|
B O A T I N G R E V I E W S
|
 |
| |
| SALTHOUSE CORSAIR CABRIOLET 44 |
|
| |
| BOB SALTHOUSE'S CORSAIR 36 IS AN ICON IN NEW ZEALAND LAUNCH DESIGN |
| 160 boats to that design went in the water in the 1970s and 1980s.Their sensible, easy lines and good seakeeping gave confidence and enjoyment to hundreds of New Zealand and Australian families who cruised and fished, courtesy of the Corsair. |
|
|
 |
|
Two years ago, Salthouse’s youngest son, Dean, and his wife Treena established Dean Salthouse Next Generation Boats in Silverdale: Dean as managing director; Treena as general manager. They have continued the Corsair legacy, with 21st century modifications. “Nothing can touch the Corsair upwind,” Dean Salthouse says, “but downwind it can be a bit lively.” He carefully approached the task of improving “what is already an awesome design”.
The first revisiting of the Corsair was Charisma, lengthened from 36ft and labelled the Corsair Cabriolet 44 [Boating, August 2005]. The Salthouses own Charisma in partnership with another family and know her thoroughly. Charisma has a modern interpretation to her interior layout which, her owners believe, is hard to beat but Salthouse felt he could still improve the boat’s stability at rest and her obedience downwind in big swells. |
 |
|
The boat reviewed here, New Beginnings, is mark II of the new generation Salthouse Corsair Cabriolet. At first glance, her statistics are identical to Charisma’s – length overall: 13.5m (44ft 4in); waterline length: 12.5m (41ft); beam 4.12m (13ft 6in); displacement: 8 – 9 tonnes but there are important changes to the hull, mostly viewable only with scuba gear or during a haulout. The first change is an extra 20.3cm (8in) to the waterline beam, mainly to improve stability. This contributes to New Beginnings being noticeably calmer at rest, Salthouse says. A significant help |
|
| here is her lighter deck which is one-piece moulded GRP, rather than timber, as on Charisma. Salthouse notes with a grin that after 160 boats, there are finally moulds for every part of the boat – the helm console, the bathroom, even the cockpit table – enabling a truly production-style build. The construction is handlaid GRP with a balsa core and gel coat finish, the same hull laminate the Corsair has always had. “And it’s properly handlaid,” Salthouse emphasises, “not done with a chopper gun.” |
 |
| |
| When we motored out of Gulf Harbour Marina with Dean and Treena Salthouse we also had on board Sarah Scully, our senior art director. Sarah has been complaining of cabin fever and wondering out loud exactly what a boat review involves. Unfortunately, by the end of this cruise she would no longer believe our stories of arduous, chilly outings and stormy seas. Instead she believes that every boat review is a sunset cruise with platters of anti pasto. We did do some real boat review stuff though – some wide circles for the camera outside Gulf Harbour in the fading afternoon light. We were moving at 31kts at 3800rpm and the platter – tauntingly banned until all photography was complete – stayed steady on the cockpit table as the boat barely heeled in the turns. The noise in the cockpit at full speed was beyond normal conversation but much more acceptable at slower revs. Inside the cabin, as we ambled home later at 18kts, it was minimal. Normal cruise speed is 20 to 24kts at 2800rpm. |
|
 |
|
| |
Charisma has two 200hp, four-cylinder MTU engines but part of New Beginnings’ job as a demo model is to show off the design’s full potential so she has two 315hp, six-cylinder MTUs and cruises at 20 to 24kts. Drive is conventional – it’s the most popular system from a resale point of view. A bowthruster and/or sternthruster are optional.
Despite the larger engines, New Beginnings weighs in at just half a tonne more than Charisma, reflecting the weight savings from building the boat from moulds. |
|
 |
|
| |
| Now, about the hull modifications beneath the waterline. New Beginnings’ hull retains the fine entry for upwind ability, but she has a flatter 11-degree deadrise to her aft sections to lift the bow. This combines with new spray rails in the hull to provide lift, reduce drag and deflect spray. Working in with this hull shape is improved fore and aft trim, to lift the bow when travelling downwind. The engine, drive train and tankage have all moved aft two feet. |
| |
 |
|
Bob Salthouse’s original Mark II Corsair had a large, permanently set trim tab built into the hull, starting 1.8m forward from the transom.
The new generation Corsair has done away with the large trim tab, which created drag, and instead has two smaller, adjustable trim tabs to push the bow down or lift it as required. “It gives us huge control,” Salthouse says, “especially |
|
| more lift when moving downwind. Instead of travelling down the wave to the trough, the boat now lands on the wave.” |
| |
One more addition: a small keel startsabout 8in ahead of each prop shaft, and follows the shaft’s angle down to about 6in behind the rudder. “Corsairs have little in the water down aft and in a following sea the depth of the forefoot can take over so the keel may give a better grip,” Dean says. The keel also protects the rudders and props. As a Salthouse adage says: “There are two types of sailors: those who have run aground – and liars.”
New, underwater exhausts also decrease drag and have reduced back pressure. New Beginnings has a top speed of around 31kts so she has three additional, under-sole bulkheads to strengthen the for’ard sections for moving through head seas at speed.
Salthouse is yet to find some really challenging conditions in which to trial the boat downwind, but in other ways the Salthouses have tested the boat thoroughly – and it sounds arduous. Many weekends, they take their children, Jade, 7, and Sharna, 6, on overnight cruises. The kids take over the for’ard cabin, keeping their noise and toys contained far from the saloon. Treena indulges her love of reading in the ruched leatherette upholstery – quite luxurious – in the cockpit, sheltered by the all-round clears if the weather demands, while her husband catches dinner from the swimstep. |
| |
Not many general managers are also in charge of interior décor but Treena has specified all the interior colours for the Next Generation boats and, as Dean says: “We know she’s got it right because no one has ever changed anything.”
She works with amocas, chocolates and earthy tones which are practical for family use and relaxed for boating. The ruched leatherette upholstery is classy but apparently wipes down or even hoses down easily if the fishers get messy.
Treena sees the cockpit, with clears, as an extra room without the disadvantage of split levels that comes with a flybridge – |
|
 |
|
| especially with children onboard. This way everyone’s together but it’s still possible to find peace in either the saloon or the cockpit. The cockpit table drops down to a double bed sized sun lounger. |
| |
|
Although the layout is similar to Charisma’s, New Beginnings has used the extra beam and headroom to achieve 2m (6ft 6in) headroom throughout. The boat’s generous flare means the top bunks in the forepeak are well outboard and above the lower berths giving the person underneath better space and providing easy access to the top berths.
The galley also has some delightful touches: twin rubbish bins, drawers that are impossible to slam – just on the point closure, the drawer takes over and slowly pulls itself shut, roller systems for the drawers and – you gotta see this – felt-lined drawers and cupboards with cutouts for the crockery and glassware, for a quiet galley in rough weather. For our evening cruise, Dean’s elder brother, broker and ex-boatbuilder Don Salthouse, brought out his latest purchase as the camera boat: a 50-tonne Salthouse, circa 1980s, from the Marlborough Sounds. Photography done, the cockpit chat was about the soccer World Cup, the future of canting keels – these guys are sailors, too – and the latest Salthouse Corsair Cabriolet.
Don, Dean and Bob, who has left his 60s behind, are all comfortable taking the boat into the marina single-handed. That’s to be expected for a family raised in boats but as all Salthouses involved in this article kept reaffirming, it’s an extremely simple boat to handle.
|
| |
Dean demonstrated when berthing the boat later that evening. From his perch on the helmseat, he could easily slide back the large window and swing his legs out to the sidedeck and get the spring line with the boat hook. Alternatively, the skipper can climb up on his helmseat and exit through the large sliding hatch. As for visibility from the helm, there are hectares of the stuff. As Dean says: “I like the fact that you can use it by yourself and you don’t need the whole entourage to get on and off the dock.”
Don adds: “We can gallop out to Tiri and have a fish and it’s so easy to get on and off and so easy to clean up afterwards.” |
| |
| Suppliers to New Beginnings includes: |
 |
| Specialised Stainless Steel; Chatfield Engineering:
shafts; Austral 22x31 4B S/C Compuquad: propellers; Transdiesel: engines; TeleflexMorse: controls;
Noel Dowel: engineer; Enertec Marine: Mass Combi 12/2000-100 charging; BEP: switchboard;
Lusty and Blundell: Seastar steering, Raymarine autopilot, navigation display; Bennett
trim tabs, Atlantic windlass; Burnsco:Manson anchor; |
|
|
| |
| S P E C I F I C A T I O N S |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| price as tested |
$700,000 including gst
and all extras – dinghy and outboard,
lifejackets, electronics,mooring lines |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Serada: Caprice oven; OceanAir: refrigeration; RFD:Aquapro dinghy;Wairau Paint Centre: paint including BMW for hull; SMG Upholstery;
Cantaloupi Lighting; Sopac:Marinedeck. |
| |
| top |
| |
| Dean Salthouse Next Generation Boats |
 |
|
| |
|
|
 |
