With Doug Zurn’s iconic low profile, long sheerline and slender, water-shedding hull, the NEB/Zurn 50 is a standout because of its looks and its performance. The looks speak for themselves, while the performance – a top speed of 56 knots – is due to the boat’s light weight, composite construction and two 1,200-hp MAN diesel power plants and Rolls Royce jet drives.
A high-end, custom commuter boat or fast coastal cruiser built at New England Boatworks in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the NEB/Zurn 50 combines the best of modern Down East design and cutting-edge engineering and construction. The hull and deck are laid up with high-tech epoxy resin-infused composite for strength and light weight, and its slender beam of just 14’5” is designed to cut through the water quickly and efficiently.
Zurn, who also designs for MJM Yachts from his office in Marblehead, Mass., is no stranger to fast boats. Indeed, he drew the lines for the legendary Shelter Island Runabouts two decades ago. For the new 50, he says “there is no other boat of its type that touches its speed.”
The 50 has a large cockpit with a teak sole; you enter the boat through a transom door or over the sides that include a concealed fold-down step. The engine boxes are on deck. In the salon, there are raised platforms for settees or a work station, with a teak table and bar.
Below, the joinery work is exquisite, with framed panel doors and a teak sole. The master stateroom is forward with a queen-sized island berth, but the interior can be customized as the owner wishes.
At a cruising speed of 43 knots, the 50 has a range of 240 nm.
Specs.: LOA: 55’3”; Beam: 14’5”; Draft: 2’6”; Disp.: 42,000 lbs.; Fuel: 670 gals.; Water: 68 gals.; Power: 2×1,200-hp MAN diesels with Rolls Royce water jets.
