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Elsewhere on the Web
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• Luhrs
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While
walking the docks at the 2001 Norwalk International In-Water Boat Show
with compadre and PMY boat guru Capt. Ken Kreisler, I noticed a
40-something-foot sportfisherman that had a shapely, sleek profile, rounded
tumblehome, and wide flare. I hadn’t seen this boat before, so I
asked Kreisler, “What’s that one?” We both shrugged
our “I dunno” shoulders. She had a slight resemblance to some
custom Carolina boats, but she was assuredly a production model. A little
investigating gave me my answer. “A Luhrs 44? This doesn’t
look like the Luhrs I’m familiar with,” I thought. But it
was the Luhrs I would soon test.
I went
into that test not sure of what to expect, having heard lots of conflicting
scuttlebutt about the quality of Luhrs’ boats over the years. My
barber Vin, who bought a 32-foot Luhrs new in 1972, swears by his boat
and still runs her three days a week. He wouldn’t trade her for
the world. This kind of brand loyalty explains why the Luhrs name has
been so visible for more than 60 years. I also read several surveys of
Luhrs’ models built during the early 1990’s that were good
and in which the surveyor noted strong hulls and a good finish. However,
I’d also heard some chatter about mid-1980’s models that were
less than flattering.
So whose
word should I take? Well, I figured I’d take mine when Chip Shea,
marketing director for Luhrs, invited me to test the 44 and decide for
myself. After all, anyone can talk about how a boat is built, but in the
end your own eyes tell you best. I met up with Shea at Northside Marine
in Stuart, Florida, on a steamy 90-plus-degree late-July day with humidity
to match. The weather was intense, but so was this boat.
On entering
the engine room, which had kneel-down headroom and walkaround access to
the optional 635-hp Cummins QSM-11 powerplants, I liked what I saw. The
44 sports beefy fiberglass-encapsulated foam stringers and transversals,
which rest on a hull bottom comprised of one-inch-thick solid fiberglass.
In addition, there are two standard crash pumps here, a nice safety feature.
The
construction seemed high-quality, too. The 44’s hull sides are cored
with CoreCell foam to reduce weight. To enhance the structure’s
strength, the hull-to-deck joint is glassed in where possible and also
mechanically fastened. Luhrs uses balsa core in the standard hardtop,
once again to keep weight down. Yet even with these measures, at 33,500
pounds (dry) the 44 is no featherweight. I consider that a plus—when
I’m in deteriorating conditions, I want weight to punch through
the waves.
Next page >
Luhrs 44C continued > Page 1, 2,
3, 4, 5,
6
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