Nordhavn is having the world-wide debut of its new 80 at the Fort Lauderdale show, as well as displaying its new 41, the smallest cruiser in its legendary blue-water fleet.
The new Nordhavn 80 is something of a departure for the company; it looks a bit more like a superyacht than like most previous Nordhavns. Jeff Leishman, Nordhavn’s design chief, drew the 80 with straighter lines, larger windows, thinner mullions, and generally more of a contemporary European influence than was visible in Nordhavns in the past.
If you think this Nordhavn is different, consider the hot tub on the extended flybridge.
The new 80 is designed to go anywhere in the world, and to be run by an owner-operator or an owner with minimal crew – a captain and one other person. It has all of Nordhavn’s famed seakeeping abilities, functionality and engineering quality that have marked the brand ever since a Nordhavn 40 circled the world in 2001 and 2002.
It also has a robust hull with beefed up skegs and grounding shoes, and tweaked lower sections that protect the prop. Power comes from two 375-hp John Deere diesels that, combined with the Nordhavn’s 4,600 gallons of fuel, give it a transatlantic range. Top speed is 12 knots; cruising speed is 9 knots.
The basic boat has four staterooms plus a two-person crew quarters aft of the lazarette. But you can order it with three staterooms below and an owner’s suite instead of the sky lounge on the bridge, or with a smaller captain’s cabin behind the bridge.
Hulls number one and two have the traditional Nordhavn interior, but number three starts Nordhavn’s collaboration with Vripack, the Dutch design firm, for a lighter, more contemporary aesthetic inside.
I’ve been a fan of Nordhavn ever since I cruised from the Azores to Gibraltar on the Atlantic Escort, a Nordhavn 57, with Jim Leishman, the company’s vice president, during the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally in 2004. I certainly wouldn’t mind tackling the Atlantic again, on the new 80.
Specs.: LOA: 80’8”; Beam: 23’4”; Draft: 6’9”; Disp.: 280,358 lbs.; Fuel: 4,670 gals.; Water: 675 gals.; Power: 2×375-hp John Deere diesels. Read more:
