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The Ultimate in Pocket Performance Baja 232 Islander
Tops 60 mph |
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By Captain Martha Comfort
"How fast does it go?" Talk to people about Baja and they tend
to get a little bit animated. You can notice a pulse at the
neck and a flare of the nostrils, beads of sweat and tightening
collars, pupil dilation and that sort of thing... it's the kind
of machine that simply makes you want more.
I have to admit that I was impressed as I learned more about
this speedster - the Baja 232 Islander is built to last. It
is rugged and well engineered with some well-conceived safety
and cruisability features all packaged into a polished performance
hull.
The Islander 232 is an open bow design and is built to handle
8 passengers. Flashy exterior wave graphics and a plum coloured
carpet and canvas offer instant 'dock appeal'. You would not
overlook this one in a crowd - she's simply too spunky.
The boat I was to test drive was lying alongside the docks of
Watercraft Ventures in Subic Bay Freeport in the Philippines
within a stone's throw of the huge Subic Bay Yacht Club. Watercraft
Ventures is one of Southeast Asia's Product Centres for the
giant Brunswick Group and in its 3 years of operation has developed
a name for offering prospective buyers a wide selection of stock
models to view and test-drive. Watercraft and their associated
Asian distributors are set to move approximately 155 boats in
the model year '99, which ends in July, and have increased the
market presence of Baja, Sea Ray and Boston Whaler by an impressive
300% over 3 years.
The Islander series compliments the Outlaw, Sport Fisherman
and the Performance series and is billed as the family craft
of the group - but keep in mind it is about as sedate as taking
the front seat of an amusement park ride. The hull form is a
deep-V and is coupled with MerCruiser power packages;  with
the 7.4L Bravo 1 delivering 310hp the Islander accelerates quickly
to the touch of the ergonomically designed Kiekhaefer performance
controls and handles like a sports-car.
But before we left the dock, I wanted to learn more about how
Baja's design team manages to keep the boat in the water at
warp speed. As a boat gains speed, first the bow and then the
stern will try to climb out of the water. At full planing speeds,
some hulls ride on a layer of air, which can have scary effects
for handling. In general, the more wetted surface, the easier
to handle - and the slower the ride. To my mind, this fine-tuning
between wet and dry contact points is the black magic of performance
boat design. I asked Baja's Barry Bailey to explain this.
The critical factors seem to be placing the centre of gravity
over the centre of pressure when riding at speed. This is done
by managing the trim tabs, on the part of the operator, and
by placing strakes or furrows longitudinally along the hull.
Where and how deep these strakes are in relation to the chine
or edges of the hull are carefully engineered.
At Baja, these areas are further reinforced with polyester microbaloon
material for additional running surface strength. Looking further
at the hull, the use of Baltek end grain balsa core construction
and knit fiberglass cloth (three layers of glass bonded together)
allows the manufacturers to use just one application of resin
for three layers of glass. Lighter. Stronger. Faster. A system
of full-length stringers and fully resin-encapsulated bulkheads
goes further to adding strength to the hull. Baja uses 7-layer
marine ply at the key transom and motor mount areas and through
bolts the engine to the largest stringers with aluminium motor
mounts - very solid.
"It's all about speed at a great price, a Porsche on the water,"
says Bailey as we discuss Baja at his Subic Bay office. Baja
Marine Corp. is part of the Brunswick/US Marine group. The company
has partnered Baja with Sea Ray and Boston Whaler, two of their
newest acquisitions. With these three companies combined, the
numbers are simply staggering - they offer 115 models and build
18,000 boats for more than $800,000 million in annual sales
revenues.  Twelve
to fifteen new models are introduced each year and their product
design and engineering teams are among the largest in the industry.
The Brunswick Group is the only production boat builder in the
world to be ISO 9002 Certified at all 7 plants in the USA. They
can justifiably claim to be among the cleanest plants in the
world and probably one of the more sophisticated. For instance,
robotics are used to spray gelcoat and follow strict environmental
codes. The customer is assured of consistent quality as all
materials are controlled from their point of origin.
Ray Wolfe, yard manager for Waterfront Ventures, and his young
daughter were to accompany me for the trial run. Boarding over
the transom swim platform and aft sun deck is simple and the
boat remains solidly upright. I noticed the swim ladder cleverly
recessed into the transom, the ski tow hold, and good placement
of the stainless steel pop-up cleats. There is even a sound
system remote control on the aft deck for the 140watt Clarion
Thunder CD stereo.
The dash panel is fitted with custom Faria gauges that are backlit
red and include a tachometer with hourmeter, fuel gauge, horn,
nav lights, 6 courtesy lights, and a safety switch with a lanyard.
The sundeck is equipped with an electric lift and an insulated
ice chest is stowed neatly in the engine compartment. There
is additional stowage below the console and in the forward cuddy.
The bow also has a sleeping insert to make the bow section usable
as an accommodation. The driver and passenger seats are exceptionally
well padded and ergonomically designed to keep the driver well
seated even at full throttle in a chop.
As we pulled away from the dock, I was surprised at how quietly
the MerCruiser ran, yet how responsive the helm, even at slow
speeds.
I definitely enjoyed the morning drive. It IS a fast boat. How
fast does it go? When you're ready to look at Baja, I recommend
that you visit web page www.bajamarine.com and then call Barry,
Ray or Angelo at Tel: (63 47) 252 1739 to arrange for your own
test drive. Baja dealerships are still available in some parts
of Asia.
Baja 232 Islander
| Length |
23'2" 6.48 m |
| Beam |
8'4" 2.54 m |
| Draft |
34" 86.26 cm |
| Displ |
3,870-lb 1,741.5 kg |
| Power |
MerCruiser 7.4L MPI/ Bravo1/ SS Prop/ 310hp
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| Fuel Capacity |
74 gal 280 ltr |
| Persons |
8 |
| Range at cruise speed |
167 miles |
| Complete and delivered Asia |
US$55,000 |
Special Note: The Top Speed in warm tropical water is 51.56
mph. It can top 60mph in cooler waters.
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