Superb handling

The Sunseeker 75 Yacht was conceived to offer the same basic specifications as the Sunseeker 82, only with more compact proportions. This has resulted in a combination of superb handling - usually seen on smaller craft - and the same levels of luxury as her larger sisters. In testing this wonderful midsize, the test pilots had run the numbers and logged the speed, checked the fuel consumption, and monitored the trim, and decibel readings. Now the fun part of the test was to begin – the handling. At somewhere between 25 and 30 knots, the “heading” was a tight turn. As it headed into the turn, we stationed ourselves in the master’s suite below, and there, just outside the starboard hull windows, was a wave of solid salt spray — a wall of white water crashing into the glass as the yacht dug her chine in and hurled herself around the turn, heeling over at an angle that would be considered dramatic in boats half this size. It was exhilarating!

Sunseeker started in the business of building speedboats, so it’s of no surprise that handling at high speeds is always present in the minds of the navel designers and nautical engineers at the Sunseeker shipbuilding facilities in Poole, England. Besides flexibility, a boat of this class must offer quality, and for some years now, Sunseeker’s quality and innovation has been beyond reproach. Its joinery and interior finishing can rival the best the Italian yards can offer, and these are complemented by high standards of engineering. The standard hydraulic aft swim platform, for example, can be lowered well below the waterline so the tender can be floated onto its chocks.

 

 

This 75 foot yacht offers a spacious and very elegant main saloon with panoramic views of almost 360° through the typical Sunseeker saloon windows on port and starboard the windshield up front, and the glass doors aft. Unusual on a boat this size, there’s only one way to the upper deck, and that’s from the cockpit. It’s one reason why the saloon feels so big. There are no stairs inside. The fly bridge has a sunbathing area to one side of the upper helm station, sensibly arranged seating, and a bar in the center section, most of which is shaded by a bimini. The upper helm is also comfortable and well organized with state-of-the-art navigational instruments.

 

 

 

All offer four cabins are in the lower deck, with the owner’s stateroom amidships taking advantage of the full width of the yacht. The full bathroom and walk in closet buffer the noise of the engines in the rear. A VIP guest suite all the way forward features a good-size bathroom and shower compartment to port and a dressing room to starboard. A symmetrical pair of roomy twin-berth cabins, both with en suite facilities, lie to port and starboard. All staterooms are elegantly decorated in simple curved lines and rounded edges of luxurious cherry wood cabinetry. The upholstery is cream-colored leather, and there is cream-colored wool carpet to match. Visual contrast is provided by a few discreet accents of black leather and black marble worktops in the galley and in the heads. An owner has commented that he was surfing ten-foot waves at 25 knots on autopilot, and the Sunseeker was steady as a rock – a credit to her superb handling.  

 

 

 

 

Text: Phil deKanter ± Photo: Sunseeker.