 sold his shares in Riviera Yachts). Instead of applying preconceived prejudices in the design of Elandra, Luke and his partners took a more divergent path by examining the untapped potential of the boating market.
Just what is Luke’s vision? Well, with his other partners, Tom Barry-Cotter (Bill’s son), and New Zealand boatbuilder Grant Senior, he’s carved a niche by creating a voluminous performance yacht that’s ready to cruise, but also offers customers the ability for some customization. I’ve spent a lot of time in Australia and I’ve found that in general terms, you can’t find a country that’s more closely aligned with how we boat in the U.S. and Canada. The country’s owner-operators are looking to cover distance on a solid sea boat, where day cruising is trumped by long weekends with summer and winter cruises in between. Both continents require functionality, while appreciating style. And anyone ponying up XX for a boat would like to incorporate a few custom touches of his own. The Elandra 53 ticks all of these boxes.
First of all, in my opinion, the six-cylinder 800-horsepower diesels of our test boat were perfectly suited for a 53-foot envelope. The power-to-weight ratio is spot on and throughout the curve, the torque from the MANs delivered a fun ride. We headed out into conditions in which some builders have refused to let us test. Luke pointed me toward the helm with a smirk—pride was turning into cockiness, perhaps? Er … nope, make that confidence. We hit a top speed of 34 knots (props were still to be adjusted) but more importantly, found a sweet spot of 27 knots at 2,000 rpm. With the bow entry, you could easily manage this speed in a similarly confused sea pattern all day long. The sound meter maintained 74 decibels as well at this speed, creating a pleasant environment around the helm.
On many tests like this, when I’m taking a boat fresh out of the cradle, I’ll discover creaks and groans as she works over seas like the 6- to 8-footers we found in the Coral Sea during our test. But there was nothing. No sound from doorframes. No protest from window frames. The rush of parting seas was noisier than the Elandra. Aha! Now I knew why Luke had been smiling back at the dock.
The Elandra’s response at the throttle is instantaneous, while a nearly flat shaft angle of 9 degrees and propeller pockets add to the efficient ride. And a shallow draft of less than 4 feet lets you get into some skinny water.
Heading back into the inlet with the seas pushing our stern, I expected a bit of a white-knuckle ride. It was not to be. The boat remained on plane while the speed dropped in the troughs; the entire boat rose easily with the swells, with no adverse bow lift. Twin Stidd seats at a smartly laid out helm provided a secure and comfortable area in which to handle gnarly conditions.
Grant Senior’s experience crafting offshore fishing convertibles in New Zealand is evident when reviewing the 53’s scantlings. The hull construction incorporates 3 layers of hand-laid quadraxial E-glass, vinylester for the first five layers after that, and then isophthalic polyester resins. The structural bulkhead’s lower forward sole and internal grid system are all glassed into place before the hull is released, resulting in that solid ride I experienced in the Coral Sea.
If Grant, Tom, and Luke had produced this level of engineering and performance, but fallen short on the interior appointments, details, and fit and finish, you could almost forgive them since this is their first project. Yet the trio focused efforts on these areas as well, to ensure they stood out from the crowd and created the best blend of Australian and European design.
One instant realization when stepping on board is that this 53 has a lot of interior volume. The beam is carried well aft and this allows for a tender garage as well as a spacious engine room. The builder offers three different main-deck configurations, yet each benefits from a seamless transition between the aft deck and interior. Our test boat featured the standard layout with both an L-shaped dining settee aft on the port side across from the galley, and another L-shaped lounge forward and across from the helm. This creates distinct eating and social areas—although the straight settee in the cockpit would be my pick for an early breakfast before a morning swim.
The lower deck is four steps down from the helm area, with three staterooms and two heads. The offset island berth in the forward cabin means no more gymnastic moves while trying to make the berth. In fact, if owners don’t mind sharing the head with the starboard guest cabin, they may consider making this forward cabin the master. It’s that spacious and comfortable. The amidships master spans the full beam and even at full cruise, the sound-deadening materials kept the noise pollution to respectable levels. The interior appointments are top notch, and the American walnut joinery is extremely well executed throughout the boat. Elandra also offers a variety of other wood options as part of its semi-custom approach.
In true Aussie fashion, the cockpit area is designed for outdoor entertaining with a barbecue, wet bar, and plenty of additional stowage. The teak decks are wide and allow secure passage to the forward sun lounge with additional lounging space while on a long passage.
Luke and his partners are continuing to follow a very deliberate approach, focusing on creating quality over quantity, and have already begun development on the Elandra 49. They are coming to North America with the help of industry veteran Mike Usina who will be heading up Elandra Yacht Sales of the Americas. Look for Luke and company in Miami—they expect the first 53 to land on U.S. shores in May.
After spending some time on the 53, it’s not surprising that the troika at Elandra is proud of what’s been accomplished. Here is a boat that is precisely what three industry veterans envisioned. And at the end of the day, it’s definitely something that will make a lot of boaters smile, too.
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The Boat
Layout Diagram
The deck plans show the three saloon options.
Other Specification
Warranty: 2 year stem to stern and 5 year structural.
The Test
Conditions During Boat Test
Air Temperature: 79°F; seas: 5-6’
Load During Boat Test
Full fuel and water, 5 persons, 2,000 lb gear.
Test Boat Specifications
- Test Engine: 2/800-hp MAN R6 diesels
- Transmission/Ratio: ZF, 2.192:1 gear ratio
- Props: 4 blade, 33 x 44
The Numbers
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.Hurricanex1 edit: I can’t find Digg 3 in the Themes section. Because I can not find Digg 3, I can’t do WW’s CSS. Luc or anyone, if you can find Digg 3 in Themes. I’ll do WW’s CSS.
Edit: I would like to share the definition of a very important Club Penguin Warfare vocabulary word with ACP because their dictator clearly does not know his second grade vocabulary.
25 WW, 22 ACP. I counted three times to verify the count.
I can safely and confidently say that we have captured the ACP capital of Breeze. I will admit that ACP did put up a tough battle at times, especially when WW chat glitched. But it was the dedication and Perseverance of our troops that came out on top in the end. One side is fighting with dedicated troops and united owners attempting to removing a dictator, and the other side is confused and conflicted, it’s only clear which side will come out on top.
At today’s battle, WW did amazing maxing 28 at one point and having two full chats, best performance in months guys, and we’re only going to get better! ACP, here comes the waffle bomb.
Students walk between Ellis Hall and Alden Library around 10:30 pm on January 24, 2020.
The city of Athens has followed the same standards for street lighting for nearly two decades, which was partially the result of trying to find the middle ground between safety and light pollution.
The city lighting standards are designed so that streetlights shine where they are necessary while not casting too much upward lighting in order to lessen the amount of light pollution, a request made to the city by astronomy professors and stargazing hobbyists.
The idea to reduce light pollution first came from Joseph Shields, astronomy professor at Ohio University and vice president for research and creative activity, who advocated for the city to lower the lumen level, or the amount of light produced by lighting fixtures, in order to better see in the sky at night.
But George Eberts, an instructor and outreach specialist for the astronomy program, said city lighting still makes it difficult for astronomers to see at night.
Eberts teaches three sections of Astronomy 1400, which he tries to teach outside as much as possible.
“I’m not able to see much of what I want to show people with too much light pollution. And we have ways of dealing with that, but it involves hopping in a