David Ross puts the finishing touches to his all-new Schaefer V44
Almost three months passed between completion of my Schaefer V44 purchase and final preparation for launch. Zorro had been delivered to the Varaderos yard near Valencia, where Coppercoat had been applied to the hull and the sides had been vinyl wrapped. This gave me plenty of time to think carefully about how I wanted to spec the boat.
Key electronics
It came with the three outboards linked to a Mercury joystick control system, but I didn’t feel this would provide enough control for the bow, particularly as I would be coming in bow-to, often in wind.
Schaefer offers a Vetus bow thruster integrated into the joystick as a factory option, but this had not been supplied on the stock boat that I bought. The first thing on my list then was to get it retrofitted.
A&P Marine arranged specialist installation from Disnatec, who installed the bow thruster. Nautica Androna then undertook the programming and integration to ensure the joystick coordinated the engines and bow thruster as one.
My previous boat also had AIS and radar, and I valued both when crossing from Denia to Ibiza. So having removed the infra-red thermal camera from my previous boat, I was on the lookout for a suitable mount.
A properly integrated retroftit bow thruster was a must-have upgrade
I settled on a Scanstrut system, and had it sprayed black, along with the side canopy of the radar dome. The radome and camera were then mounted on this and I also added some Lumitec spotlights above the windscreen.
As I was moving to a boat with no tender garage, I would have to rely on an inflatable one so I bought a 2.5m Quicksilver model, along with a 3.5hp Mercury outboard, selecting the smaller engine as it would be more manageable when lifting and attaching it.
But without doubt, the coolest piece of kit I had fitted was the built-in Atmos compressor pump from Scanstrut that I use to inflate and deflate my tender and paddle board. This was neatly installed at the stern so I can lay out and inflate my tender and toys on the sun pad.
But a boat like the Schaefer still limits your storage – and I was keen to mitigate this because it’s all too easy to throw things into the lower lounge and mess the place up. So I asked for a nylon mesh bag to be made to span the rear stainless barrier in front of the outboards.
This created storage for the eight large fenders, while freeing up the one main storage space beneath the stern sun pad. As for the storage of smaller things, I found a neat solution in the form of small stick-on neoprene pockets that I could fix beneath the helm seats.
Triple 400hp V10s are incredibly rapid and refined, compared to David’s old inboard-powered Sessa C 52
Handover day
In late July, I flew to Spain for the formal handover. Jeremy Hurni from Tot-Nautic flew out from Mallorca to complete the task, but the day was complicated by pouring rain. We had to modify our plans, as venturing outside the marina was not an option so Jeremy used the time to explain the systems and controls.
He went through every switch, space and locker on the boat until I understood each element perfectly. When the time came to lower the triple outboards for the first time, that was truly thrilling, but it was nothing compared to finally firing up the 400hp V10s.
They were simply mind-blowing. That said, my first journey under Jeremy’s watchful eye was to back out of our berth into the channel, before moving slowly into the basin. I then had a chance to practise close-quarter manoeuvring and get confident using the joystick and bow thruster system – it’s so easy, you can rotate it on a pinhead!
First solo trip
Four days later, I was back on the boat. But this time, it was with my wife, Theresa, as we planned our maiden voyage to Moraira, about 10nm down the coast. Inevitably, reversing the boat out of the berth and into the main channel for the first time was really exciting but the helm on the Schaefer is huge, bright and
full of tech, so it was also a little overwhelming.
The other thing I immediately noticed was how open the cockpit felt without side screens, and how much lower and closer to the sea we were compared to my old Sessa C52 cruiser.
But as we moved into the open sea and pushed through to a cruising speed of 30 knots, it felt so much quieter and more refined than my beloved old Sessa with its inboard diesels.
The drop-down terraces add 2m of deck space and easy access to the water for a refreshing swim
Anchoring up
The summer seas are often a bit lumpy off the northern Costa Blanca due to the winds as they move off the land, and this day was no exception. But the steering was light and turning felt rapid so the swells were easy to navigate. As we curved round the headland into our anchorage, we found ourselves in much flatter seas in El Portet, just outside Moreira.
This is a really pretty destination, made more so by the surrounding cliffs and lack of crowds. Once we found our spot, I activated the Skyhook system to hold our position and moved forward to drop the anchor.
I had been advised that this was not the most fuel-efficient method but it has proved really useful at stopping us from drifting while we lower the anchor or put lines and fenders out while shorthanded.
That said, dropping anchor on the V44 became an event in itself and not for the right reasons. The anchor sits below a lid and has to be lifted forward by the winch. The anchor is then manually cantilevered over before being lowered – and while doing this you have to avoid damaging the lid or your hands.
Clearly, hiding the anchor maintains a nice clean bow profile but from a practical point of view, this is one the very few areas of questionable design on our new boat.
On the other hand, one of several areas of brilliant design includes the layout of the cockpit and seating. At anchor, the usable deck and entertaining space on Zorro becomes immediately apparent and the party trick of dropping the hydraulic terraces provides an additional 2m of deck and a great place to sit, jump in for a swim or just lie back and chill. And now the boat is specced up, shaken down and ready to go longer distance – next stop, Ibiza!
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