The Newport show will be the U.S. debut of the Palm Beach 65, which is made in the joint Palm Beach/Grand Banks factory in Malaysia. A luxurious – and beautiful – three-stateroom, three-head boat designed by world champion sailor Mark Richards, the Palm Beach 65 can be ordered with Volvo IPS pod drives or with straight shafts. This particular boat is powered by Volvo D-13 900-hp diesels with shaft drives; bow and stern thrusters make maneuvering easy. I tested this boat recently on Long Island Sound and it topped out at 30.2 knots; the ride was remarkable with the bow barely rising as the big boat came up to speed and the hull – a semi-displacement affair designed by Richards – barely leaning as the boat carved 25-knot turns.
The Palm Beach 65 is much more than just another pretty boat, although one with gorgeous lines and world-class teak accents everywhere. Push a button and the transom lifts up to display a 10.5-foot RIB in the garage. From the helm, push other buttons and the side and back windows power down. The galley is huge, as is the master stateroom, with a king-sized bed and separate laundry room (the owners plan on living on board in the Bahamas).
Specs: LOA: 70’; Beam: 19’: Draft: 3’6”; Disp.: 50,700 lbs.; Fuel: 1,320 gals.; Water: 336 gals.; Power: 2x D13 Volvo diesels. Base price: $3.4 million. pbmotoryachts.com
