This boat is named for the inhospitable Aleutian Islands and it displays all the toughness that would be required to cruise around them
John Keats famously said “A thing of beauty is a joy forever” – and had he been around in the Noughties, he might have been tempted to add, “And that thing is the Grand Banks Aleutian 59 RP”.
Launched in 2006, with around 35 examples now gracing oceans around the world, the timeless trawler-style profile of the Grand Banks Aleutian 59 is certainly well-proportioned.
And the example we tracked down, a 2008 model currently on offer with Berthon International in Lymington, for £999,950 including VAT, is likely to be well-known to regulars on the Beaulieu River.
That’s because Tusk, as this particular boat is named, has gleamed proudly on the hammerhead at Buckler’s Hard for many years, providing a striking greeting for visitors arriving at this picturesque New Forest marina.
The upper helm is well sheltered behind the raised dash and wind deflector
That’s not to say that Tusk never moves. On the contrary, with skipper Bob Wilson at the helm, she has taken her owners to destinations as far afield as Oban and La Rochelle. As reaching these locations involves navigating some potentially lively areas of the Atlantic – Scotland’s west coast and the Bay of Biscay – asking Bob about the boat’s seakeeping seems like a very good place to start…
“Wherever we’ve gone, she’s handled it well,” confirms Bob. “While she tops out at 26 or 27 knots, we cruise between 12 and 15 – and if you’ve got a bit of a rolling sea, with a bit of spray and loads of wind, it’s unbelievably safe to move around on.”
A key factor in the equation here is the construction of the boat’s hull. While normally described as semi-displacement, Berthon’s broker Hugh Rayner offers a different perspective: “I’d say it’s a semi-planing hull,” he says.
“The boat has two big planing flats underneath, so if you put enough power through, it’s going to get out of the water. But the difference between this hull and a lot of semi-displacement round bilge hulls is the fact that she’s got a whopping great keel down the middle, so she tracks very well. And she’s also got an incredibly diverse range of speed. She can cruise at 8 knots really comfortably, but drop the hammers and she’ll get going all the way through to around 27 knots.”
The aft deck conceals a crew cabin and a pair of 1,015hp Caterpillar C18 diesels
But what about manoeuvrability? “Well, the boat does have bow and stern thrusters, but you can crab the boat anyway, so you don’t really need the thrusters,” says Bob.
Formerly in the services and a seaman through and through, he adds: “It’s sort of embarrassing to use a thruster anyway, isn’t it?” Judging by the all-too-familiar sound of thrusters grinding away in marinas up and down the country, there must be an awful lot of embarrassed boaters out there.
Bob just smiles: “Tusk does as she’s told,” he says. “We bought her back after a winter lift in Lymington and were stern-to in a Force 6. Without using either of the thrusters she turned literally within her own boat length, maybe a foot at either end. She’s the best boat I’ve ever had the pleasure of handling.”
The Raised Pilothouse design uses a low-level saloon and a raised helm with dinette and galley
Family favourite
Also vouching for the qualities of the Grand Banks 59 is Matthew Truell, a member of the owning family. “It’s a gorgeous boat,” he says. “Gorgeously comfortable and you can sail even in the middle of winter without suffering. We try not to take her out in rough seas, but if it does get rough, she still feels very solid.”
The Truell family, which has owned Tusk from new, has used her in a number of ways: “Sometimes we would go out for weekends, sometimes for much longer periods where we would use her as a base. She’s even been lived on several times while houses were being renovated and she’s more than comfortable enough to live on. In fact, at least once, I’ve been like, ‘Really? Do I have to move back into a house?!’ Very commonly we would have seven people on board.
She’s super comfortable with that and you’ll always find a space where you can be on your own for a bit. And there are lots of comfortable beds. Eight people on board is fine but I’d say that any more than that and it does start to get a bit tight.”
As on the flybridge, the lower helm sits right in the centre of the deck
That said, the Grand Banks Aleutian 59 RP has an RCD Category A rating which certifies it for long-distance ocean cruising with 12 people on board. While providing sleeping accommodation for that number would unquestionably be a stretch, the boat does have three cabins fitted with beds and bunks for eight.
In addition, Grand Banks offered an optional crew cabin, as fitted to our review boat, which is equipped with twin double berths so sleeping 12 is genuinely possible.
Internal arrangements
Beginning at the bow, the forepeak cabin has twin beds in a V-berth formation, with an optional infill to create a large double. Mounted above the beds are two hammock bunks, increasing the capacity to four.
The owner’s cabin comes with a large desk and plenty more sumptuous satin teak joinery
Situated amidships is the full-beam master cabin with a large double bed, a writing desk and, in common with the forward cabin, an ensuite with a separate shower area plus bags of storage space. Located between these two cabins, the third cabin offers twin beds but no ensuite, so it relies on the day heads on the opposite side.
Each of the cabins is fitted out with satin-varnished teak joinery and as you might expect, the quality of wood panelling is simply delicious throughout. In fact, it provides a theme that continues all the way up the attractive curved staircase from the lower deck and into the pilothouse above.
The “RP” part of the boat name stands for Raised Pilothouse and that manifests itself in the form of a split-level arrangement with the helm, dinette and galley located forward, three steps up from the lounge area. In many ways, the woodiness of the pilothouse – the floor, walls and furniture are all in matching teak – defines the character and nature of this boat.
Full standing headroom and a separate shower are very useful for longer trips away
Far from being a floating gin palace, this is a serious classical passagemaker, where function takes priority over form. It’s still a very welcoming and comfortable space but it comes without the glitz and glamour that define so many of its contemporaries.
Despite its dual-height floor and notwithstanding the cabinetry separating its two principal areas, the various elements of the pilothouse interact very well.
The fully-equipped horseshoe-shaped galley, for example, not only sits bang opposite the seven/eight seater dinette but is also just a couple of steps away from the lounge. And from the lounge, the centre-mounted helm is visible through the central walkway, keeping guests in touch with goings-on at the sharp end.
In addition to the V-berth, you get a central infill, an ensuite heads and a pair of hammocks
It’s a clever arrangement – sociable as well as practical and extremely well conceived for long-distance cruises – so hats off to the Grand Banks’ design team for that.
External spaces
The main deck provides a spacious aft cockpit and safe waist-high walkways around the entire vessel, with doors to the helm on either side, and a foredeck with a pair of two-seater, forward-facing bench seats.
At the aft end of the portside walkway is a doorway providing access to the engine room. Our review boat features the most popular and powerful engine choice – twin 1,015hp Caterpillar C-18s.
While the VIP cabin gets a large bathroom, the guest twin relies on the day heads
For other options, we checked with Colin Watts of Grand Banks importer, Boat Showrooms, who told us that some early models were equipped with 853hp Caterpillar C15s, followed by C-18s rated at 885hp. In addition, one or two vessels were also equipped with MTU units but, as Colin put it, the Cat was king.
Up on the flybridge, accessed by way of a curved staircase from the aft cockpit, is another area designed for maximum functionality. While the entertaining area – two settees, each with their own table – is relatively modest in size, there are also three forward-facing seats at the central helm station, with a navigator’s seat to starboard and a passenger seat to port.
Tucked behind the starboard L-shaped settee is a wet bar and grill; and aft of that is a sizable boat deck for stowing a large rigid-hulled seagoing outboard-powered tender.
In spite of a couple of forward-facing seats, the bow is really all about seamanship
Is it for you?
The Grand Banks 59 Aleutian RP is a boat built to do what its name infers. The Aleutians are a chain of inhospitable Alaskan islands noted for their unforgiving climate. To survive, any boat going there needs to be tough, durable, reliable and dependable.
In short, it needs to be built for purpose and that’s exactly what the Grand Banks 59 Aleutian RP is. The fact it also looks so good is just a very welcome bonus.
The 59’s deep, trawler-style side decks are about as safe as you could hope to get
Grand Banks 59 Aleutian RP specifications
LOA: 58ft 7in (17.86m)
BEAM: 18ft 0in (5.49m)
DRAFT: 5ft 4in (1.63m)
DISPLACEMENT: 43,103kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 5,300L
WATER CAPACITY: 1,457L
TOP SPEED: 27 knots
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.8L/nm @ 21.7kn
RANGE: 730nm at 21.7kn with 20% reserve
