Thunder and lightening

I saw this boat on SPIBS exhibition organized by MBY magazine. It stood modestly at the pier, while visitors began to gather around. Then it began to perk up, gleam its windows, shake sides … But all of this is literary «bows»: people came on board and the stern sagged a little; rolling is a usual thing, when there are the 4-5 people on the cockpit, glasses just reflected the autumn sun. But here are the facts: during a few days of the Boat Show Grizzly company received three orders for 820-th model.

Clothes count for first impressions

If someone says that this boat looks unremarkable, I will immediately enter into the dispute. Only a serious debate will not work: it’s enough to look at the proportions of the hull and cabin, deep tinted glazing, made especially for the exhibition sample, inclined door to the cockpit, a visor above the windscreen. It has well-chosen black and white color scheme, and a black body at a certain light suddenly turns bronze. On the boat you can see a lot of interesting details. Easy feed «gate» lock design ensures that it will not open spontaneously. Light mast carries antennas, including radar and the nose is supplied with mattress for sunbathing and cup holders… It’s difficult to imagine that anyone would want to sprawl there, and holders look more like decorative elements. If you start to find fault, you can request a stop for the legs on the teak covered side deck. Or you can to complain that in the cockpit, where there is a sofa and a table, you cannot unfold with spinning. But Grizzly 820 is a cruise boat and for fishing there are other models of this brand. The deck-cabin is typical for a small cruiser, it is one surround space with stove bench for two at the bow and – on the stern – with steering console, dinetta, kitchen unit and privy behind the door. A bed is not fenced by division, which implies a family crew when an overnight on board is planned. Another bed is formed from dinetta: two sofas vis-à-vis and table. In the control panel console, that differs by interesting design, a chartplotter Raymarine combined with a diagonal of 10” is situated in addition to the devices Mercury Smart Craft. Unexpected large galley unit accommodates a stove on three burners (!) and a sink; useful in the campaign refrigerator is placed under the steering seat.  A privy is not close, but I was surprised that the shower in it is an option (as well as on the transom). Among the details I note a comfortable chair built in a bench, and a table with a polished tabletop. At first I thought it was made of plastic, but it turned out that it is a cherry-tree under gloss varnish. Now I do not know which is better, when the plastic looks like a tree, or vice versa. By the way, the door to the privy is made the same. But most importantly that on the house-deck you can stand to your full height and it is not closely: the width of the boat is out of the transport dimensions for the trailer, but inside it is spacious. Number of lockers for storage of equipment and supplies pleases: they have the aggregate amount of up to 3 m3. The interior is also good on materials, on a combination of colors and textures: bottom ceiling is made of wenge (veneer on marine plywood), dark polished cherry, light Alcantara upholstery not lint, but “smooth-haired.”

Made on a conscience

Grizzly 820 is a composite boat constructed from metal and plastic. Plating of house-deck is a light alloy AlMg 5M (thickness in the area of the keel is10 mm, the bottom is 5 mm, the board is 4 mm); everything above guard rail and inner hulll is made of fiberglass plastic. It is quite smart. Light alloy attracts fans of metal boats, fiberglass allows to receive such forms, which are impossible to carve from the metal. The vacuum forming technology AirGraf is implemented at the shipyard and it gives resin to matrix under pressure. It requires less binder than manual forming and it comes to the reduction in weight for the same strength. At the same time it maximizes the density of plastic, “air bubbles” are excluded (it is not rare in the contact method). But the welded body has its own aesthetics, which is easy to be brought by the connecting seams and extra coarse welding. But here the casing of hull unfolds in a plane, plasma machine performs their precise cutting and welding in inert gas (argon, helium) in cold Ark technology provides a high-quality connection of sheets almost without permanent deformation. If to glance cursory at the perfectly colored hull, it is possible to make a mistake and to find it plastic. You see your error only seeing welded spray wedge and longitudinal redans …

Go, gentlemen, go!

At the end of October during the test water and air were in solidarity – the temperature of both of them did not exceed 4 °С. We turned on a heater, and tMercury Verado 350 SCi (Racing) on the transom had to cope itself. It had success and gave the required 6200 rpm, breaking up a boat up to 40 knots. I heard that someone recorded the 6800 rpm, and speed was higher. I believe that cold is not the best conditions for achieving high speeds. Probably Grizzly 820 can withstand greater power, though it is worth to be careful. At first I would try t two motors of 250 hp: two outboards changed the configuration and design of the transom. With such a power increase speed of 5-6 knots looks quite real. It is also important to understand how displacement of the center of gravity in the stern would influence the speed; you may have to use actively the transom platform. But with a single Mercury Verado 350 SCi (350 hp.) we had nothing to complain about. The boat accelerates briskly and glides after 2000 rpm (about 12 knots). Trim during acceleration is not more than 5. And Grizzly 820 is controlled well: it responds sensitively to relaying the wheel, carefully applied to the cheek in circulation and clearly prescribes an arc, not seeking to withdraw from the course during going on straight line – up- or down-stream the Neva river. A power supply capacity greater than 100 hp / ton and 24 ° deadrise show up on a wave. I should add that we needed bow propulsion unit during up-stream mooring. I should mention that Grizzly 820 allows the installation of different engines both Mercury outboard or stationary with the corner columns. Among the latter are Diesel QSD 4.2l (350 hp.) and TDI 3.0L HO (260 hp.), as well as the petrol 5.0 MPI (260 hp.). I wonder how the change of center (in comparison with the outboard) will affect the speed and running landing. I would like to mark small noise for aluminum hull. Its structural component transmitted through the structure is extinguished by polyurethane foam, flooded at high pressure between the outer and inner hulls. In addition to noise reduction and strengthening of the hull due to a three-layer structure, the foam material increases the buoyancy of the boat, that is really useful. Thus our short boat cruise on Grizzly 820 with a formidable name Firestorm which translates as “fire tornado” or “thunder and lightning” ended. I do not know what the meaning the creators of the boat put in the name, but it is certainly possible to drive on it like a storm in every area.