Is it a Pardo? Is it a Fjord? No, it’s a Schaefer V33 – and it’s bringing its own brand of dayboating luxury all the way from Brazil
When we first laid eyes on the Schaefer V33, it was making its UK debut at the Southampton Boat Show. Rather cleverly, the guys at Gibbs Quay Boat Sales had taken along both the inboard and outboard models but it was the outboard model that really struck a chord. Having made it to the show at the last second, it wasn’t quite ready to be tested but with its plunging bow, elegant steelwork and glittering ‘Porsche Blue’ livery, it looked every inch the mini Pardo.
Interestingly though, that’s not where the heritage of the brand lies at all. As the largest boatbuilder in Brazil, Schaefer’s distinguished 31-year history has been all about sportscruisers and luxury motor yachts from 30 to well in excess of 80ft. Its meat and drink had always been cabinequipped cruising machines and yet what we had here was a specialist dayboat with walkaround side decks and a very healthy dose of chic Med-style glamour. With our interest duly piqued, we gave the guys at Gibbs a couple of weeks to add the finishing touches before heading down to Poole for a sea trial.
AS OPEN AS IT GETS
At just under a third of the overall length, a beam of 11ft is not especially huge by the standards of an open 34-footer but you certainly feel every bit of the V33’s breadth on the inside. Narrow gunwales, open side decks and central furniture all help with that but it’s the Schaefer’s campaign of concealment that really seals the deal. As you might expect of a boat in this sector, everything even vaguely ugly or workmanlike is recessed, contained or hidden from sight. The shore power socket and the stanchions for the sunshades are recessed into the bulwarks. The fuel and water fillers sit in moulded troughs on the gunwale tops. The cleats are sunken and the midships boarding steps are fold-down, teak-lined and elegantly lit. In fact, even the walkaround decks are unencumbered by forward steps – and while that’s a surprising design choice for a cruising specialist, it certainly does useful things for the day spaces.
You can walk all the way from the open stern to the graceful forepeak without the slightest hindrance. A set of cushions around the periphery of the boat also aids your progress. They enable you to slide your hip along them, to perch against them and face sociably inboard or to brace your thighs when fishing or lifting baggage on board. With rigid backings that are easily slotted onto retaining hooks around the boat’s internal edge, they also remain very easy to remove and stow when your day is done.
Up at the bow, the forwa
