“I know you believe you understand what you think I said,
but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
RICHARD M. NIXON

Grand Banks 54

New Grand Banks 54 Heritage EU a hit from the drawing board

The new Grand Banks 54 Heritage EU has already made its mark as one of the luxury cruiser builder’s most successful models.

The new model was unveiled only at the end of last year and already 12 of the 54 Heritage EUs are delivered or under construction at the company’s yard in Malaysia.

Boat No 8 is scheduled for delivery to Australia in November.

Hank Compton and his team at Grand Banks Australia have been responsible for the sale of four of the new boats into the Asia Pacific region.

“These boats were all sold sight unseen,” said Compton. “We showed people the detailed drawings and specifications for the boat and they trusted us to deliver.”

The first 54EU to arrive in Australia is being delivered to Perth boating enthusiast Julian Walter.

“We have owned Halvorsens over the years and we have always admired the styling and build quality of the Grand Banks brand,” said Mr Walter.

“The new 54EU is built on the 53 Aleutian hull which has given it more beam than you would expect of the Heritage series. This translates to magnificent space through the cabins, particularly the midships master suite which runs across the full beam of the boat.”

Mr Walter praised the versatility of the Grand Banks design.

“We do most of our cruising at sensible speeds,” he said. “There is no need to rush. Our Heritage is built to cruise all day at eight to 10 knots. But it has a turn of speed if I need to get back to port quickly or get out of the way of a storm. The boat is capable of planing speeds up to about 21 knots.” 

He said the family had used their boats mainly for cruising to Cockburn Sound and Mandurah as well as extended trips to Rottnest Island.

“We will spread our wings with the Grand Banks,” he said. “Our plan is to voyage north to the Abrolhos Islands and further along the coast.”

The Grand Banks 54EU is the largest of the company’s Heritage fleet of classic trawler style cruisers.

The standard three-level layout includes three cabins and two bathrooms in the accommodation suite below decks, a midships galley and aft salon on the main deck along with the lower helm station and a large entertaining area and helm on the flybridge.

On the main deck, the galley is equipped with convection microwave and four drawers for freezer and refrigeration. An L-shape dinette is opposite, on the port side, and an expansive salon aft leads to a fully covered cockpit with transom lounge.

 
 
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