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The
helm is smartly laid out: Not only are there two chart drawers to port,
there’s space (and a spot lamp) on top where you can actually lay
out a chart and work on it. The instrument panel has two tiers, with two
DDEC (8V-92 DDECs are standard) and two B&G Network displays flanking
a Ritchie Magtronic fluxgate compass on top. Below are a Northstar 941XD
GPS, Laserplot Chartnav (14-inch monitor), Furuno FVC 582 color sounder,
Furuno 1942 64-mile radar, and ICOM M127 VHF. There are repeaters for
the B&G units and Magtronic and an ICOM M59 VHF on the bridge. (A
Heart Interface 2500 inverter and KVH Tracvision II satellite receiver
are also part of the electronics package.) The engine controls (DDEC single-levers,
of course) are right next to the control for the Jabsco spotlight and
joystick for the 25-hp HPS bow thruster. Everything is standard.
That
joystick should make maneuvering the boat easier; designer Bill
Garden wanted the 65 to be handled by a couple. For the same reason, the
65 has wide, well-protected side decks that make it easy to move among
the foredeck, pilothouse, and aft deck. And once you’re aft, you’ll
have a pair of 1,200-pound Simpson Lawrence warping winches to help in
docking or anchoring.
A curved
companionway to starboard of the helm leads down to the accommodations.
No scrimping on space here either, with a full-beam master aft (forward
of the engine room) and a VIP in the forepeak, both with en suite heads
(the master has a tub). Between them to port is a twin-berth stateroom;
its head is at the foot of the stairway and accessed from the hallway,
so it can function as a day head.
Nor
were corners cut on the flying bridge. In addition to a fully equipped
helm, it offers seating for six in a starboard, L-shape lounge and a Meile
electric barbecue. There is no wetbar, but the 15-foot tender (built by
Pacific Mariner) with 50-hp Mercury four-stroke and Nautical Structures
davit are standard.
Pacific
Mariner calls this a four-cabin yacht, and indeed, there is one more sleeping
quarter in the lazarette that you pass through to reach the engine room.
Accessed via a hatch in the cockpit’s transom seat, it offers a chest-style
refrigerator, toilet, air conditioning, stacked washer and dryer, and
a pair of bunks, but nowhere near the comfort and space of the other cabins.
As crew or kids’ quarters, it’s ideal.
As you
can see in the test results on the next page, Pacific Mariner gives full
measure when it comes to performance: a 24-knot cruise and 432-NM cruise
range. While I couldn’t evaluate her rough-water handling on the
near-calm test day, our 65 was responsive and a pleasure to drive. And
her sound levels demand mention. This is a very quiet boat, both underway
and dockside. In the latter case, you must strain to hear the 20-kW Northern
Lights genset from either the saloon or master stateroom. Underway, there
is no shaft noise, and sound levels in the master stateroom barely break
70 db-A. Credit composite construction and extensive use of two-pound
density acoustic insulation in the engine room.
So how
does Pacific Mariner bring such a well-built, well-equipped, well-performing
yacht to market for such a remarkable price? Mainly production efficiency:
building virtually the same boat over and over. So if you can live with
a true production motoryacht and trade the marble soles, granite countertops,
and a flying bridge wetbar for a few hundred thousand bucks, this is your
boat. It’s enough to inspire yet another oxymoron: practical boating.
Pacific
Mariner Phone: (360) 466-1189. Fax: (360) 466-1147. www.pacificmariner.com.
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