There’s no question that the Cockwells Custom 32 is a work of maritime art. We take a look at the comely classic
There can be very few boats that have appeared three times at the Southampton Boat Show and been sold off the stand each time. To be clear, we’re not talking here about three different examples of the same product but the very same boat.
This achievement is, to our knowledge, unique and that’s very much like the vessel in question: the Cockwells Custom 32 – a gentleman’s motor launch built in 2005 to a very particular specification by Falmouth-based Cockwells Modern & Classic Boatbuilding.
Cockwells has been delighting its customers with vessels of exceptional quality for the past three decades.
It describes its mission as preserving heritage and embracing innovation and there’s no question that its Custom 32 fulfils that brief to a tee. Hand built with an epoxy-sheathed wooden hull and an interior finished in Cornish chestnut with black walnut trim, the boat gleams inside and out.
In fact, it looks as exquisite today as it did the day it was launched. The pilothouse is also constructed from timber – solid teak this time – and completing this woody picture, the remainder of the topsides, cockpit, side decks and foredeck are all teak-laid.
In the deep, safe cockpit, a pair of corner seats face aft toward a full-beam stern bench
The bad news is that the Custom 32 is one of a very small and select band of wooden Cockwells motor launches. The others are either 33 or 37ft in length so used purchasing opportunities are extremely limited. But fear not, for as sales and technical director Dave Cockwell explains, there’s a very viable alternative.
“Selling the same boat three times at the show convinced me the demand was there,” Cockwell says. “However, hand building boats like these comes at a cost, which limits the market so we decided to go down a different route, which was to launch our Duchy range. These are semi-production models built from GRP mouldings and, as such, are far more affordable. ‘Semi-production’ also means we can change the joinery and offer some layout choices.
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“And because they are built in numbers, everything is much more tried and tested than you get with a one-off boat. Not that we’ve actually had any issues with the custom ones. It’s more a case that the engineering in a semi-production boat tends to be more refined.”
Key models in the Duchy range are the 27 and 35, launched ten and five years ago respectively. Currently, there are 37 27-footers on the water and 20 35-footers and that significantly increases your chances of finding a quality used Cockwells motor launch.
A companionway between the helm seats takes you down to the forward galley and heads
Owner’s perspective
Returning to the vessel that spawned the Duchy range – the Cockwells Custom 32 – this particular boat has been owned for the past ten years by south coast boater, David Steele, who seems distinctly reluctant to let her go.
“We used to live in Christchurch, down at Priory Quays and kept her on the pontoon right outside the house,” Steele explains. “She’s beautiful for a day on the water and we’ve really enjoyed having her. But we moved to the West Country and took on a project house which has taken up a lot of our time.
“We agonised and agonised over it. Do we bring the boat down here or is it time to do other things? My whole background is sailing and, you know, I think I’m more likely to sail with other people down here. It was a close-run decision and every time I go back and think about it, I ask, are we making the right choice? But finally, we have decided.”
The instrumentation is set into a stylish dome-topped anti-glare dash panel
From the moment David took to sea in the Custom 32, he was able to fully appreciate its handling and abilities. “We purchased the boat from Cockwells and brought her back up from their base at Mylor Bridge,” he says. “That journey really convinced me of her fantastic seakeeping qualities.
“We had quite a big sea coming around Portland and her pilot cutter hull handled the waters beautifully. She just eats up the distance, the waves parting across her bows as she motions on through. There’s no slamming. She cuts through the water rather than skipping over it so it’s a great ride. And for slow speed work, the twin engines make her very manoeuvrable too.”
But for all its seakeeping qualities, the appeal of this boat is far from limited to its handling.
In addition to function, form is a massive part of the draw – and it’s not just the sweeping lines and chin-up bow profile that impress, but also the perfectly balanced contrast between the dark blue hull, the teak decking and the super-glossy woodwork of the pilothouse, cockpit and transom. If ever there was a boat that screams ‘gentleman’s motor launch’, this is it.
It looks great with no guardrails but care needs to be taken
External decks
In terms of features and fixtures, the Custom 32 continues to excel. With its clean uncluttered layout, the aft cockpit provides a spacious and relaxed area for socialising. A full-beam settee at the aft end is complemented by a pair of cushioned seats to the rear of the pilothouse.
Each seating area benefits from the protection afforded by the high sides of the cockpit, which rise 12 inches or so above the side decks – and beneath both the settee and the seats are storage lockers which entirely disappear from view when the cushions are in place.
While the absence of guardrails helps maintain the clean lines of the boat, security obviously matters too, and with an exposed foredeck and only a small toerail on the side decks, great care needs to be taken when moving around the outside of the boat.
The benches can be extended aft for sleeping by means of neat little ‘trotter boxes’
The fender attachment eyes are also worth noting here as they present a potential trip hazard as they rise vertically from the side decks just inside the toerails. On the plus side, the roof of the pilothouse does incorporate a number of handholds, which helps mitigate any risk.
Pilothouse and galley
Moving into the pilothouse, which is accessed by the shiniest door ever seen, the snug saloon exhibits an admirable symmetry throughout. Beginning with a pair of wooden storage units, two three-seater settees then face each other for the main run of the saloon.
As this boat does not have a cabin, the settees double up as berths. While stretching out for anyone taller than my own 5ft 7in might seem awkward, the aft cushion on each settee can be removed to reveal ‘trotter boxes’ built into the storage units, adding an extra foot or so to the length.
The Custom 32 uses a pair of Yanmar diesels on straight shafts
On the floor between the settees are two long hatches which lift out to reveal the boat’s twin shaftdrive Yanmar engines. One of these hatches also incorporates a table socket to transform the seating area into a dinette. And ahead of the settees, two rather grand floor-to-ceiling wooden posts do a good job of separating the saloon from the helm without making the helm feel remote.
Up at the business end, two very comfortable bolstered seats await the helm and navigator. Sitting or standing, the ergonomics are good with great all-round visibility thanks to the pilothouse’s large windows. The raked starboard steering wheel is integrated into a console with nav aids and radio, while other instrumentation is positioned ahead of the wheel in a stylish dome-topped anti-glare panel.
A step down from the helm leads to the split galley, which is beautifully crafted and pleasingly spacious by virtue of the fact that this boat has no dedicated sleeping cabins. With its sink to starboard and hob, microwave and fridge to port, plus plenty of worktop and storage on either side, it provides ample room to meet all onboard catering needs without the crew tripping over each other. At the forward end of the galley is a bi-fold door to the heads.
There’s an excellent galley split across a central companionway ahead of the helm
Once again, there is plenty of cabinetry and woodwork on show here and the boat’s toilet, which sits centrally mounted in the forepeak, is framed like a veritable throne! The sink’s tap incorporates a pull-out shower head unit too, and while this makes the heads a wetroom, with all that wonderful timber around, we would be sorely tempted to venture ashore for a shower.
Cockwells Custom 32 specifications
MODEL: Cockwells Custom 32
DESIGNER: Ed Burnett
HULL TYPE: Semi-displacement
RCD Category: C
LOA: 32ft 4in (9.85m)
BEAM: 9ft 9in (2.96m)
DRAFT: 2ft 6in (0.75m)
DISPLACEMENT: 5,180kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 2 x 190 litres
WATER CAPACITY: 430 litres
TOP SPEED: 20 knots
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 1.56 litres per nm @ 16.0 knots
RANGE: 194.6nm at 16.0 knots with 20% reserve
Cockwells Custom 32 running costs
FUEL: 800 litres (Estimated annual fuel burn based on 25 hours at 17 knots and 25 hours at 7 knots)
BERTHING: £6,993.50 (based on £710/metre for a Hamble River marina downstream of Bursledon bridge)
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Verdict
There’s no question that the Cockwells Custom 32 is a work of maritime art, which thanks to the passage of time has now become more affordable than you might have expected – £189,950 seems reasonable for such an exclusive craft. But if you like the idea of something a little more mainstream with a GRP hull, the Cockwells Duchy 27 and 35 would be well worth considering too.
