TWO NEW EXPRESS CRUISERS

TWO NEW EXPRESS CRUISERS Details of high speed craft by the British Power Boat Company

ALTHOUGH in America the idea of a really fast cabin cruiser is by no means new, there has not been much call in this country, hitherto, for any high speed boats of this type. This is probably due to a certain prejudice on the part of the old style cruising man who thinks that speed in many cases means shallow draft and shallow draft is thought by many to make a boat unseaworthy, and therefore only suitable for inland waterways. This idea is now proved to be without foundation and an example in the way of fast cruisers which will probably start the fashion in this country for this type, is to be found iri the new boat, Miss Pamela II, which has just been completed by the British Power Boat Company, for Mr. A. H. Pass. This vessel has been designed by Mr. Scott Paine, already famous to all followers of speed boat design,

as the man behind the amazingly successful Miss England. Miss Pamela is a 35 foot cruiser and has been designed with the ambitious idea of giving a speed of 30 miles per hour combined with good handling and the ability to negotiate broken water without discomfort to its occupants. It must not be supposed that this cruiser is a fine weather or short distance vessel for occasional flips, as it has a cruising range of 300 miles and in it recent trials under weather conditions probably much more severe than will be encountered by the average owner using it for pleasure, has shown that it can be used for really serious work. The accommodation is very well arranged and is

sufficient for a party of 4 to live comfortably on board, while provided the crew does not object to adapting itself to some extent, 6 or 8 people can be coped with. Contrary to the usual style of cabin cruisers of this size, the main cockpit is arranged right forward and owing to the generous flare the occupants of the cockpit are completely protected from any chance of solid water disturbing their equilibrium and the amount of spray encountered forward is negligible.

The control is from a cockpit in the centre with a sliding roof, and is situated between the saloon and the main cabin.

Although the draft is shallow, owing to the flat floor possible in this type of hull there is more room than in a great many 35 footers. In spite of its high speed the beam is 9 feet so that there is no possibility of cramping.

Miss Pamela is propelled by two 200 h.p. 6-cylinder Chrysler engines each running in the same direction and each driving the propellers direct. All controls are arranged by the wheel so that manoeuvring is entirely a one man job. Autopulse feed is used to convey the petrol along the pipes under the covering board from the 150 gallon petrol tank under the stern deck. As this supply is not subject to gravity, there is no danger of leakage in case of failure in the pipe line near the engine. As well as a petrol tank, there is a very commodious locker under the stem deck for luggage. This is a thoroughly suitable vessel for sea work but owing to the fact that its design is so much based on that

of the ” 23 ” speed boat the draft is only 2 feet and if one’s fancy should at any time turn towards inland cruising on the Broads or other water-ways there is no danger of grounding.

The after cabin can be provided if required with a fore and aft bulkhead for dividing it into two if the extra accommodation is required.

Mr. Pass is to be congratulated on his enterprise in obtaining what is undoubtedly a type of cruiser with immense possibilities and should be followed by many of those to whom the ordinary 8 knot cabin cruiser is too slow to arouse their interest.

The price of this vessel is, we understand, approximately £2,200, while for people who require something of a similar performance, but with less accommodation, the British Power Boat Company are producing some very attractive smaller cruisers such as the Junior Express Cruiser which is depicted on this page and which has a higher performance than Miss Pamela, the maximum speed being 33 m.p.h. and the motor a 135 h.p. Scripps. This of course being a 23 footer, has naturally very much less accommodation, but is a further proof of the tendency to produce cruisers of a very much higher performance than has hitherto been the fashion in this country.