Paradise with a Crownline

Friday, 18-1-13
NEWS 67
GOLD COAST: 2018 Commonwealth Games Host City
Living outdoors
FISHINGBOATINGCAMPINGOFF-ROADINGCARAVANNINGWATERSPORTSMOUNTAINBIKINGBUSHTUCKER
A 260hp V8 Mercruiser sterndrive
ensures the Crownline 19SS has
exciting performance to go with its
quality finish and stylish good looks.
UNLESS you’ve a one-track fishing
mind, there’s a great deal to be said
for bowriders around the Gold
Coast.
They look great, are only bettered
by dedicated ski and wakeboard
boats when it comes to social skiing
and general wake toy towing, and
can cater for two and sometimes
even three couples for a day on
the water.
A 19-footer, the Crownline 19SS is
one of the latter.
Between its helm and passenger
seats and with comfortable spacious
lounges bow and stern, there’s
plenty of room for six adults or
several adults plus some kids.
With a 260hp Mercruiser V8
tucked away beneath a big sunbathing lounge, even heavy loads make
little difference to its exciting
performance.
To which can be added standards
of styling and finish that’d do any
luxury performance vehicle proud.
On the same bumpy Broadwater
day the NZ-built Huntsman – which
so impressed me a few weeks back –
was tested, the Crownline went one
better than the Kiwi’s praiseworthy
rough water performance.
The 19SS’s 18-degree deadrise hull
basically ignored wind chop offered
on the day – not to mention some
mega cruiser and ferry boat wakes.
With a muted rumble from the
Mercruiser hidden away below
decks ever present in the background, this upmarket American
built lady sure showed off an impeccable pedigree.
Americans have an old saying
about there being no substitute for
cubes when it comes to powerful
engines and this boat proves it to
be so!
The Crownline 19SS’s V8
powerplant displaces 5 litres or 305
cubic inches (cubes) which is a lot
Paradise with
a Crownline
Perfect for
summer boating
on the Gold Coast
the Crownline
19SS bow and
stern lounges
and super
supportive helm
and passenger
seats are all
colour coordinated with
the exterior.
oating
WITH WARREN STEPTOE
more ‘‘cubes’’ than the average
marine engine found moving 19-foot
(5.9 metres in Aussie metric) boats
around.
Thanks in no small part to the
immense amounts of torque
delivered by the big Mercruiser the
Crownline 19SS’s top speed was over
40 knots, 42.6 to be precise, a whisker short of 80 km/hr.
But it was through the mid range,
where the most fun towing folk on
skis and wake toys happens, that the
power was most impressive, it was
just there on call.
Although American built, the test
boat is a special model for the Australian market distributed by our
friends at Nitro Marine.
Other power options include 4.3
litre 190 hp and 4.3 litre MPI 225 hp
V6 Mercruisers and they’d obviously
have less power available for less
dollars.
The 5-litre engine in our test boat
delivered power through Mercruiser’s ever reliable and evergreen
Alpha One sterndrive.
This was a new boat of course but
I must say that one of the things
that’s impressed me about Crownline boats in general is that boats
three or four years old and more
that have been treated with due
respect still look literally good
as new.
That’s a sure sign of quality construction and while you’re looking at
around $55,000 for the Aussie spec
boat tested (maybe less if some
manufacturer promotional discounts
pending at the time have come
through) the standard of finish and
fittings do no less than deliver what
you’re paying for.
Inside, the Crownline 19SS continues with the same style featured
on the exterior.
Colour matched upholstery oozes
quality and the deep bucket seats
provided for helm and passenger,
observer when it’s facing aft, are no
doubt intent on keeping their occupants in place and comfortable
regardless.
At the helm you’re seated low just
like in sports cars; which isn’t an
entirely inaccurate comparison
given the Crownline’s nimble handling and hydraulic power steering.
This is a definite asset not only for
skiing but to get around the narrow
channels between sandbars we call
the norm around here.
The bow and stern lounges are
flatter and although less supportive,
security during turns is provided by
cleverly placed grab bars close to
both lounges.
I always like to see helm seats like
this one with a flip-over bolster to
raise the helmsperson’s eyeline
when docking, driving the boat back
onto the trailer and negotiating
shallow water.
Along the centreline of the cockpit, there’s a roomy ski locker capable of stowing bulky skis and heaps
of other gear out of the way.
All the carpet can be removed for
cleaning and faster drying and a
folding section of the aft lounge
facilitates entry and exit beside the
roomy sunbathing lounge to a
moulded swim deck across the outside of the transom.
This is where the requisite boarding ladder awaits stowed neatly
beneath a moulded cover.
American trailers aren’t used in
Nitro Marine’s packages.
They instead put the Crownline
boats they sell on top quality Australian built Dunbier trailers.
The bimini shade top you see
snugged away inside a neat zip-up
sock on our test boat is another
feature of this Aussie model; as are
bow and cockpit covers, a glass
windscreen and stainless steel rub
rail around the hull’s periphery.
Pop up cleats keep everything
neat and tidy until needed, and a
final good impression is assured
when you find a moulded liner in
the anchor locker to quieten ground
tackle.