portofino 40

benjenbav said:
I was looking at a Maserati MC12 on Wednesday. Flippin 'eck: you couldn't see anything out of the back or really even out of the sides and there was no chance of a camera. I pointed out how impractical it would be to park and was told that I'd missed the point. :D
Click to expand...
But you had unfortunately just hit that parking bollard :0
 
Jack Haines said:
For me the Sunseeker's USP is the work done on the interior. The amount of light from the glazing in the hull is great and the Ken Freivokh designed interior on our one felt really special for a boat of this size.

The area of improvement would be visibility.

The Fairline's performance blew me away on test, but then it did have the D6 400s fitted, which of course are also available on the Portofino.

Areas of improvement? I know that some testers have found the lack of movement on the helm seat frustrating but that wasn't an issue for me.

The Targa 38, launched in 2006, is also an older design. And although the fit, finish and attention to detail plus the new hull windows combine to make a very good interior, it probably just trails its more modern rivals, mainly because it's a 'refresh' rather than a new build. But it's also less expensive than the Portofino 40.

Like anything, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. I can't say 'buy this one over that' because it's so subjective. All I can do is offer my honest opinion, and hope it informs people's choices.
Click to expand...
In a boat there are so many variables..I think reviews can be good because your experience could help me know what to consider that maybe I would miss, but, as you imply, in the end it is my prefernces that matter to me, not yours.
Is that bench seat a one piece.. and the bolster too? Dont tell you you BOTH have to sit or stand. Cant be that daft,surely?
 
gjgm said:
Is that bench seat a one piece.. and the bolster too? Dont tell you you BOTH have to sit or stand. Cant be that daft,surely?
Click to expand...

Which boat are you referring to?

Yes, we cannot possibly cater for every taste when we are writing a boat test. All we can do is write the facts as we see them and hope that helps the reader in making a decision.

Jack
 
Jack Haines said:
Which boat are you referring to?

Yes, we cannot possibly cater for every taste when we are writing a boat test. All we can do is write the facts as we see them and hope that helps the reader in making a decision.

Jack
Click to expand...

Yep - and I've more or less decided that the Portofino is
a) great looking, nice interior, but
b) too expensive
c) those side decks are plain daft borderline dangerous

One of the great things with our Jeanneau Prestige 34 S is the unequal sized side decks giving the port side about 10" width plus a full run of guardrail, grab rails on the HT and also mini-bulwarks (6" high). Makes them very safe. If Jeanneau can manage this on a 34' boat, now a 9 yr old design, why can't Sunseeker on a new 40'?

I think SWMBO would veto the Portofino just on that point alone.

Not that the above will stop me poking abiout it at SIBS, but the side decks will of course be roped off.
 
Last edited:
jfm said:
It's a shame the builders don't get this more right. BTW, it's not just sportscruisers. Sq58 was fine but lower helm on Sq78 isn't perfect imho. On my new one Fairline are putting the lower helm seats on s/steel posts to lift them 80mm
Click to expand...
Yes you're right. Helm visibility has got to be one of the most important factors in how seaworthy a boat is and I don't understand how builders can get it so wrong either when they've got the latest CAD facilities and most of them build helm station mock ups as well. IMHO, every boat should have an adjustable helm seat which adjusts for height as well as rake. I see that the Portofino 40 has a fixed bench seat which IMHO is completely unacceptable in a boat costing £300k (??). Not only that but the seat doesn't have armrests or side bolsters either to support the helmsman in a turn which I would have thought would be a prequisite of what is supposed to be a sportsboat.
Not particularly having a go at Sunseeker as lots of manufacturers are guilty of doing the same thing. One thing I have always liked about US boats is that many of them have proper adjustable helm seats. I mean how much extra does a decent helm seat cost within the overall cost of the boat. £500, I dunno, but I'd certainly pay extra for it myself
 
benjenbav said:
I was looking at a Maserati MC12 on Wednesday.
Click to expand...
The old midlife crisis flaring up again there, bjb? Don't do it. You know you'll just put your back out getting into the damn thing:)
 
DougH said:
What puzzles me is why folks have rail mounted fender baskets on the bow area.

Surely this restricts vision.
Click to expand...
Yup it does DougH. i had them on the Sq58s, and overall I liked them becuase they did a good job of storing 6x big fenders and I helmed from upstairs 95% of time, but when helming from below on passage I had to remove at least the 3 starboard side ones and chuck them in the aft cockpit

Storing fenders is quite an issue for builders. All boats could have cupboards but at the price of losing the space for something else. The Sq78 has lockers in side of the superstructure which at first sight you'd think fortunately don't use up much useful space, but in fact they restrict a section of forward galley to 400mm deep cupboards under the worktops, so you cannot fit normal domestic appliances there. Everything's a compromise on boats.
 
Can't wait to see the new SS 40 at SIBS but looking at it at the moment (inc cost) if I was looking for this type of boat right now, I'd go for the Princess V39. This total package I think will take some beating.
 
jfm said:
Storing fenders is quite an issue for builders.
Click to expand...
Hate to bang on about Ferretti again but on both Ferrettis I've had there is a dedicated compartment behind the anchor locker for fenders and a rail to tie the rope tails to. That seems a good solution to me.
 
Deleted User said:
The old midlife crisis flaring up again there, bjb? Don't do it. You know you'll just put your back out getting into the damn thing:)
Click to expand...

Here's a picture of me, from Autocar:

Prive_060A.jpg


OK, maybe I'm a bit in the background in this one. But can you carry off heels like that? :D
 
benjenbav said:
Here's a picture of me, from Autocar:

Prive_060A.jpg


OK, maybe I'm a bit in the background in this one. But can you carry off heels like that? :D
Click to expand...

Martin, or should that be Marteen?,............If that's you in heels,.................I would.............

Ex RN types are experienced with kaitai's along Boogie street back in the sixties:D
 
Last edited:
Yup, Salon Prive and it's not me in the dress. :D Actually, I'm right in the background in the Yas Marina marquee wearing a blue shirt with blond (ok, grey) hair.

Odd thing, really. I was just looking at the pix in Autocar and thought, blimmin 'eck, that's me.

Kaitai was a new word to me. Thanks for that!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top