Hull number one of Nordhavn’s new 51-foot blue-water cruiser just took a 600-nm shakedown run from Istanbul, near its factory in Turkey, to Rhodes in Greece, through some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world.
Along the way, the new owners, Mark and Fiona Rammell, were able to try out their new boat on its first venture in what they plan as a multi-year exploration of the Med, the coast of England and then the U.S. before returning to their home waters in New Zealand.
Rammell is a retired pilot for Air New Zealand, and he and Fiona were deeply involved in the build process, creating a series of videos for You Tube as it progressed, step by step.
The new 51, named Awanui NZ, is powered by twin 160-hp John Deere diesels. It ran at an average speed of 9 knots, and topped out at 11 knots. James Leishman, the Nordhavn salesman and son of Jim Leishman, the company co-founder, was along for the trip and reported that it’s his favorite model. “I’d argue that this is the quietest, slipperiest Nordhavn hull I’ve been on,” he said.
The boat has two large staterooms and two heads, plus an off-watch berth behind the pilothouse settee. A day head is just off the salon. The crew ate dinner every night in on a pop-up table on the covered aft deck; you can stow the table when you want more space there.
A cushioned settee on the foredeck was another favorite spot, while the flybridge offered panoramic views, starting with the Turkish coast on the left and the Greek islands on the right. “You can’t beat that for your first cruise,” Leishman said.
The Nordhavn 51 and the new 41 are both production boats built in the same factory in Turkey.
Specs.: LOA: 50’9”; Beam: 15’8”; Draft: 4’9”; Disp.: 71,575 lbs.; Fuel: 1,450 gals.; Water: 300 gals.; Power: 2×160-hp John Deere diesels.
Read more at http://nordhavn.com and see the video below:
