++Sea Apr. OFC CMYK4
7/7/10
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FIRST-TIMERS HEED THE CALL
OF THE BROUGHTONS p. 44
SHHH: SOLUTIONS FOR
A QUIETER BOAT p. 22
30-year-old trawler
gets new engine,
new lease on life
HAMPTON 580 PILOTHOUSE
FATHOM ELEMENT
GRAND BANKS 45 EASTBAY SX
HARGRAVE 101 RAISED PILOTHOUSE
$4.95 USA
$ 4 .and
9 5 Canada
0
74470 48430
08
1
seamagazine.com AUGUST 2010
SeaTrial
Fathom Element
FORTY FEET OF INNOVATION AND AFFORDABILITY
BY ROGER McAFEE
“PLEASE LEAVE YOUR SHOES ON. Shoes won’t harm this yacht.” This
sign, fixed to a handrail on the steps leading aboard the Fathom
Element, created a buzz among attendees at the 2010 Seattle
International Boat Show. The same sign appeared on the Element
at Trawler Fest in Anacortes, Wash.
The real buzz was created three
years ago, however, when Fathom
Yachts of Bow, Wash., about 60 miles
north of Seattle, introduced its 40-foot
Expedition yacht, which brought a new
combination of features to 40-footers.
Unfortunately, the vessel was introduced just as the worldwide economic recession took hold. Undaunted, the
company examined its production
process, and the result is the Fathom
Element, with a price of $395,000. The
Fathom contains the same top-quality fittings and equipment as the original — and like performance — but the
builder focused on methods of reducing the time it took to install that equip36 SEA / AUGUST 2010
ment and letting the buyer choose more
of the onboard items — dropping the
price by nearly $150,000.
The Fathom was designed and
engineered by Gregory C. Marshall’s
award-winning Victoria, B.C.-based
design firm. In 2007, Marshall’s firm,
which has been in business for more
than a quarter century, won the
Innovative Design Award for flybridge
vessels longer than 80 feet at the Cannes
International Boat Show. Marshall’s firm
applied the same innovative approach
to the 40-foot Fathom it did to the 105footer that won the award.
“We were very excited when the
Fathom project came into our office,”
Greg Marshall said. “When we design
a production boat, we want to develop a design that will produce a boat
that is better than the competition.
We feel we did that for the Fathom,
and the builder has built it the way
we drew it.”
The Fathom is the first (and still
only) production power pleasureboat
with a drop-down, tailgate-style transom that leads directly onto the aft deck.
This makes getting on and off the boat
quick, safe and easy. The builder
points out that the vessel should have
the transom locked in the “up” position when under way.
Another innovative feature, obvious
at first sight, is the molded stairway to
the port side of the cockpit, leading from
the aft deck to the salon roof. That stairway is nowhere near as steep as the
traditional nearly vertical ladders.
The third innovation is the access
to the engine space. What looks like
the traditional cockpit sink/cupboard
arrangement to the port side of the aft
salon door is, in fact, a cleverly
designed access to the engine and
machinery space. Traditionally, engine
or machinery spaces on boats this size
are accessed through a hatch in the
salon floor or cockpit sole. With the
hatch open, it is often difficult to move
around in the vessel and, in most cases,
impossible to run any machinery.
All Fathom machinery can be safely operated with the engine access fully
open, making that space easy to ventilate even when the vessel is at rest.
The builder says that if the engine is
stripped down to the block, it can be
removed from the vessel through the
normal engine room access onto the
back deck, without having to cut holes
in the cabin sole.
Fuel tanks in this vessel are placed
on the boat’s center of balance so the
trim of the vessel will not change as
the fuel is used. This is a beneficial feature on smaller vessels where proper
trim is important for both good seakeeping ability and fuel economy.
The hull is solid fiberglass below the
waterline and is cored from waterline
to gunnel. The deck and upper works
are also cored. Fathoms are built using
a resin (or vacuum) infusion system,
wherein the fiberglass material is loaded, dry, into the mold, and then the
entire piece being made is covered with
an industrial-grade plastic sheeting and
fixed around the edges. The air between
the sheeting and the mold is evacuated by a vacuum pump, and resin flows
into the mold and evenly through the
glass fiber material.
This process reduces the likelihood
of voids in the laminate and avoids
excess resin buildup. Pieces made using
this process are stronger and lighter
than traditional hand layups. Cored
material, or high-strength laminates,
such as Kevlar, can also be set in place
before the resin is infused.
The hull itself has a fine entry to
cut through the chop, high freeboard
forward, a full-length keel for good directional stability, and a fairly flat run aft
that allows for a good turn of speed and
good stability. Designers have provided a prop pocket that allows the prop
An Inside Look
TESTER’S OPINION
“The Fathom
Element is designed
by an internationally recognized
design firm and is
built the way it was
engineered and
conceived. It is loaded with features
that make sense to
experienced
boaters, and at a
base cost of about
$395,000 it represents a very good
value.”
The 40-foot
Element
defies size
expectations
throughout
the interior
— from
staterooms
to galley to
pilothouse
to salon.
to be tucked up into the hull, thereby
reducing draft and allowing for a shallower shaft angle and the increased
drive-line efficiency that configuration
brings.
On board, a molded-in nonskid pattern gives good footing, even when the
surface is wet. Forward access is along
a narrow sidedeck, using handrails atop
the salon, or from the pilothouse door.
Good stainless rails make the foredeck
safe when the vessel is anchored or tied
to the dock. The anchor windlass
includes a capstan and is mounted in
a well that allows muddy water from
the anchor chain to drain overboard
rather than flow down the deck.
INSIDE
Access to the interior is through a
glass door from the cockpit into the
carpeted salon. A U-shaped dinette is
along the port side. Large side windows
and a glass door, together with a fullheight glass panel beside the door and
a window in the aft salon bulkhead,
flood the salon with natural light. The
starboard side of the salon has room
for a couple of barrel chairs and an
entertainment center. The galley is forward of the dinette, and farther forward,
down a couple of steps, are the two stateSEAMAGAZINE.COM 37
Fathom
Element
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA
Beam
Draft
Displacement
Fuel
Fresh water
Engine
40 ft., 4 in.
14 ft., 6 in.
3 ft., 2 in.
23,000 lbs.
400 gals.
145 gals.
Cummins QSB common-rail
diesel (425 hp)
STANDARD EQUIPMENT
Cummins QSB common-rail diesel (425 hp
single; 230 hp twin), 11-gallon water heater, 8
hp bow thruster, Onan diesel generator, Racor
fuel filters, Marelon through-hulls, folding transom, Lazarette hatch, swim step, dining table,
settee, chart table, helm chair, Tecma head,
microwave, queen-size bed and under-bed
storage in master, double bed and hanging
locker in guest room, anchor windlass vertical
w/bow roller, stainless anchor roller, electronics mast w/horn, steaming light, anchor light,
halogen deck lights, and more.
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
Autopilot, Garmin electronics, second
Cummins engine, diesel hydronic furnace,
stern thruster, ice-maker, washer/dryer combination, flybridge, aft deck sink, aft deck shower, 600-lb. davit, propane stave w/oven, galley
upper cabinet w/lights, audio/video package
w/26-in. flat-screen TV, and more.
CONSTRUCTION
Vacuum-infused fiberglass, solid below the
waterline and cored above.
BUILDER
FATHOM YACHTS LLC, Bow, Wash.;
fathomyachts.com; (360) 336-5414
WEST COAST DEALERS
Fathom Yachts LLC, Bow, Wash.;
fathomyachts.com; (360) 336-5414
NW Yachtnet, Tacoma, Wash.;
(888) 641-5901; nwyachtnet.com
Grand Yachts Inc., Vancouver and Sidney,
B.C.; (877) 822-0358, (866) 373-5772;
yachtworld.com/grandyachts
38 SEA / AUGUST 2010
rooms and head/shower. The forecastle master boasts an island queen bed,
plenty of storage and a walk-in closet.
The guest cabin, complete with a
double bed and plenty of storage, is to
starboard, across from the head. The
shower is in the head space but
enclosed in its own glass stall. The head
space also contains a Tecma freshwater toilet, an ample linen closet, a granite vanity top and an opening hull-side
window, a feature also found in the guest
stateroom.
The woodwork finish throughout the
vessel is excellent, far better than one
might expect from a newer boat builder.
The high-gloss horizontal surfaces are
as well finished as on much larger vessels that are noted for their fine woodwork. The vertical surfaces on our test
vessel are satin finished but with a marquetry-style trim on each panel and door.
Fathom contracts its woodwork to
a local company specializing in interior joinery for a number of boat builders
in the Pacific Northwest. “Because of
the large volume they do, they have
the equipment to produce top-quality
finishing on budget and on time,”
Fathom’s Ric Reid said.
A short stairway to starboard leads
up to the raised pilothouse, where visibility is excellent from the starboardside helm. A settee, complete with a
table, provides a very comfortable
lounge for those keeping the skipper
company. It seats five for dinner and
can be converted to a single bunk. The
helm station instrument panel is very
well laid-out, with room for all necessary electronics, and it features a builtin “eyebrow” that shades the instruments from the sun, making them easier to read.
GET GOING
We fired up the 359 CI (5.9L)
Cummins QSB5.9 engine and idled
away from the dock. It started instantly and was smoke free. This computer-controlled, common-rail diesel is configured to put out 425 hp, and it does
so very quietly. A normal conversation
measures 70 on our decibel meter.
During the test, our meter never registered that high, except when we were
talking, until we reached 2000 rpm on
the engine and were doing 10.4 knots.
Even at wide-open throttle, 3000 rpm,
in the salon right over the engine room,
the meter read only 75 decibels.
At idle, 600 rpm, we coasted along
at 3.8 knots, burning 0.7 gallon per hour.
At 1000 rpm, our speed went up to 6.2
knots and fuel burn increased to 1.3
gph. At 8.3 knots, 1500 rpm, we burned
2.8 gph. When we spooled up to 2000
rpm, we burned 5.6 gph and made 10.5
knots. At 2500 rpm, we made 14.2 knots
and burned 11.5 gph. WOT gave us 3000
rpm at 19.6 knots and the fuel burn
was 21 gph. Speeds were measured by
GPS, and fuel consumption figures came
from the engine’s onboard computer.
The vessel responded quickly and
precisely to the helm and handled tight
turns, at all speeds, without cavitation,
skidding or skipping. Even at low speeds,
the vessel’s bow did not plow water and
build up a large bow wave. Part of the
reason is the relatively plumb bow,
which keeps buoyancy forward, but a
second factor is that the hull chines
sweep forward, almost to the stem, and
up, in effect becoming molded-in spray
rails — or spray knockers, to some. As
the vessel moves forward, the water that
naturally runs up the hull slams into
the spray rail and provides a lifting force
to the bow. As the vessel drives harder into the sea, more lift is created and
this reduces the drag at the bow.
The downside of the spray knocker is that in a 3-foot chop, at speed, it
becomes a bit “slappy,” and that
unusual sound takes a bit of getting used
to. It doesn’t affect handling in any way.
This new 40-footer would be as comfortable gunkholing through the islands
of the Pacific Northwest as it would be
poking around in the Caribbean. It
would be equally at home bashing up
the Inside Passage to Alaska or ghosting along the Intracoastal Waterway.
And it would be an excellent boat for
sailors wanting to move to power. At
sailing speeds, about 6.5 knots, range
on the boat would be just more than
2,000 nautical miles, with a 10 percent
fuel reserve.
The Fathom Element is designed by
an internationally recognized design
firm and is built the way it was engineered and conceived. It is loaded with
features that make sense to experienced
boaters, and at a base cost of about
$395,000 it represents a very good
value.