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The May 1987 issue of MBY contains an
unusual boat report. It is rare for MBY
to be able to try out two versions of
the same craft with different engines, but
in the case of the Windy 9800 we had a
choice of either petrol or diesel power for
the test. Great, we said, we'll take both.
The 9800 appeared in the UK at the 1987
London boat show. At that stage it was the
largest Windy yet produced. Very much a
fun-in-the-sun boat, the helm and cockpit
took up more than half the length of the
hull Windy were one of the pioneers of the
open-cockpit cruiser, which is ironic
considering that they are further from the
Mediterranean than almost any other European
boatbuilder.
Windy Boats were founded in 1966 in
Arendal, southern
Norway, by Hugo Vold, the son of a local
fisherman. (He called the company Windy,
incidentally, after the name of his father's
boat.) Arendal is a town with both feet
firmly in the water and many families own a
boat. As owners and users themselves, the
Windy workforce therefore have more than a
passing interest in the boats they build,
ensuring high standards.
Simon Purser bought Impulse in
1990, at the very end of its production run:
indeed, importer Andrew Constance had to
find him an ex-demonstrator model in a
Norwegian dealership as the factory had
already ceased production. He had previously
owned a Windy 23FC weekender which, like
Impulse, he kept at Topsham on the River
Exe. A sailor by inclination, he had taken
up motorboating more for reasons of
practicality than anything else. Living in
London during the week, but returning to
Devon most weekends, he needed to be sure of
getting back to Topsham in time to return to
London on Sunday night. For this, horsepower
proved altogether more reliable than wind
power.
He was surprised to find how much he
enjoyed motorboating, and when in 1989 he
moved back to Devon full time, he started
looking around for a larger craft. The 9800
fitted the bill. Having a cockpit that takes
up so much of the boat inevitably means some
compromises have to be made in the
accommodation, so the 9800's nominal
capacity of four adults sleep on a vee-berth,
which fills the main saloon, and in a
mid-cabin extending under the helm, with
headroom limited to a small area by the door
of the cabin. For two, however Simon has
no children the accommodation is generous.
One of the neatest aspects of the
interior layout is the galley, which is
situated at the foot of the companionway
leading from the cockpit. Instead of a
narrow hatch at the top of the steps, the
opening is a full metre wide, providing
unlimited ventilation over the cooking area.
The standard cooker is a
paraffin-burning, two-ring hob made by
Wallas Marin. This is one of the 9800's few
failings: after years of battling with
ignition problems, Simon has given up trying
to use the cooker altogether. For hot drinks
he has a 12V DC kettle which plugs into a
socket in the cockpit, and for hot meals he
prefers to eat ashore.
The engines are US-made Volvo 211hp
AQ211s. At Simon's preferred cruising revs
of 3,100rpm, these deliver 29 knots on a
flat sea. In our May 1987 test, a twin 180hp
BMW diesel-powered 9800 achieved 34 knots,
while the petrol-engined version with 260hp
hit 41 knots, so Impulse has a lot in
reserve. Interestingly, she performs better
on full tanks, despite the extra weight. The
downside is, of course, fuel consumption:
even at the reduced revs the 5lt V8s drink
petrol at a rate of 15-20gph. This can
present logistical difficulties, especially
in the West Country where waterside petrol
can be hard to come by.
One of the other drawbacks with petrol
engines on boats is that they can be
difficult to start. This was the case with
Impulse as the distributors, located
right at the back of the engines near the
transom, tended to become damp when the wind
was blowing upriver. Fitting a proprietary
electronic ignition system, at a cost of
about £300 per engine, has gone a long way
towards resolving the problem. The only
other unexpected engine expense was a valve
which 'tuliped' and had to be replaced.
Impulse is kept on a swinging
mooring opposite Topsham Quay, which could
hardly be more convenient. Not only does
Simon live in the village, but he also has
an interest in an antiques warehouse on the
quay itself, so at the end of the season the
Windy can be hauled out, blocked off and
left in the car-park for the winter.
When cruising, Simon tends to go west.
"It's a long haul across Lyme Bay to
Portland Bill, and there's little there," he
says (an assertion that readers in Dorset
might take issue with). Similarly, he would
rather not run the risk of being
weatherbound in France or the Channel
Islands. He usually joins the Windy Owners'
Club cruises, and has taken the boat as far
as Helford.
Inside and out, the 9800 boasts a wealth
of teak. When not in use, Impulse is
covered. Simon also oils the teak regularly,
maintains a good covering of varnish on the
taffrail and steps, which come in for rather
harder wear, and keeps the inside fresh over
the winter with dehumidifier crystals. As a
result of these simple precautions,
Impulse is in very good condition for an
eight-year-old craft.
Now that Windy build boats up to 43ft
(13.1m), will Simon be changing the boat?
It's unlikely, was the response. Impulse
still meets all his needs, and besides,
if he were to go larger, he'd have to find
another mooring further downstream. You
might say he'd no longer be able to go
boating on impulse.
Market report
Windy Boats hold their value well,
especially those as well tended as
Impulse: she cost £55,000 in
1990, and would fetch around £45,000 today.
Diesel versions are 10-15% dearer, with BMW
diesels somewhat cheaper.
|
DATA |
| LOA |
32ft 2in (9.80m) |
| Beam |
9ft 7in (2.92m) |
| Draught
|
2ft 1in (0.61m) |
|
Displacement |
3.10 tonnes |
| Fuel
capacity |
170gal (750lt) |
| Water
capacity |
45gal (200lt) |
|
Accommodation |
Sleeps four: main cabin
vee-berths; galley; toilet;
mid-cabin below helm |
| Engines |
Twin outdrives, diesel or
petrol, up to 2 * 311hp |
| MBY
tested |
May 1997 |
| Built |
About 300 between 1986
and 1990 |
| Designer |
Otto L Scheen Jr |
|
Manufacturer |
Windy Boats, Arendal,
Norway |
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