This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
BOAT REPORT


CHRIS-CRAFT W


CORSAIR 36


larger sibling still has fi re in its belly Text: Stewart Campbell Photos: Chris-Craft


here the Corsair 32 is your throw-it-around, wind-in-your- hair pulse thumper, the redesigned Corsair 36 appears, on the surface at least, to be the more refi ned, cultured Chris- Craft offering. Prince William, rather than Harry, if you like.


The Corsair 36 would never be splashed across the front pages after being snapped naked in a Vegas hotel room. No, it would just make sure there were no cameras there fi rst, because this is still a boat with plenty of bad behaviour bolted to its hull. Twin 430hp petrol engines bark into life when those big Mercury


throttles are engaged, and will grunt wonderfully all the way up to the 40-knot top speed we recorded on test. Chris-Craft has managed to nudge this up to just shy of 42 knots with a pair of 8.1-litre Volvos and you can also opt for twin D6-330 or D6-370 diesel engines from Volvo. Either way, 40 knots on most boats would feel edgy, but here, out on the Florida blue, I’m totally calm as I try – but fail – to upset


this hull. There’s not a lot of chop about but plenty of boat traffi c and I aim for boat wakes like a torpedo, hitting them at all possible angles. But never, not once, does this boat do anything but blithely transit them. Somehow it’s annoying – like I need a big hull slam just to jolt me into appreciation of how fast I’m going.


AT THE HELM The driving experience is best enjoyed standing up, but sitting and leaning on the fl ip-up bolster are also options. In all positions the throttles are a comfortable stretch away, but these are the tall Mercury variety, not the stubby Volvo levers, and I’m a big fan. You can sync them to control both engines with just one stick, resting your hand comfortably on the base plate. But Mercury has also stuck trim controls all over the left-hand throttle and I fi nd I keep hitting them when using both throttles. On a boat that barely needs to be trimmed at all, they simply serve as a distraction from the driving experience, which in every other respect is sublime. Another thing this Mercury set-up can be praised for is the Axius joystick control, which vectors the sterndrives to make moving


A lesson in elegance and refi nement, but this


SEE THE VIDEO


mby.com/cc36


FEBRUARY2013 55


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7