The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the expansive saloon of the Cheoy Lee Alpha 87 was the name Recaro. It was embroidered into the headrests of the three helm seats, just forward of the eight-person dining table, and it hinted at what I was about to discover about this boat. Recaro, as most everyone knows, is famous for the custom seating found in most of the world’s top performance and race cars.
The seats were not just there for show either. Powered by a couple of 1,925-horsepower Caterpillar C32 ACERTs, our test boat put up some impressive numbers: a top speed just a tick under 31 knots and 26.5 knots at a moderate 2000-rpm cruise setting. Frankly, those are what you’d expect out of a pair of considerably more powerful engines. How did Cheoy Lee do it?
