Wee beauty straight from pod

Maritomo 440 Offshore Convertible. Photo / Supplied.

Through most of the "noughties", launch manufacturers were continually offering ever-bigger models. However, the recession at decade's end has led some, such as Gold Coast-based Maritimo, to again focus at the smaller end of their ranges.

Maritimo's recently-released 440 Offshore Convertible is a good example. While it still boasts classic Bill Barry-Cotter lines, its latest offering is designed around a pair of 435hp Volvo Penta IPS600 pod drives.

The positioning of pod-driven engines, as opposed to conventionally-driven ones, usually results in substantial redesign of a boat's interior, as in this case.

Barry-Cotter also chose to market their boatsin Europe and thus had to comply with the strict CE standards of the European Community.

The sticking point here was height off the water.

Barry-Cotter was adamant that the boat had to feature an enclosed hard top flybridge and, furthermore, one with an internal staircase.

If he started with the cockpit and saloon floors where they would normally be, there simply would not have been enough room, within the CE restrictions, to keep everything in proportion. Therefore the cockpit and saloon soles were lowered (as was the centre of mass, another CE restriction), negating to some extent the space advantages, especially aft, of the pod drives.

The result is that there is no aft cabin. Instead the accommodation plan is typical conventional drive: three cabins and two bathrooms, all forward.

What is not typical Maritimo is the relationship between the cockpit and saloon floors. The height difference between these is now minimal (just a centimetre or two), again a result of the CE standards.

In place of the missing aft cabin are two huge underfloor lockers housing a washing machine and the battery boxes (aft one) and the water tanks, hot-water cylinder and genset.

The cockpit deck doesn't appear to be noticeably lower than on other models, and this most important of areas houses everything one now expects on a boat of this size: a fresh water shower and deck-wash and a moulded transom module suitable for either a live-bait tank or barbecue.

That much-cliched "indoor/outdoor flow" is now a prerequisite on a modern cruiser, and the Maritimo people have taken their responsibilities in this area rather seriously. As well as keeping the floors at roughly the same level, they have also installed triple-panelled doors, one a single and the other a bi-fold.

These both hinge outwards (and out of the way), effectively transforming cockpit and saloon into one continuous space.

Further enhancing the usability of this giant entertainment area, the well-appointed galley and the internal companionway to the flybridge are both handily situated right aft.

With no lower helm station, the saloon is just that, with an L-shaped lounge around a triangular teak table and another opposite, a polished timber bar (complete with wine bottle cooler) and the now-obligatory high-end entertainment system, complete with large, flat-screen television.

With the three cabins and two bathrooms all for'ard in a 14.8m LOA, there obviously needed to be some trade-off, and this is where it occurs. The main cabin is fine: queen-sized berth and all the expected trimmings. The main guest cabin has what appears to be two singles (one lower berth athwartships and one upper fore and aft). However, the former is actually two mattresses able to be laid side-by-side to form a double berth. The third cabin is a single.

One area with no stinting on space is the flybridge. The station is aft - sure to be welcomed by those who like to game fish - and the dash can easily accommodate twin 12-in display screens as well as all the other necessary instrumentation.

There is space behind the station for those who want to stand and watch the action below, and a ton more in front. A lounge with seating for four or five adults surrounds a teak table, while another lounge, forward of a sink module, can accommodate another two - meaning comfortable seating for seven.

As one would expect from a Bill Barry-Cotter design, the 440 handles itself well, even in sloppy seas.

The traditional Maritimo construction form of a solid deep vee GRP hull carrying a topsides, deck and superstructure of cored composite, gives a quiet, secure and sturdy ride, comfortably able to iron out the rough stuff.

With a displacement of 14,500kg, the 14.8m 440 uses its 870 pod-driven horsepower to hit a top speed of 32.2 knots. It cruises economically between 22 and 28 knots and, at 22 knots, boasts a very respectable 380 nautical mile range. Better still for boaties in some haste, up the throttles to 28 knots and the range drops a mere 9 nautical miles.

Although the 440 has been designed to be a boat forthe times, there is no evidence of skimping. The finish and standard of appointment is what one would expect from Barry-Cotter.

A standard turnkey version of the 440 Offshore Convertible is available for about A$844,000 ($1.09 million). Even with a whole raft of extras (teak decking, aft clears, a dishwasher and washer/dryer, TV, electronics, refrigeration upgrades, a separate bar fridge, electric sunroof and second helm seat in the flybridge) the price is still under A$1 million.

Thus, a fully-featured Maritimo 440 Offshore Convertible will cost around $1.3 million in New Zealand.

Maritimo 440 Convertible

LOA: 14.8m

Beam: 4.6m

Draft: 1.10m

Displacement: 14,500kg

Engines: twin 435hp Volvo Penta IPS600 pod drives

Max Speed: 32.3 knots

Cruise Speed: 22-28 knots

Construction: GRP

Fuel Cap: 1800 litres

Water Cap: 400 litres

Price: $1.3 million

Want to know more? Check out the full review of the Maritimo 440 Offshore Convertible in the November/December issue of Pacific Motoryacht magazine