Palm Beach Motor Yachts will launch its new flagship 70 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 30. The newest Palm Beach will have the same beautiful lines as the popular 65, but with more room inside. It also has the signature Palm Beach warped hull, which cuts through the water so efficiently that it leaves almost no wake behind. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives, the new 70 is expected to top out at 38 knots, and cruise at 32 knots. The company says it will have a range of 793 nm at 24 knots.
“The Palm Beach 70 was born from customer demand – they wanted a larger Palm Beach Motor Yacht,” said Mark Richards, the founder and CEO of Palm Beach Motor Yachts. “We had to build the yacht we ourselves wanted too, which can stand on her own to meet the high standards of performance, hull efficiency, and aesthetics.” The new 70 has the same clean lines, graceful curves and gorgeous tumblehome as other Palm Beach models.
An Australian, Richards started Palm Beach Motor Yachts in 1995, in Palm Beach, New South Wales. Grand Banks bought the company in 2014 and appointed Richards CEO of both companies. One of the world’s best racing sailors, Richards has won the grueling Sydney-Hobart race a record nine times, and he uses his racing experience to build strong, lightweight, high-tech hulls that are fast and seaworthy. He also keeps the CG low so the boats give a comfortable and safe ride.
Richards uses warped hulls so the boats have less resistance cutting through the water. I’ve driven many of them, both Grand Banks and Palm Beach, and they don’t really come up on plane; they simply accelerate through the speed range.
They also have almost no wake. A few years ago, before I tested a Palm Beach 65 on Long Island Sound, Richards told me to look at the wake. “It’s so smooth you could lay a straight edge on it,” he said. As it turned out, that was a bit of an overstatement, but not by much. Pictures of the wake behind the new 70 show much the same thing; almost no wake at all. The boats are almost running in a no-wake zone.
The new Palm Beach 70 carries on the company’s reputation for quality craftsmanship and joinerwork. The interior is filled with warm golden teak. The 70 has three staterooms below. The master is amidships to port with wide pocket doors to the passageway, a large hanging locker, and a private head with double sinks and a glass-enclosed shower.
A utility room, with washer and dryer, is opposite the master. The VIP stateroom is in the bow with a centerline queen berth, a hanging locker, and a built-in chest of drawers. The guest stateroom is aft to starboard with twin berths. The head doubles as a day head, with a second door opening to the passageway.
In the salon, the galley, with a U-shaped counter, is opposite the helm. Two large L-shaped settees are aft in the corners, with a dining table on the port side. The cockpit has a settee across the transom with a dining table and access to the large teak swim platform. The flybridge is open, with sightlines all around.
One notable feature on the Palm Beach 70 is the recessed seating area forward, recalling the golden days of commuter boats heading down Long Island Sound to the offices Wall Street in New York City.
Specs.: LOA: 74’11”; Beam: 19’2”; Draft: 4’3”; Disp.: 70,500 lbs.; Fuel: 1,585 lbs.: Water: 290 gals.; Power: 2×1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives.
http://palmbeachmotoryachts.com
