Glacier Bay 3470
Boating World picks up on the East Coast leg of Glacier Bay's Grand Americas Tour in the all new 3470.
By Alan Jones
January 1, 2004
Up ahead, the whitecaps on the lumpy horizon give notice that the sea
is in an angry mood today. With a 20-mph sea breeze and a brisk outgoing tide draining the Savannah
River into the Atlantic, it's going to get ugly, so the crew battens down the hatches, kills the
last of their beverages, double checks for loose items and then heads into the worst of it.
Just a few hours ago, one of the crewmembers was bemoaning the relatively calm seas they
have faced so far on their trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina, on
Glacier Bay's newest flagship, the outboard-powered 34-foot 3470. After all, these catamarans are
designed to handle just about anything a recreational boater is likely to face, but so far they
have challenged the 3470's capabilities as much as a Hummer crossing a speed bump. That's about to
change, because the inlet they are going out of is stacked with tightly grouped platoons of steep
8-footers.
Larry Graf, president
of Glacier Bay, slows down to 17 mph for the passage, and they slice their way through
uneventfully. On most other boats you might reach 10 mph before beating yourself senseless, but
instead of the battering ram approach most monohulls take, the Glacier Bay's twin displacement
hulls present the thinnest profile possible to the face of the waves. It's sort of like when you
turn yourself sideways when maneuvering through a big crowd.
The maiden voyage of hull number one is not some little shakedown cruise, but an 8,474-mile
trek Graf calls the Grand Americas Tour. Starting in Everett, Washington, near where Glacier Bays
are built, the boat's route takes it south to the tip of Baja Mexico and up into the Sea of Cortez.
The 3470 is then trailered to Texas, where it shadows the coastline around the tip of Florida and
all to way north to Maine. Joining the trip in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you meet the rest of the
crew consisting of Graf, his son Steve, and Dawn Turner, Graf's hard-working assistant.
Boarding the 3470 for
the first time, you can't help but be impressed by its roominess. With a 13-foot-3-inch beam,
28-inch high gunwales, and four 2-inch one-way scuppers, the open fishing cockpit rivals those
found on million-dollar sportsfishermen. You will need all that room with the mountain of supplies
you're bringing along for the four-day leg, so the groceries find a home in the numerous cabinets
down in the galley ' located in the starboard sponson ' and in the compartments set into the sole
that have classy teak and holly inserts. Some of the drinks go in the galley's refrigerator, and
the rest in the optional cockpit fridge. The fully equipped galley comes complete with a two-burner
stove, microwave, stainless-steel sink and a large Corian-surfaced food prep area.
Idling up the Intercoastal Waterway, the pair of Honda 225-hp 4-strokes is practically
inaudible ' registering only 56 decibels. After a quick stop to top off the pair of 250-gallon
expedition fuel tanks (150x2 is standard) and fill the 60-gallon water reservoir, you hurry up ...
and wait ... for what seems like an eternity in order for several drawbridges to permit passage.
Finally, you arrive at the Hillsboro Inlet, where the 3470 makes a mockery of the Atlantic
entrance's three-foot seas. Offshore it's even calmer and you bump the Hondas up to 4350 rpm, which
nets a cruise speed of 24 mph, not bad when you consider that this boat ' hull number one ' weighs
more than 20,000 pounds loaded. Subsequent production hulls tip the scales at around 13,000 pounds
(dry weight).
The helm station should be called the 'command center' with its impressive array of
large-screen SIMRAD electronics, including a GPS/WAAS chartplotter with a 15-inch screen, color
radar, autopilot and depthfinder. Unlike some of the older Simrad systems, these units are
user-friendly, and after a one-minute briefing from Graf, the newest pilot scrolls the curser of
the GPS up the coast to the entrance of Port Canaveral, pushes a couple of buttons, and the
auto-pilot takes care of the driving. The captain's duty list is simple: stay awake and watch for
traffic.
The Glacier Bay doesn't require much attention to engine trim ' just an occasional
correction keeps it running level in the small beam sea. A nice touch is the chart holder just to
the right that has a clear Plexiglas cover. After four days at the helm, it proves to be the best
seat in the house, with just a couple of minor nitpicks. The tall windshield reflects the dash's
white gel coat and gauges pretty severely and is distracting to the driver's vision. But a low-tech
remedy is found in the form of a dark blue towel, which is laid on the dash ' problem fixed.
Another issue is with the adjustable captain's seat, which itself is extremely comfortable and
provides good support, but in order to use the footrests attached to the console, you have to sit
on the front part of the seat. When you are sitting all the way back your feet dangle like a kid in
a big person's chair. A flip-down footrest attached to the chair would make it more comfortable for
long stints at the helm.
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The first port of call is Scorpion's
Marine Center in Cape Canaveral, where the crew is met by a host of Glacier Bay owners gathered to
see and ride on Graf's new baby. During the trip up the coast, at most stops, there are receptions
hosted by Glacier Bay dealers, like last night's Seven Seas Yacht Sale's soir'e in Fort Lauderdale.
What you notice at these functions is that Glacier Bay has a strong following among its owners.
Although there are some serious lookers, most are here to admire and daydream of making enough
money to afford the 3470's price tag of $329,000 with a pair a 225-hp Hondas and other options.
At dusk, when the reception starts winding down, Graf checks the weather and discovers that a tropical depression is gaining strength to the south and could cause problems, so after a little discussion, you decide to run offshore all night and put some distance between you and the storm. With darkness settling in, you dim the instrument lights to preserve night vision, activate the SIMRAD radar, and begin to idle north with the sprawling Cape Canaveral Space Center complex on the port side. In the distance you hear a faint jet engine and look up to see an F117A stealth bomber fly overhead with no lights on and only a few hundred feet above you. Later during the mid-watch at 3 a.m., the driver is jarred alert by a short, yet spectacular meteor shower. One is so close you can see a smoke trail linger for several seconds after it burns up in the atmosphere. The seas are calm and the trip north is peaceful as the crew takes turns sleeping in the pair of cabins. The port berth is the largest and features a queen-size bed, plenty of storage in the six drawers, and a large, teak hanging locker. The master cabin's head compartment is a roomy, modern affair with plenty of Corian countertop space and ample storage. The shower is fed by a 60-gallon water tank, supplemented by an 11-gallon hot water heater and gives bathers plenty of elbowroom. And with the latticed teak floor grates, you don't have to stand in a pool of water when showering. The starboard compartment does double duty as a chartroom/single sleeper. During the day, the captain has a table to plan routes and do computer work, and at night it converts to a comfortable bunk that would be big enough for two kids, a single adult, or a couple lying snugly. The bunk is pretty high, and it takes a couple of mounts and dismounts before getting the maneuver down with some semblance of grace, but once up there you are treated to a firm sleeping surface. Both cabins feature a minimum of 6 feet 2 inches of headroom and are well lit with ambient and electrical lighting. One major sleep aid on the trip is Graf's invention, called a Sea Bed, which is a dense foam pad with a depression shaped like a human body that keeps you from rolling from side-to-side and makes sleeping on the go all the more possible. The morning wake-up call is the sound of the Hondas being throttled up, and only a couple of hours later you arrive in St. Augustine ' 490 years after Ponce de Leon discovered it. Docking the 3470 at the city marina is easy because the wide engine spacing gives drivers the ultimate in pivoting control. The crew strolls around the historic city, checks out the old Spanish fort, buys a kite, and has an al fresco lunch on the balcony at A1A Ale Works. Next stop ... Brunswick, Georgia, which is the only port without a reception, so it's a quiet evening of seafood and pizza, followed by an early bedtime. The next morning you're absorbed into the heart of the Low Country as you begin the Intercoastal Waterway part of the journey. The narrow twisty rivers are fun and challenging to navigate as there are many shoals to avoid with the 30-inch plus draft of the Glacier Bay. Most of the time you see no other inhabitants, save for the locals: egrets, herons and bottlenose dolphins. The trip is leisurely until you reach the mouth of the Savannah River and its 8-foot seas, but in the 3470 it's exhilarating rather than terrifying, and in short order the crew cruises through Caliboge Sound off Hilton Head and then on to beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina, where Butler Marine is hosting a dockside party. It's a shame you don't have time to fish, because the 3470 is well equipped to do battle. The most unique angling feature is the integrated bait prep station on the port side of the cockpit, behind the salon's L-shaped settee. Upon flipping open the ram-assisted lid, four fishing tackle trays are deployed and the bait prep sink is uncovered. Sliding a cutting board/cover gives access to the massive 44-gallon livewell, which has a clear Plexiglas front to help bait orientation and allows fishermen to monitor the finny fodder's well being. There is an aft-facing jump seat to allow anglers to watch the spread and four Lee's rod holders in the gunwales, and racks for six underneath as well as additional storage racks in the cabins. With almost 20 cubic feet of capacity in twin fish boxes, and a raw water washdown, processing the catch is easy. It's hot enough to steam clams as the crew departs for Charleston, South Carolina, for the last leg with this crew, and sadly, it's a short one. You reminisce about how much fun the trip has been as you play cards at the spacious settee in the salon. And as you enter Charleston Harbor, you are greeted by four other Glacier Bay boats that follow the 3470 in like baby ducks paddling after their mom. The 3470 project began as a gleam in Graf's eye many years ago and by any measure, his dream boat is a success. A diesel-powered inboard version is now available as well as a pilot house configuration. With seven athwart bulkheads and three watertight sections per hull that have their own bilge pumps, only something like a meteorite strike could probably sink it. Favorite features include the wide deck trails to the bow where there is a bow cushion for lounging up front. In the stern, there's a huge swim deck in between the Hondas that also holds the inflatable tender in a roller cradle for launches with just the pull of one line. The 3470 is well suited for either cruising or fishing, and unlike a lot of cats it's even stylish. But if you don't like people, you might want to choose another boat, because when you pull into a marina, you tend to draw a crowd. |
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