Boat test for the 2007 Vicem 85 Classic with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2007 Vicem 85 Classic.

Upon climbing out of the bilge, I examined the rest of the interior. The layout seemed simultaneously expansive and unusual, with a huge, full-beam master abaft the engine room on the lower deck, a couple of VIPs just forward of it, one guest/crew stateroom in the forepeak, and two enormous dining-table-equipped saloons, one between the galley and the two VIPs on the lower deck, the other just abaft the steering station topside. Two saloons? Why not? The lower one offers a cozy, relaxing, intimate feel, which can be brightened with ports and a skylight if desired. The upper is all about light and spaciousness, thanks to wraparound windows and doors that open directly into the cockpit.

And attention to detail? Whether it was cabinetry with beveled-glass mirrors; beautiful raised-panel doors of thick, solid mahogany; table inlays of somber-toned wenge; or precisely dovetailed drawers in the galley, every aspect of the joinery appeared artisanally executed. And although the overlying varnish smoldered with a satin sheen, it evinced a wonderful reflectivity as well.

The last stop of my tour was the machinery spaces. Both the engine room and lazarette just forward of the transom were generously sized and easy to access. I simply walked straight into the ER through a door at the end of the hallway separating the VIPs. And I entered the lazarette just as easily by lifting a small cockpit hatch. All this was pure grooviness, of course, but there were vexations. While many electrical runs in the ER were carefully loomed and laid out, some were not. Moreover, a few of the perforated-aluminum panels on bulkheads and inwales had been poorly fitted.

The Vicem's aft deck offers consoles with a sink, wet bar, and top-shelf GE appliances including a stainless refrigerator and ice maker.

In the lazarette the actuating unit for the hydraulic swim platform bore an obscure—at least to me—brand name. Ezberci Marine undoubtedly manufactures fine equipment in Turkey, but I’m betting parts and service are not widely available stateside at present. Then there was the sizable coffee-colored stain emanating from a fillet along a painted deck beam against the lazarette’s after bulkhead—it continued to trouble me despite Landsberg's quite reasonable explanation. "Sea water probably got into a poorly caulked cockpit locker left ajar," he told me, "and migrated down through mahogany and sawdust."

As expected, the wind was whoopin’ it up offshore, so it was no surprise that once we’d cranked up the 1,187-bhp MANs and worked our way out through Port Everglades Harbor and Bar Cut, seas in the open Atlantic were cresting at a minimum of four, with genuine eights occasionally whomping through. Sightlines from the helm were excellent, even when coming out of the hole. Turning was broad and smooth thanks to BSC steering hydraulics with a dedicated power-steering pump. And while the top speed of 25.4 mph (22 knots) I recorded was respectable, the fact that we were tangling with such sporty weather points to an increase in top speed of perhaps a knot or two in smoother water. Downsea our test boat tracked like a train, but upsea she ran surprisingly wet at higher rpm, with enough water periodically hitting the windshield to nix the long-term radar-gun return necessary for recording an accurate acceleration curve.

Overall, though, our Vicem 85 Classic handed us a solid, sea-battering, relatively quiet ride under comparatively rough conditions, a phenomenon directly related to the two qualities that set her apart.

First, she's an immense Downeaster—so immense, in fact, that even those of us who tend to wander, lost amid the shrubbery of suburbia, can easily recognize her from afar. And second, she's resiliently handcrafted of wood—epoxy-laminated, expertly joined, lovingly finished wood at that.

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SPOTLIGHT ON: Varnishing Regime

Vicem's no slouch when it comes to the finish on its interior joinery. Sanding is accomplished in stages, each a tad less aggressive and more smoothifying than the last. Once the job's complete, ten layers of Interlux two-part polyurethane sealer are applied with mild sandings between each. Then when the sealer's thoroughly cured, four layers of Interlux Gold Spar Satin Varnish are applied, producing a soft, rich satin sheen that's both elegant and understated. While the tone of the wood on our test boat had me thinking stain had somehow been involved, such is not the case. "You are looking at the natural shade of the mahogany," says Vicem's Deniz Ozcakir. "No coloring at all."—B.P.

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