Per Harrtoft’s brand new Iron Coupé breaks down on its maiden voyage but soon proves its true mettle
Regular subscribers may remember reading about my voyage of a lifetime from Sweden to the Lofoten islands, inside the Arctic Circle, which I wrote about last year. We made that journey in our Grandezza 40 Fly, Deamare, but I also have a second smaller boat which I use for shorter trips all year round.
Until recently, this was an aluminium-hulled Buster Magnum, which I’d owned since 2014 and have been very pleased with. However, I was tired of constantly having to take off and erect the canopy at the start and end of every journey.
Its successor would have to have a cabin and be faster but preferably have only one engine to keep the weight and fuel consumption down – I often trail the boat behind my car, so it needs to be light. A place to sleep would also be nice, but not if it came at the expense of a second engine, and ideally, I’d like suspension seats to improve ride comfort in rough weather.
I looked at the XO DFNDR 8, but it was just a bit too big and heavy. The Hydrolift X27 SUV also tempted me, but I’d heard its stepped hull can be prone to spinning out during high speed turns, so I crossed that off my list too. The Viggo C8 and Anytec A27 are fantastic to drive, and built out of lightweight, maintenance-free aluminium, but I discounted both of them when I realised I wanted a sliding door next to the helm to give the feel of driving an open boat.
I’d heard good things about Iron Boats, especially the speed, efficiency and seakeeping of its Mannerfelt-designed hull, but originally they were only available as open sportsboats. Then I stumbled across a prototype of an 827 Coupé at a boat show in Gothenburg in 2023.
It was a bit rough and ready, but in March 2024, I got to see the finished production Coupé at the Stockholm boat show. It looked the business, so in early April, my son Martin and I went to Gothenburg to meet Henrik Petersson, one of the founding partners of Iron Boats, for a proper sea trial.
A proud Per gets ready for a sea trial of his new fully loaded all-weather sports boat
Feature-rich build
Henrik explained that it was possible to set up a pair of temporary berths in the wheelhouse by wedging them over the seats. More importantly, the driving characteristics proved to be fantastic, with almost no planing threshold, and although there was no option for suspension seats, the ride quality of the hull was so good that it wasn’t a major issue.
With the seat cushion folded up, I could brace against the backrest with my head well above the cabin roof and both side doors propped open for the full wind-in-the-hair experience. A basic toilet under the sofa was there for emergencies, but most of the time, I prefer to bucket-and-chuck-it anyway, and there was plenty of dry stowage space under the cabin seats and deck, as well as a sociable dinette in the aft cockpit for al fresco meals.
When Henrik printed out the quote (as usual, I’d ticked the entire list of extras), I was pleasantly surprised. We were well under £130,000, even with the largest engine option of a 450hp Mercury Racing outboard.
A month later, I ordered an 827 Coupé in grey with a radar, dual Simrad screens, VHF radio with AIS, extra lights, and almost every extra going.
When it was ready for collection, I drove up to the factory in Mölndal with a view to completing the engine’s 10-hour running-in period in the local area so it could be serviced before I towed it back home.
My son Martin and I went to Gothenburg to meet Iron Boats founder Henrik Petersson for a proper sea trial
My new boat was ready and waiting for me in the factory. It looked immaculate, the only thing missing was an extension bracket to raise the steaming light above the radar.
The nearest launch site was 10km away in Hovås harbour, so a couple of guys from the yard towed behind their pick-up with me following in my car. Half way there, I saw the trailer come loose.
Luckily, it landed on the raised jockey wheel and came to a halt without damaging the boat. The guys were mortified but helped hook it up to my car, and we reached the launch site without further drama.
With the boat safely launched, I pottered out of the harbour into Gothenburg’s lovely archipelago. Even with the limited revs of the run-in period, it drove beautifully. The hull cut through the waves like a hot knife through butter and responded instantly to steering inputs. I was also pleased to discover that the helm position offered excellent protection, even with the doors open.
I threaded my way through the islands east of Klåverön, then west to Marstrand, where I picked up my friend Jörgen, who had joined me on my trip to Lofoten. Our plan was to run in the engine and get to know the boat properly. We took turns at the wheel, driving at a brisk pace. Iron Explorer, as I’d named her, felt wonderfully well-balanced with no need for trim tabs.
The 827 Coupé sits ready for its maiden voyage
We tried the sofas and the table in the cockpit, where a meal of cold pancakes with strawberry jam and coffee tasted all the sweeter for being on board my new boat. After just over six hours at sea I dropped Jörgen back where I’d met him and motored across to the nearby guest harbour of Marstrand, where I’d booked a hotel for the night.
The following day, I made an early start, hoping to complete the 10-hour running-in period before lunch. With no canopy to wrestle with, I just unlocked the doors, opened the sunroof, started the engine, and set off. It was bliss.
Disaster looms
After a couple more hours flitting between the islands, it was time for breakfast, so I pulled into the port of Vrångö. I found a cafe and enjoyed a coffee and a shrimp sandwich overlooking the boat, allowing myself a smile of satisfaction at how good it looked and how well everything worked. I called Iron Boats to say that everything was running like a dream and I’d be ready for collection in Hovås a couple of hours earlier than expected.
I returned to the boat and started the engine but as I made my way out of the port, the steering felt strangely sluggish. As it’s a fly-by-wire system rather than hydraulically assisted steering, I tried a complete restart in the hope of resetting the system, but when I switched the main power back on, everything went dead. I tried turning it off and on again – no result. I was still inside the harbour but the wind was now blowing me towards a pebble beach.
Preparing to launch in Hovås harbour
I dropped the anchor but it didn’t bite so I had no option but to jump into the shallow water and try to stop my new boat from beaching itself. No one seemed to have noticed my distress, despite me waving frantically while trying to prevent the hull and engine from grinding against the rocks.
Rescue operation
Eventually, I managed to Google the number of the local shop and call a staff member, who promised to send help. A small fishing boat came to the rescue, but the water was too shallow for him to pass me a line. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was in reality only about half an hour, a smaller open boat pulled me free and towed me back to safety.
Per chose a deluxe helm station with dual Simrad screens
After thanking them and paying for the rescue, I called Iron Boats to tell them what had happened. Henrik apologised profusely and immediately organised a rescue mission. Minutes later, one of their open boats arrived in the middle of a fierce rainstorm with a mechanic, a spare battery, and a replacement circuit breaker on board. They soon had my boat up and running again. A lithium-ion battery had died but then mysteriously woke up again once it was back in the yard.
We cruised back to the factory in company through the pouring rain, thankful that I was sheltered from the worst of it by Iron Explorer’s wheelhouse, unlike the driver of the other boat, who arrived soaked to the skin. Back on land, I headed out to lunch in a local restaurant while Iron Explorer went straight into the workshop for her engine service and a thorough investigation of what had happened. They also promised to repair any scratches and deliver her directly to my home as soon as the work was done.
It may have been an unfortunate end to a very promising start, but Iron Boats’ willingness to get everything sorted as quickly and painlessly as possible reassures me that its customer service is every bit as good as its boats. I am now looking forward to the summer season with even more excitement than usual and many more, hopefully trouble-free, hours of fun!
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