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The Atlantis I tested was finished in the optional "extra luxe decor," featuring dark wengè hardwood floors, cream and chocolate bulkhead fabrics, and blond teak joinery. It looked great. This was the first Atlantis 50, unveiled at the Cannes boat show in September, and so she was also fitted with the European standard engine installation of twin 715-hp Volvo Penta diesel inboards. U.S. boats will have 800-hp Volvo Pentas as standard equipment, but according to Atlantis there is likely to be only a marginal difference in performance—perhaps a knot or two.
There are worse places to test a boat than Cannes. The sky was high and blue, and the hills behind the town were fading into a warm haze as the morning sun gathered its strength for another tough day at the end of a Mediterranean summer. The weather had been unusually unsettled, and out beyond the bay we managed to find the remnants of a swell left over from a hard blow the day before. On top of that there was, of course, the usual aimless chop assembled from the crisscrossed wakes of dozens of other boats, large and small, all out doing what we were doing among the serenely anchored superyachts. A woman watched us from the deck of Christina O, the old Onassis yacht, as we sped out towards open water.
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What sea there was, this hull ironed out with no fuss whatsoever. Its transverse sections are not especially acute, but there seems to be plenty of depth to the forefoot, which lends a certain authority in a head sea. The long swells became a gently undulating playground, and on the shorter chop I couldn't induce slamming at any angle I attacked them from. Visibility from the helm was generally excellent, with dark moldings used around the console to prevent windscreen reflections. The control ergonomics inspired confidence, too—although tinted glass for the screen never seems such a great idea when the weather gets murky.
In our acceleration trials, once the engines' initial computer-controlled caution was thrown to the wind, the boat displayed an infectious joie de vivre, leaping from 15 to 20 knots in three seconds and from 20 to 25 knots in not much more. The engines also offered plenty of torque low down the rev range, and at 1600 rpm, with no need for any trim tab, they kept us planing steadily at 20 knots—a perfectly respectable cruising speed and pretty economical, as well as fairly quiet. The maximum I recorded in two-way trials was an equally respectable 31.5 knots. Overall the 50 came across as a fun driver's boat, which is not a bad achievement for a 20-ton cruising machine. I'm sure the lady on Christina O was impressed.
What Atlantis has up its corporate sleeve for its next new model has yet to be revealed. The only thing we can be sure of is that we won't have to wait too long. This new 50 is a capable all-rounder, well equipped for comfortable cruising yet with the performance and handling of a sporty lunchboat. She is also a handsome vessel, devoid of quirks and vices, and unlikely to go out of style any time soon. Whatever new models come and go, this is one that looks like she'll be sticking around.
For more information on Atlantis, including contact information, click here.
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This article originally appeared in the January 2007
issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
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