You recline with the wheel and throttles within easy reach and a great view out over the bow


sit at your private breakfast table with a view out over the waterline? The other two cabins are finished to the same excellent standard but, with the lower dinette in situ, they share the VIP’s ensuite heads.


ON THE THROTTLES Okay, that’s enough about what the boat’s like when it’s not moving, how about when you pin the throttles to the dash? Well, pretty brisk for something that weighs 27.5 tonnes and probably a bit more, thanks to this being the first hull and therefore heavily laden for testing purposes. We had the largest Volvo Penta D13 900hp engines on test in a shaftdrive configuration, though you can have them with IPS pods if you prefer. The 800hp versions of these D13s are also available but the larger engines seem a great match for the hull. There is also a version of the 57 available


with Arneson surface drives and 2,400 of MAN’s finest horsepower. So, if you like the idea of 45-knot performance, a monster rooster tail and the feel of a diesel pump in your hand then you know which one to go for. Despite the promise of some punchy wind


readings in Poole they never materialised on test day so the 57 had a pretty easy ride, save for when we went charging through the wake of our Manhattan 55 photo boat. The hull felt confident, solid and slam free, which is all the more impressive when you consider how far forward the helmsman sits and the echo chamber created by the open-plan interior on sportscruisers of this ilk. The dash was letting out a few too many


squeaks for my liking but Sunseeker puts this down to the engineers needing regular access to the back of the console on the first boat, so this one wasn’t bedded down with sealant and bolted in place like it will be on later boats. Sound readings were very impressive, especially at the helm where even at full chat the sound meter was registering only 76 dB(A) and, supposedly, the IPS version is even quieter. What I doubt, though, is that the IPS version


is any more fun to drive than the shaft version because the turn in, steering, quick-wittedness and downright fun of this set-up will be very hard to beat. In my experience of IPS, although the initial turn in is quick, the boat then tends to flatten off and take quite a while to make the turn. The shaftdrive boat’s turning circle was impressively tight, even at high speed, plus you get the other benefit of a shaftdrive boat, which is that sensation of being hunkered down in the water. This is put to the ultimate test


during our close-quarter boat-to-boat photography. With a Manhattan 55 thundering along at 28 knots 10ft away from us, the Predator tracked along perfectly straight with very little input from the wheel. Admittedly, your average owner is unlikely


to find themselves in this situation but this translates into a reassuring grasp on the water and the agile handling will come into its own when you’re surrounded by pots, like we were off Old Harry Rocks, or when you’re barrelling home in a following sea. When you stand at the helm with the roof


closed it feels like the geometry of the roof is all wrong and blocks the view for all but the very shortest of skippers. However, sit down and it all drops into place and you recline with the wheel and throttles within easy reach and a great view out over the bow, totally unimpeded by the heavily sloped roof. She climbs on to the plane over a bit of a hump but if you crane your neck for a few seconds she levels off into an easy canter. The trim tabs are controlled by four


separate, flush-fitted buttons, which match the rest of the controls on what is a great looking dashboard. Sunseeker says that the four buttons represent the four corners of the boat, so to speak, so if you want port bow down for example, you press the top left button. It makes sense on paper but personally I found it rather clunky and would have preferred two rocker switches with an indicator to show where the tabs are in their travel. Of course, if this is your boat then I’m sure the system will become second nature but I struggled to get to grips with it during my few hours on board. The same goes for the wipers, which have


five, yes five, buttons to control and sync the various cycles of wipe. Sunseeker says customer and dealer feedback has been brilliant but it’s something else I struggled to fathom. This accusation can be levelled at pretty much any manufacturer out there, not just Sunseeker. When is someone going to stick a wiper stalk on the steering wheel hub, which you pull towards you to wash the windscreen and click upwards in increments to increase wiper speed? You could even have a twisting section on the end to control the navigation and anchor lights. I know the technology exists because every car built since 1970 has one.


VERDICT Wiper rant aside, the Predator 57 is a boat that nails the basics but also has some star quality that gives you serious food for thought when


Bathrooms are beautifully finished and endowed with plentiful storag e


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