Boat test for the 2006 Buzzards Bay 33 including boat specifications, photo galleries, boat videos, boat layout diagrams, boat test numbers, boat test results, and boat speed graphs. Also includes pricing, engine test reviews, ratings, standard features, and gear for the 2006 Buzzards Bay 33.

Just about any boatbuilder will claim its vessel has the "latest(!), innovative(!) technologies" and "represents an entirely new direction." Yet, once you get onboard, you often discover that while the boat may be nice, she's not necessarily the "next big thing" in boating.

But the Buzzards Bay 33, which I recently tested out of Plymouth, Massachusetts, is different. She's a no-frills powercat that's fuel-efficient, low-maintenance, and a total blast to pilot. She's got the stability and seakeeping you need for long-range cruising, yet a shallow enough draft (2'5" with the engines down) to accommodate days on the beach, too. In short, she's a versatile vessel designed to be operated single-handedly that could open the door for a new kind of fun on the water.

The 33 is the brainchild of Russell Hunt, founder of Multihull Development (MD). Hunt grew up as a self-described "boatyard rat" at his father's yard near Cape Cod. After graduating with a degree in naval engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1999, he worked as an engineer on a commercial shipping vessel on and off for four years.

But his heart wasn't in it. "It's a hard thing to do when you have a passion for something else," Hunt told me on test day. For him, that passion was being out on the water and having fun on boats. "I like boats, but commercial ships are different—even megayachts. They're just not as much fun—so much maintenance, so many complicated systems. I favor simplicity and not filling a boat up with too much complicated junk. And I'd done a lot of research on composite construction and yacht design while still in school and knew that a well-built and well-designed, modern-constructed powercat, known for [its] fuel economy and seakeeping, didn't exist." So it was no surprise in 2002 when Hunt decided to follow his dream and build a boat intended to be strong, fuel-efficient, and fun.

The result was the Buzzards Bay 32 CWD powercat prototype, which Hunt and designer Chris White built in a small workshop in Bourne, tested extensively on the waters off Cape Cod, and debuted at the 2004 Newport International Boat Show in Rhode Island. Hunt says the 32 garnered interest from cruisers looking for an easier-to-own (i.e. lower-maintenance) boat they could run themselves and onboard which they could comfortably spend a week or two. After selling the first 32 to a gentleman who had owned a 42 Krogen and ran her up and down the East Coast, Hunt and White began work on a second boat, which was built by North Atlantic Yachts in Canada, launched in July, and is the 33 I tested.

Hunt achieved his goal: Driving her is not only effortless, it's a blast! She handled 180- and 360-degree turns at WOT with only a slight drop in rpm (less than 200), and her standard 225-hp Mercury Verado four-strokes burned just 14 gph at 24 mph for a nearly 300-nautical-mile range. Moreover, this displacement cat weighs just 11,000 pounds, thanks to unidirectional fiberglass, which absorbs less resin, and CoreCell in her hull and deck. That also makes her quick: Within just 15 seconds, she was already at top speed (41.5 mph). The faster I ran her, the more comfortable she rode, slicing through three-footers with ease. And though I'm 5'1", sightlines from the adjustable standard Stidd helm seat at the centerline helm station were excellent thanks to low trim angles and seven big windows, two measuring 9'Lx2'H, all around the pilothouse.

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