Take one look at the shot of the Hunton XRS43 below. Drink it in. I’ll wait.

That, for a certain kind of a boater, is the epitome of boating. The wind in your hair, the girl at your side, the roar of the engine, and a beautiful locale in which to enjoy all of these things. British builder Hunton seems to really understand the mentality of the pleasure boater. And their new flagship, the XRS43, is the manifestation of that mindset. I recently had a chance to speak to Hunton Managing Director Fiona Pool about just what makes her company special.

Power & Motoryacht: Some of our readers might not be overly familiar with Hunton, can you tell me about the company and its background?

Pool: We were established in 1979. We are British and everything about our boats is hand built. We’re high performance combined with a superb attention to detail. You get that when you hand build. And that’s why people come to us. Every single boat we build, down to our tenders, has a race-proven hull. There are quicker boats than ours, but we combine speed with superb handling in big seas, as well as excellent fit and finish. That’s not to imply we’re slow though. All our boats can go 50 to 70 knots. 

We’re also pretty bespoke and are able to make a lot of modifications. And we’re very exclusive. People call us ‘The Aston Martin of the Sea.’ You’re never going to pull into a marina and see 50 Huntons.

Power & Motoryacht: And the XRS43 in particular, that seems like a promising boat, tell me about it.

Pool: Well that boat will be new in the U.S. at the Miami show. It has a great racing pedigree, and we’re putting in whatever engines the client wants. One boat we are working on for a U.S. client now will probably have the big twin 700-horsepower SCi supercharged MerCruisers. We think she’ll do 75 knots. But the one coming to Miami will have twin 600-horsepower MerCruisers. It’s also got a separate head and shower in the open cabin, and comes with a bimini for a bit of shade.

Power & Motoryacht: Sounds like a boat made for some fun in the sun. What do you envision as the perfect day spent onboard the XRS43 in South Florida?

Pool: Well you’d be in the Bahamas in an hour. Go have lunch there!

Specifications

  • Builder: Hunton
  • Model: Hunton XRS43
  • Boat Type: Cruiser
  • Year: 2014
  • Base Price: $800,000
  • LOA: 43’0″
  • Draft: 3’3″
  • Beam: 10’9″
  • Standard Power: 2/430-hp MerCruiser 8.2 MAGs

This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.