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I could easily see this area was well-suited for outdoor entertaining, as I noted a table and seating for six just aft of the port helm and, aft of that, a sun lounge with a stowage compartment beneath that ran its entire length and was long enough to accomodate an Ocean Kayak. Conveniently located opposite the eating area was a wet bar with a refrigerator, freezer, and barbeque. And then the starboard engine quit.
Baker had already dropped the port engine’s rpm and brought the other throttle back to neutral. Our speed was now a little more than 4 knots. Collectively we scanned the helm for information, taking special note of the blank starboard CatVision screen. Baker’s attempt to restart was unsuccessful, so Roberts went down to the engine room to try it from there. That also proved not to work. He quickly checked the port Racors and, after we switched to the pilothouse helm, signaled Baker to throttle up. The starboard engine spun the PTO for the Wesmar system, and even though our speed was drastically cut and the stabilizers weren’t working, I noted that the boat still handled the existing conditions quite well, with minimum rolling while underway at 9 knots.
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This all happened just short of Hillsboro Inlet, which left us about 32 miles from our Lake Worth destination. As Hillsboro is noted for being feisty in this kind of wind and an ebbing tide, which it was, and with a shoaling area just south of the entrance, we decided to go for Lake Worth. Besides, this boat had to be in her dock by day’s end for the following day’s opening of the boat show. For the next three hours or so, we were all listening very carefully to that port engine.
By the time we turned into Lake Worth Inlet and passed Peanut Island, we shared a sigh of relief. I have to say I was impressed by the way the boat handled herself in these seas while running on both engines as well as only one.
We approached the show site and, as there were other boats before us, held our position for our turn to dock. Even in the lee of the ICW, the wind, somewhat abated, was still gusting. We were back on the bridge deck and had at least another hour before we would be able to dock. “Our interiors are pretty special too,” Roberts commented, referring to the fact that there was more to this boat than a seaworthy hull.
We took the aft stairway to the cockpit. Upon entering the saloon, I could see what he meant. Besides the outstanding craftsmanship of the cherry interior, there was seven feet of headroom. “We kept that fairly constant throughout, except in the engine room. There’s only 6’2” in there,” he said. Combined with wide windows all around, the saloon felt even larger and more airy.
The forward bulkhead, separating the galley and pilothouse from the saloon, is an eye-catching piece of interior architecture, with a design that includes bookshelves, a cabinet, a 42-inch plasma screen TV hidden behind etched glass art, and a serving window to the galley. “One of our other owners wanted a complete see-through to the galley, so all this, except for the television screen, is going away,” Roberts said.
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