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Then there was the 41's manners. I noted virtually no heel in her turns, even tight ones, thanks to some seriously hard chines aft and an exceptionally low vertical center of gravity, the direct result of a low engine placement made possible by the giant, hollow keel. I also noted how arrow-straight the 41 tracked, often for lengthy periods and mostly due to an extra-large, airfoil-shape, barn-door-type rudder.
It was this rudder, in fact, that took center stage when I used the lower helm station to shoehorn the 41 into a tight little spot starboard-side-to after the trial. I began by spinning the wheel hard to port upon nearing the dock—standard operating procedure for a vessel that backs to starboard thanks to a right-hand-turning screw. But then I did something rather different, based on my experiences with undocking the boat earlier that day. Instead of goosing the throttle to initiate a starboard swing as you'd do with most single-engine vessels, I simply left the rudder where it was and bumped the engine into and out of gear a couple of times at dead-idle ahead. Within seconds the stern swung in, a development I reinforced with a quick shift astern that simultaneously settled us against the dock and stopped all forward way.
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"Now that's a rudder!" I exclaimed to Formo as I shut down our Yanmar, "and visibility's as good from the lower helm as from the upper, all the way around."
Chortling to myself, I then checked out the enormous engine room (with 360-degree engine access) via a couple of hatches in the saloon sole, one that opens into the rear of the machinery spaces, the other that offers forward access. The engineering acumen and crisp execution of the installations here was top-notch. I was especially enamored with the fuel-manifold system mounted against the welded-aluminum fuel tank (with giant clean-out) on the starboard side. It was laid out schematically on a giant poly panel, with big duplex Racors; a profusion of rubber-cushioned, aircraft-style Wiggins Adel fasteners; double-clamped MPI fuel hoses; and two easy-to-figure-out Reverso selector valves for return and supply. Great stuff—all of it.
I was also pleased with the D.C. electrics against the port-side fuel tank. It was laid out schematically as well, with a Xantrex Link battery monitor, Blue Sea Systems emergency engine start switch, and 120-volt duplex outlet.
By the time I closed the hatches, it was getting dark outside. Formo and I concluded our time together with a chat in the Camano 41's saloon, him sitting on the sofa, me kicked back in one of the club chairs. The lights of Chandler's Crab House twinkled outside. A lamp glowed from the cocktail/dining table.
"Beats my hotel room all hollow," I remarked, looking around.
"That's the point, Bill," he replied. "And when you get tired of the view, you just move."
For more information on Camano Marine, 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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