Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool (Read 8 times) previous topic - next topic

World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool

World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool

[html]

The Solent Spear was designed for a purpose and hails from a no co*promise era when seakeeping and style came before anything else

In an age of customer clinics, market research and a continual quest to be all things to all men, it’s great to co*e across a boat that was simply designed around one single person’s hopes, wishes and requirements. In the case of the Solent Spear, that person was Peter Morton and the year was 2004. […]


This article World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.



                              

The Solent Spear was designed for a purpose and hails from a no co*promise era when seakeeping and style came before anything else

In an age of customer clinics, market research and a continual quest to be all things to all men, it’s great to co*e across a boat that was simply designed around one single person’s hopes, wishes and requirements. In the case of the Solent Spear, that person was Peter Morton and the year was 2004.


Peter lived on the Isle of Wight and co*muted to the mainland every day. He was struggling to find a fast planing boat with the layout, and above all ability, to make that journey safely and co*fortably, almost irrespective of weather – he dismissed most production boats as “flat-bottomed Tupperware containers masquerading as powerboats”.


The Spear owed more
than a nod to its Fairey heritage


So he turned to Casse Téte Marine Ltd to build him a boat, and Alan Burnard, the legendary designer who had previously penned the even more legendary Fairey range, to design it. In fact it was the last boat he ever drew.


The idea was to put the boat into limited production, and so two deck layouts were offered; one with a co*pletely open cockpit, the other with an open-backed hard top. Even with the hard top, the Solent Spear was a great-looking boat, with more than a nod to that Fairey heritage in its deeply flared bow, wide side decks and low profile superstructure.


Article continues below…


   

                   

               
     class="featured-image">
   

      
     src="ht**://www.mby.c**/wp-content/themes/simba-theme/assets/images/placeholder.png"     data-src="ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-920x518.jpg"
     data-id="133087"
     class=" lazyload blur-up"
     alt=""
     width="920"
    height="518"
    data-srcset="
         ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-320x180.jpg 320w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-620x349.jpg 620w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-920x518.jpg 920w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-1220x686.jpg 1220w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-1620x911.jpg 1620w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY302.c*l_coolboats.Sunseeker_Superhawk_43_1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,
   "/>   

   

               

                   


                        World’s Coolest Boats: Sunseeker Superhawk 43 – as cool and pointy as an icicle
                   


               

               

                   


                       
                   


                                   

           

                   

               
     class="featured-image">
   

      
     src="ht**://www.mby.c**/wp-content/themes/simba-theme/assets/images/placeholder.png"     data-src="ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-920x518.jpg"
     data-id="132945"
     class=" lazyload blur-up"
     alt=""
     width="920"
    height="518"
    data-srcset="
         ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-320x180.jpg 320w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-620x349.jpg 620w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-920x518.jpg 920w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-1220x686.jpg 1220w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-1620x911.jpg 1620w,
            ht**://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/09/MBY301.c*l_coolboats.Mochi_Dolphin_64_fly_5-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,
   "/>   

   

               

                   


                        World’s Coolest Boats: Mochi Dolphin 64 Fly - Pulse-Pounding Pastel Panache
                   


               

               

                   


                       
                   


                                   

           

           


Inevitably, this resulted in a fairly cosy interior despite its 35ft LOA, with just a vee-shaped dinette forward, quarter berths aft on either side that slipped back beneath the cockpit and a co*pact galley and heads.


From the off this was designed to be a fast capable co*muter, not a fat cruiser, and outside was the place to be, either in one of the two high-backed captain’s chairs, or further aft in the sheltered cockpit area.


Cummins or Yanmar shaft drive diesels of around 375hp were offered, which gave a top speed in the mid-30-knot region. Interestingly, of the three boats actually built, one was fitted with Volvo Penta IPS drives. But the big news was the super-cool retro looks, the capable offshore performance and the cachet of owning such a classy hand-built British cruiser.


The low profile means the interior is fairly cosy


This is a boat that hails from the no co*promise era when seakeeping and style came before anything else. It looked great, and it handled brilliantly!


To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum.


Solent Spear specifications


Year: 2004

LOA: 35ft 0in (10.6m)

Beam: 11ft 0in (3.3m)

Power: 2x Cummins 375hp shaft drive diesel engines

Speed: 35 knots

Price when new: £235,000



If you enjoyed this….



Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.


Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.


Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.



This article World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

[/html]

Source: World’s Coolest Boats: Solent Spear - As ageless as helen mirren and almost as cool (http://ht**://www.mby.c**/specials/worlds-coolest-boats-solent-spear-as-ageless-as-helen-mirren-and-almost-as-cool-134441)