, to the knowledge of Volvo Penta, this is the first IPS boat in the leisure market that has watertight bulkheads combined with buoyancy compartments.

“This boat is also the first in the Oceania region to achieve Volvo Penta ‘Certified Installation’ status,” said Nicholson. “This is a rigorous set of standards ranging from the lamination schedule of the hull—particularly the rings through which the pods extend—to fuel return lines running to the bottom of the fuel tank. It requires a lot of paperwork as well as time to achieve certification. We have a number of ‘accredited’ installations in this region, but the Maritimo C47 is the first to gain the ultimate ‘certified’ status.”

The C47 (its length without the swim platform is 47 feet) will be the baby of the builder’s Sport Cabriolet fleet and is smack in between sizes of the sport yachts of its cross-town rival builder Riviera Yachts, both of which are fitted with pod drives—Riviera’s 4400 is driven by IPS and its 5000 features Cummins/Zeus power.

The Maritimo C47’s interior is designed with two staterooms below, each with large fixed port lights in the hull.  The galley is located along the starboard side of the saloon with seating and a large table for dining to port. Most of the overhead itself slides back at the touch of a button. Twin staircases provide access to the swim platform. HMY Yacht Sales has just been tapped to represent Maritimo on the Atlantic Coast from Miami to North Carolina.

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