Great Machines: Boats - Sunseeker Portofino 35
June 2, 2003
Once boaters gain an affinity for a manufacturer’s products, only major temptation—or total calamity—can alter their allegiance. Sunseeker knows this. Loyal customers have helped the company expand its range from the small speedboats of the late 1960s to today’s lineup of yachts, cruisers, and sportboats. But during this logical evolution, something important got lost along the way: an entry-level Sunseeker cruiser.
“Dealers kept clamoring for a launchpad into the brand,” says Sunseeker Managing Director Robert Braithwaite. “I told them to sell used boats. When the supply dried up, we finally decided to build a smaller boat that still embodies Sunseeker’s traditional values.”
Fans of the brand will not mistake the Portofino 35 for anything else. Naval architect Ewen Foster has given her the classic Sunseeker “S” profile, complete with rakish half-moon windows and oblong portholes. The rest of the 35’s design represents Foster’s struggle with the art of compromise. “In the old days, we’d just do a performance hull and fit in the rest,” Foster explains. “Now, we hit it from three directions at once: hull, interior, and engineering.”
Driving the boat’s 272-hp twin diesels into a head sea, I pushed the new hull a good five knots beyond her official maximum of 35 knots. The Sunseeker’s handling wasn’t razor sharp, but the helm was never less than responsive. Perhaps more crucially, the Portofino 35 negotiated a lumpy English Channel with confident ease. Owners will have little reason to fear changing conditions during longer voyages.
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