Safehaven Marine took advantage of the recent storm Kathleen to put its radical new Voyager T-2000 power-cat through the ultimate sea trials
The near 70ft wave-piercing adventure boat, the Voyager T-2000, has been designed to cope with the roughest of sea conditions and the recent storm Kathleen’s 70mph wind speeds provided just the challenge Safehaven’s owner, Frank Kowalski, was looking for.
Instead of waiting for the storm to blow over, he headed straight out into the notorious stretch of water outside Cork Harbour to put his latest creation to the test.
The attached video and photographs tell the story far better than we can, suffice to say that Voyager more than lived up to its billing, repeatedly launching off the 4m waves and returning unscathed for further testing.
In the calmer conditions before the storm, Kowalski reached speeds of up to 47 knots courtesy of Voyager’s two 1,550hp V12 MANs hooked up to Twin Disc Quickshift straight gearboxes and surface-drives.
With further tuning of the drivetrain and the assistance of a drag reducing hydrofoil that has yet to be fitted, he is confident of increasing this to well over 50 knots.
Photo: c/o Safehaven Marine
Although Kowalski admits that Voyager’s powertrain is at the punchy end of the spectrum for a cruising boat, he is adamant that speed is a valuable tool when it comes to extreme offshore cruising.
For instance, being able to take advantage of tight weather windows and outrun storms will give her a distinct advantage over more conventional displacement and semi-displacement explorer yachts.
However, there’s far more to Voyager than raw speed and power. A fuel capacity of 11,000 litres combined with a low drag hull design means it should be good for a cruising range of 1,000nm at 30 knots, 1,600nm at 16 knots or over 3,000nm at 10 knots – enough for trans-oceanic routes.
During early trials it was burning just 145 litres per hour at 20 knots, very impressive for a 30-tonne craft of this size and speed.
Cruising comforts are also well taken care of. The wheelhouse includes a smart looking starboard-side lounge, with a galley to port and a central bridge console addressed by two pilot seats.
As for hull accommodation, this first T-2000, which will initially serve as a company demonstrator before being made available for sale, has three cabins – an owners’ in the starboard-side hull amidships with its double bed crossing the bridge deck – plus a VIP double and crew cabin in the port hull.
Photo: c/o Safehaven Marine
Since it started in 1998 County Cork-based Safehaven Marine has launched over 160 boats. Most of its output is for commercial craft such as pilot boats, patrol boats, military interceptors and SAR vessels but it has also built a handful of extreme leisure variants such as the legendary XSV20 MY Thunder Child II, which set a new record for the North Atlantic crossing between Ireland and Iceland, covering the 862nm at an average speed of 30 knots.
Voyager is set to be its most ambitious design with prices starting an estimated €3 million. For those less interested in all-out speed, Kowalski says that subsequent T-2000s could easily be fitted with regular shafts or pod drives while still reaching speeds of up to 40 knots.
