Traditionalists love the lines, a fuel-efficient cruise speed, and the living space of a classic trawler, but a classic trawler’s performance generally leaves something to be desired. Even if you enjoy a slow cruise, a few extra knots can make all the difference in the world when thunder-heads appear over the horizon, or a tight schedule becomes too tight for comfort. Many modern trawler builders, including much-heralded Grand Banks, have addressed this issue with faster, more powerful models. The latest in this evolution—and one that adds some new technology into the mix—is the Grand Banks 43 Heritage EU. Photo courtesy of Grand Banks The 43 is the smallest in the Heritage series (replacing the 41 Heritage EU) and as you might guess from this line’s moniker, it has a look as traditional as teak and holly. The boat’s layout is similarly conventional, with a salon in the main cabin, a galley forward to port, and an enclosed helm station to starboard. Down below, the master stateroom is located forward, a guest cabin sits to port, and to starboard there’s an en-suite head. Extra stowage for those long-distance runs sits in a cavernous compartment below the galley. As with the rest of the Heritage line, the 43 EU is offered in several different configurations that alter the salon seating arrangements and lower cabin options. The Heritage also features a nice-sized cockpit that is shaded by a flybridge extending all the way aft, providing plenty of space for storing a tender while underway. Going from the cockpit up to that flybridge is easy, too, since Grand Banks uses a staircase instead of the old-fashioned ladder—a departure from tradition that any mariner can appreciate. The biggest departure from a trawler’s old ways, however, comes with performance. The 43 cruises at around 20 knots and hits 24 knots at wide-open throttle. That’s pretty darn lickety-split for a genre that usually plods along at pre-planing speeds. And while some recent trawlers have attained speeds like this by adding horsepower and tweaking hull design, Grand Banks took a different approach with the Heritage. Power comes courtesy of a pair of Zeus pod drives, coupled to twin 480-horsepower Cummins QSB6.7 diesels. Added bonus: with these pod drives you get to play with a joystick, instead of throttles and a wheel, to maneuver the boat when docking or performing tight maneuvers. If you haven’t used pods with a joystick yet, you really need to give it a try—you can turn it to spin the boat in its own length, nudge it sideways to crab the boat into tight spots, and bump it forward and aft to make position adjustment measures in inches, not feet. We can’t move on from the use of those pod drives just yet, because they give the Heritage yet another bonus advantage. Since there’s no shaft and no shaft angle, fuel efficiency gets a boost over straight inboards. Wait a second—if there are no shafts and no shaft angle, and since the engine sits directly above the pod drives, doesn’t that mean the engines can be mounted farther aft? You bet. And this delivers yet another perk: there’s space for a utility room, which can be used for uber-stowage, a washer/dryer, or added refrigeration. One final departure from the trawlers of bygone days can be found in the boat’s construction. The hull is cored, and resin-infusion plays a major role, and tanks are cross-linked polyethylene. Add all these features together, and you get a long-distance cruising boat that doesn’t merely please the traditionalist, but leaves him or her pleasantly surprised, as well. Length Overall: 43’4” Beam: 5’8” Draft: 3’9” Displacement: 37,000 pounds Maximum horsepower: 480-horsepower Cummins QSB6.7 diesels Fuel capacity: 600 gallons Water capacity: 200 gallons

by Lenny Rudow—Senior Editor, Boats.com