September 25, 2007

Boat Review: Magnum 70 Sport

Presentation
Stretched version of the Magnum 63, the Magnum 70 is the evolution in size but also in comfort for the prestigious American brand. Advised by many experts as one of the best powerboats and poweryachts ever built, Magnum was founded in 1966 by Don Aronow and immediately became a status symbol of American Boat construction and reliability when the 27 and 35 both became World Offshore champions in Open Class Racing. As the recent models of the line the Magnum 70 was designed by Pininfarina and is available in 3 different versions: Sport, Hardtop and Flybridge. Obviously our attention goes to the successful Sport version which is all about Magnum heritage from head to tow.
Accommodation
Standard interior layout for the 70 is a spacious 3 double cabin offer. A spacious Master cabin is situated forward and all cabins feature en-suite heads. The saloon is located mid-ship and features a spacious C-shaped settee to port with a stylish cabinet unit opposite. A galley is located separately to starboard. A separate 2 berth crew cabin with shower head is located forward with entrance from a hatch on deck. Still this layout can be taken as it is, as Magnum offers a custom approach to all it's new builds where clients desires are placed first, so one can modify inside as he wishes.
The Cockpit of the Magnum is open as you can get with a huge central sunbed aft, c-shaped settee to starboard, wet-bar to port and the fully equipped racing style helm to starboard. Magnum has on standard layout a mentality of spacious spaces rather then plenty of beds or cabinets in it's boats, something which is to like if you use it a lot and is very different to recent trend in most similar sized sport yachts.
Performance
Deep V-hull with 25 degrees aft, superb ride with surface drives giving 52 knots of top speed. Magnum are renowned as the best in the class for there performance and sea handling and this fame is not build in a day but in forty years of successful seaworthy and strong boats constructed. The 70 hull shape is a further extension and development from the successful 63, a winning powerboat sport yacht who two times won the Miami Nassau Miami. The 63 reached speeds over 80 mph in these races, beating smaller but also much faster boats. The Magnum 70 at 21 meters feels easy to drive and most of all gives a sense of speed and safety very few boats manage to achieve. Try it to believe it.
Positive
cockpit settee sunbed
interior saloon
spacious environment
Negative
small third cabin in standard layout
side-deck to fore deck walk through
Competition
If you are looking for a 21 meters sport yacht with an open cockpit no enclosed hardtop and surface drives there is very little to look nowadays. Future competition might come from the Itama 70 Seventy which might offer the right competition mix to this now abandoned market sector cause of the more requested integrated hardtop. Here is what you can look for:
Baia 70 Italia - hardtop opens all, semi-custom, Arneson drives
Bruno Abbate Primatist 70 G Aerotop Pininfarina - hardtop design, Trimax Buzzi drives
Italcraft 70 Drago - not fully enclosed ht available, Top System surface drives, seaworthy
Pershing 72 - new 2007, enclosed but hydraulics open as you wish, Arneson drives
WILD CARD: WallyPower 73 - modern, alternative, jet powered, glass hardtop
Conclusion
People choose Magnum most of all for its superb ride in the tough and for one of the best handling with the Arneson surface drives. Magnum where among the first to use the Arneson Drives back in the eighties and I am sure there experience in this type of transmission was made to good use. Pininfarina Design continued the heritage of the classic lines for this brand, but added softer lines like the windshield and aggressive touches in the air intakes on deck and in the sides which have USA classic written over them. The Magnum 70 is a performing sport yacht but is also comfortable and still offers very good accommodation inside and outside which would is hard to believe when you see the lines of this 21 meters sport yacht.
Technical Data
L.O.A. 21 metres (68.8ft)
Beam. 5.18 metres
Draft. 1.80 metre
Displacement. 32.000 kg (dry)
Fuel Capacity. 4.550 litres
Water Capacity. 950 litres
Person Capacity. 10 persons
Berths. 6/8 guest and 1/2 crew
Engines: 2 x DDA/MTU 16v 2000 1800hp
Propulsion - Arneson Surface Drives
Speed. max 52 knots
Construction. kevlar, carbon fiber, GRP
Project. Jim Wynn Walt Walters naval architect. Pininfarina exterior and interior.
Picture Copyright Magnum. Data Magnum.

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