|
Opposite the galley is a head that offers lots of elbowroom, along with a separate 2'x4' shower enclosure with a built-in seat. Even the sink is amply proportioned, a man-size 16"x11" oval that's plenty big for shaving, hand-washing, and grooming, with a couple of feet of countertop.
Marveling at the space that Ocean had put into this 37-footer so far, I wondered how much more there could be. Opening the door to the stateroom, I saw. Criss-crossed double and single berths accommodate a variety of sleeping situations while providing a comfortable spot to relax and watch the flat-panel TV. A stack of four 12"x9"x20" drawers under the upper berth and generous hanging lockers on both sides all take care of stowing gear.
Even with all her interior space, the 37 boasts a cockpit well suited for the primary mission: raising fish. Beneath aft-facing seats there's a sink/bait-prep station and tackle drawers to starboard and a livewell to port. Another livewell is in the transom, and a pair of fishboxes are built in beneath the cockpit sole. A removable in-sole stowage bin just forward of the transom affords access to the lazarette and steering gear.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
|
Weather conditions were ideal for putting the 37 through her paces. Winds of 15 to 20 knots were opposing the tide, building steep three- to four-foot seas mixed with occasional four- to six-foot swells. Running downwind, she was fast and smooth, and even upwind at nearly 33 knots, she never slammed, and we took no water on deck, thanks to her fine forward sections and generous flare at the bow. She was truly one sweet ride even in challenging seas.
Backing down at 4 to 5 knots, we took no water in the cockpit either. And sitting dead in the water, even in beam seas, she rolled gently but didn't wallow, thanks to the superior damping offered by her down-angled chine setup. Her sound levels were 90-dB or lower (65 is normal conversation) throughout the rpm range, probably because the engines are right behind the helm and there isn't a lot of acoustical insulation in the engine space.
Nevertheless, by getting back to basics, Ocean has created a boat that does her job well yet built her in a way that's as modern as tomorrow. That sounds like a winning formula. And Ocean must think so, because the 37 is the first in a series of Billfish it has planned.
For more information on Ocean Yachts, including contact information, click here.
SPOTLIGHT ON: High-Tech Design and Construction Methods
Ocean used a 3-D surface-modeling program to design the 37 Billfish's entire hull and deckhouse. It e-mailed electronic files containing the 3-D geometry to Marine Concepts, a Florida-based company that formed the hull and deckhouse plugs from blocks of structural foam using a five-axis CNC router. The finished plugs were then shipped to Ocean, where they were used to build the molds for the finished parts. Sounds like a lot of steps, but it's far easier, faster, and more accurate than the old-fashioned way.
Even the stringer system is fully molded, not laminated into the hull as is the usual practice. The complete longitudinal and transverse stringer system is molded as a separate part that gets bonded to the inside of the hull using Plexus, an ultra-strong fiberglass fusion material. It produces stronger, lighter framing systems, with the additional benefit that the exposed surfaces of the frames are as smooth as the hull's exterior, making them easy to keep clean.—G.L.P.
|
PAGES:
|
|
2
|
 |
This article originally appeared in the December 2007
issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
|