Sunseeker Portofino 47

I tried a Sunseeker Portofi no 47 which is on the books of leading south coast broker Grange International Ltd at £429.950 inc. VAT. The craft has had little use with the twin Volvo 575hp D9 diesels running less than 100 hours. That is less than some demonstration boats and the general condition of this Portofi no is best described as exceptional. The craft boasts a vast cockpit with comfortable seating for eight while the accomadation has an owner stateroom with en-suite and a twin berth cabin under the cockpit again with en-suite. Without using the settee in the main saloon, the craft sleeps four in sumptuous luxury although this Portofi no has never had anybody sleeping in the berths, it that fresh. Again, purchasing a good used craft not only saves money but invariably there are many ‘extras’ fi tted that don’t come on a standard boat. The Portofi no 47 we tried had a hard top, air conditioning, heating, a larger generator, barbeque together with many other optionals.

The spacious saloon with open-plan galley boasts a fl atscreen television and iPod docking system and televisions are fi tted in both sleeping quarters. Outside, the helm position gives perfect al round vision and the dashboard features full instrumentation. A full array I of Raymarine’s navigation and communication equipment is installed inclding a colour radar/chartplotter with Raystar 125 GPS, a 240E Class D-DSC VHF radio, ST8002+ Autopilot and a ST60+ Depth sounder. The substantial bathing platform that was home to an infl atable dinghy can be raised or lowered and after leaving the water a hot and cold shower is at hand.

The Volvo diesels are through shaft drives which often need a modicum of skill when leaving or entering a tight marina berth. However the day we took the boat out for an airing, there was virtually no wind which made our departure an easy task, made even easier thanks to a bow thruster. Although the winter in Britain has been bitterly cold with snow, icy roads resulting in the usual traffi c chaos, the day we set off for my trial run in early March was glorious. Blue skies, gentle breeze and bright sunshine, so bright in fact that the sunshine roof was slid open. The Sunseeker Portofi no is one of the companies most popular mid-range models and it’s clear to see why. In terms of size, the craft can be managed single handed if an owner wished to cruise alone. However if he or she happened to be a par ty animal, there is enough room for several guests in comfort. The trial boat had been afl oat throughout the winter and had therefore a covering of slime underwater and how much this effected performance, I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess but when the throttles were pushed open, the boat was instantly on the plane and once in clear water 30 knots was recorded on the speedo. Maybe an extra 2 knots might by achieved with a clean bottom but although the Portofi no at 18.08 tons (16400 kgs) is not a race boat, she can maintain a high cruise speed all day and a bit of rough water does not upset the performance.

With the enclosed hard top, this craft is ideally suited to either the unpredictable UK climate or Mediterranean as with the sunshine roof fully open, its almost like sitting in an open cockpit. The feather light steering was a joy and although I’ve said many times, it’s unwise to turn the wheel hard over at speed, this Portofi no nevertheless performed effortlessly in sweeping turns without losing pace. Sunseeker’s own performance fi gures state a 34 knot top speed with fuel consumption at 47GPH and although they don’s publish a cruising speed for this model, I think around 24 knots would be anticipated when fuel consumption is an exceptable 24GPH. Once again, we are not stating buyers start looking at good used boats as opposed to new models, it is nevertheless worthwhile scouting around respected brokers for ‘As Good As New’ models and I thinks it fair to say, the Portofi no 47 on the market at Grange International is a fi ne example of what we are suggesting.