I had an unexpected treat at the Annapolis show last week. Walking down the outer dock, a new 40-foot flybridge cruiser caught my eye. It had just enough of the lines of a classic trawler to remind me of my old much-beloved Grand Banks 36, but it was slimmer, newer, lighter.
I was looking at hull number one of a Mathews Brothers 40 flybridge, the latest of the company’s “true Chesapeake boats,” a tough customer with an all-fiberglass hull made in the family’s yard in Denton, up the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Mathews also makes a sedan version of the 40, and a series of smaller boats with the Chesapeake deadrise hull with low draft and low deadrise aft that so popular with fisherman on the bay. Brothers Pete and Bob Mathews started the company in1995; Pete’s son Spencer will take over in January.
Mathews boats aren’t exactly made on a production line. Indeed, they say that “Mathews Brothers will build a custom-built boat just for you.”
But they’ll also be more than happy to build a flybridge 40 like the one at the show, also just for you. Powered by a single 620-hp Fiat diesel, the 40 cruises at 18 knots and tops out at 30 knots, which means you can cover a lot of the Chesapeake Bay, or anywhere else, in a hurry.
The Mathews 40 hull has a 55-degree deadrise at the bow and just 8 degrees at the transom. It also has a tapered keel and a stainless shoe aft to protect the running gear.
The basic 40 has a master stateroom below, in the bow, with a V-berth, hanging locker, cherry ceiling, overhead hatch, three opening ports, and an enclosed head and shower.
The salon has seating for the captain and the first mate, a large galley with a flush mounted fridge, sink and single-burner cooktop, and a dinette with facing seats.
The cockpit and exterior have enough teak to catch your eye, including a teak eyebrow and coaming cap; the teak has seven coast of varnish. The basic cockpit has seating and a transom door leading to the teak swim platform. You can order a steering station there if you want.
Base price for the Mathews Brothers flybridge 40 is $1,350,000. You can order it with single or twin diesels and your choice of engine manufacturer.
Specs.: LOA: 40’; Beam: 13’4”; Draft: 2’10:; Disp.: NA: Fuel: 200 gals.; Water: NA: Power: 1×620-hp Fiat diesel.
Read more: http://mathewsboat.com
