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In the late 1970s and throughout the 80s, the Salthouse Corsair boasted near-legendary status. Designed by Bob Salthouse, it was a planing-hull launch that quickly gained popularity with cruisers and fishermen all over the top half of the North Island.
Large numbers were built and the design morphed into several incarnations before slowly being bypassed as new designs, boatbuilding techniques and lighter, more powerful diesels took over.
However, as with fashion, boating trends and good wholesome designs often return after a cycle or two, albeit usually much the better for some new thinking and fresh technology.
So it is with the Salthouse Corsair. Now under the guidance of Bob Salthouse's son Dean and his wife Treena and their rather aptly named Next Generation Boats, the new Corsair Cabriolet might hark back to that 30-year-old design but that is pretty much all it does.
The pair, with help from the old master, clearly started with the iconic Corsair design but there is now little in the new generation models to remind us of those previous versions.
The redesign started with changes to the running surfaces of the hull and soon progressed to completely altering everything from the chines up.
The internal layout was also completely redesigned in favour of a modern sport-cruiser styling. Gone is the open flybridge and a new portofino transom has been added, increasing the hull length and resulting in an improved, very seakindly hull that slips easily through the water.
This "next generation" of Salthouses clearly knows what they are doing. In a very short time, they have built and sold five of these Corsair Cabriolets, two to Australian owners.
Seville is the second of these and has been extensively customised for her life "across the ditch". An air conditioning system and a genset have been added, as have a whole raft of other extras. All these come at a price, of course, in terms of both cost and weight.
Although Next Generation can put a new Cabriolet on the water for around $740,000, Seville's final in-the-water price tag was over $1 million, partly because, as Dean Salthouse explains, the owner "wanted everything aboard to be the best available." Seville also weighs more than a standard Salthouse Corsair: 11.5 tonnes as opposed to 9.3 tonnes due, in large part, to all the extra equipment she is carrying.
Despite this, she is as much at home at 30 knots as she is at 10 knots.
Powered by twin Cummins QSB330s, Seville has a cruise speed around 22 knots, burning 80 L/h. However, she can hit a maximum of 29 knots, although fuel consumption does increase to a not unreasonable 122 L/h. At 20 knots, she has a very respectable 300-nautical mile range.
As with any customised boat, there is a huge range of interior options available and bulkheads can even be moved to accommodate different berth layouts. On Seville, the "standard" four single berth forward cabin arrangement has been modified, with one of the berths replaced by a drawer unit and chart storage locker, another berth slightly shortened and the port bulkhead moved 400mm forward. There are even lee cloths for sea trips, making these berths ideal for handily stowing gear bags or equipment, even in rough seas.
Both this and the owner's cabin are fully air-conditioned and their decor features satin finished cherry timber, marine fabrics and cork flooring.
The owner's cabin has also been extensively modified. The new arrangement delivers close to a metre more floor space.
The generous head and shower area services both cabins.
Large expanses of glass surround the saloon literally. This offers amazing all-round views but also makes the saloon something of a heat trap, especially when one considers Seville will be based in Queensland. In response, the builders have got serious with the air-conditioning system, installing a powerful 9.4kW unit. There are also hidden shades up behind the pelmets to help cool the saloon and add privacy. Twin overhead sliding hatches provide additional airflow.
Seville's helm is another area that has come in for some special treatment. An eye-catching burr-walnut dash accommodates a serious electronics package based around the large screen of a Simrad CX44E multifunction system. PC-based Nobeltec software runs, with add-ons such as AIS, cameras for the engine room and anchor locker, forward facing sonar, wind station and Smart Craft. There's even a JRC Fleet 33 for email.
The sports cruiser interior includes a full-length settee, able to double as an extra berth, a U-shaped dinette that seats eight around a large removable table and a well appointed galley with a brushed stainless steel galley bench top set into cherry wood cabinetry. There are deep fiddle rails for that offshore work.
There is also the usual array of fridge, freezer, stove and oven facilities, a purifier keeps the drinking water clean and there are even built-in soap dispensers.
As on any boat of this size, the cockpit is where one "lives" and Seville's is particularly inviting. Set up for her owners and guests to enjoy everything from evening entertaining on a warm Queensland night to bottom fishing off Fraser Island, there is a large icemaker and the starboard storage seat has been modified into a fridge/freezer cabinet.
There is also an L-shaped settee, complete with table, and this has been designed to drop down so that, with the addition of an infill cushion, the whole area is transformed into a large sunbathing pad.
The transom includes a BBQ, live bait tank and fishing boards. There is loads of specialist stowage and the full-width duckboard incorporates a hydraulic GRP platform for the tender.
For a full review of the Corsair Cabriolet, see the March/April edition of Pacific Motoryacht, on sale now.
The new Salthouse Corsair Cabriolet has noble heritage, writes Any queries regarding Weekend Marine, contact marine editor Mike Rose on (09) 483 8284; 021 735 015 or email: mrpr@xtra.co.nz.
