Saxdor's 320 GTO boat test

Mark Rothfield: Hi, Mark Rothfield for Club Marine TV.

Very excited to be aboard the new Saxdor 320 GTO. It's one of the new wave of gran turismo open sports boats emanating from Northern Europe and taking our market by storm.

Brace yourself for a high performance hull and stacks of living space. Let's take a look.

Saxdor boats are built in Finland and bad pun intended, they are renowned for their finish.

The company launched in 2019 and already has won lots of major awards. In fact the cabin version of this boat was nominated for the European Boat of the Year in its category. Which is a feat in itself.

The importer in Australia is the Adventure Boat company who bring in some similar ranges such as XO Boats, Quarken and Samba.

But this boat is quite unique. It's got this cutting edge design, some innovation and some really clever thinking.

Let's start with one of the highlights of that clever design. It's these outward folding terraces, simply the push of a button that terrace falls down at level with the cockpit.

The 32 footer, which is normally confined by its beam of 3.1 meters, suddenly feels like a 40 footer. You also get this great visual and physical connection with the water. It's just so much more open.

It's a really nice connectivity too with this aft boarding platform. You have a nice sort of wide step to hop aboard. Plus there's a walkway that crosses the boat if you need to get in the other side.

In the middle here is some storage for an optional ski pole, which makes this boat a bit of an all-rounder. You can use wake boards, maybe to an inflatable when you're having a bit of fun with the kids.

Really nice transom well installation here with the 225 outboards. You can also fit the V8 300s. There is enough space. Steering, everything's really nicely integrated. I am really looking forward to driving this boat with the 225s. We've already tested with the 300s on the cabin boat and it went like an absolute flyer, but I think these 225s are going to do really well as well.

This is where the versatility of the Saxdor really starts to shine. This boat can have nine forward facing seats, so you're comfortable all sitting in a row blasting down the harbor at 40 knots. But you can also convert it for more sociable living. So this seat, for example, when it's in this upright position, faces the dinette and you can have this nice sort of six seater arrangement.

This can also fall forward. If you want to make a sunbed lower this table, slide that forward and it drops into the hatch. You can also adjust it so you can move and sit backwards so you're facing with the breeze at your back. You've got this lovely water view behind you instead of looking into the boat.

Even though this boat may only be used as a day boat, you will still be carrying lots of stuff and the 320 can accommodate it. There's this huge compartment underneath this seat here, hinged lid. Simply throw it all in there.

Plus there's a technical room, so your batteries, some tankage, a few other things are all underneath this cockpit area. And you access it just by pushing a button and it all raises and us hydraulically.

The galley on the cabin bay is inside the cabin set to port and runs longitudinally. Here it's a wet bar positioned outside, so nice and close to the action. Still in a really good spot, you know, can brace yourself against the back seats. You can still access everything really well and it's quite a good size molding.

There's space here for a stove. You can either have electric, gas, whatever you prefer. This boat has the fresh water pack, so it comes with a sink and you get cold running water. Plenty of drink holders on this boat, which may tell you something as well.

There is really good storage underneath as well. A couple of pullout drawers and because it is a long molding, the fridges are set at each end. They are drawer fridges and it gives you that little bit more space to pull them out.

Storage keeps on coming as you move forward in the boat. This seat molding has plenty of room inside it and if you slide it back on its own tracks, you can access this hatch. This is the biggest ice box you'll ever see. You can fill it full of ice. It is draining and you can put all your drinks down there nice and low.

Moving forward you notice just this little design touch, a window here. So that allows you to lower your combing, just makes that little bit more open feeling.

You have good height under here. If you are wearing a hat, just watch it you don't bump your head as you come in.

Now to get into the helm itself, it's a little step down there and you have plenty of headroom above it.

Looking at the dashboard itself, it's got that simple but functional elegance that the Scandinavians are renowned for. So you've got anti-glare built in. It's got this beautiful twin Simrad glass cockpit screen. So all your information is beautifully presented in front of you, but there's, there's nothing superfluous about it. Same with the switches. It's just a nice neat row here. You've got the two drink holders. These have inbuilt lighting. So you get that little bit of mood lighting. A wireless charger for your phone. Little bits of storage here and there.

Very high class steering wheel. Dual binnacle for the Mercury outboards as well. With lots of little functions. So you can drive the boat with the one lever. You can also put it on just throttle only, when you're warming up. And it tells you when the active trim's on.

Now you can option it with a joystick worth it if you are new to boating or in a tricky area. This one just comes with a simple bow thruster, which most people would be happy with.

You can also enclose this so you can have clears at the front and you can enclose this whole T piece with canvas covers as well.

Three forward facing seats in this case. Now the driver is on the center line, which is the perfect place to be, and you are well placed in the boat for a soft ride.

Now these seats have bolsters. They can also slide adjust and they have footrest, so you'll be really well supported and really comfortable.

The fabric is called burnt orange. It's Silvertex. Has a nice feel about it, just enough texture to it, but it's also going to be resistant to moisture and the sunlight.

Some of these European sports boats are a little bit low sided, but not the Saxdor. it's got this sort of nice thigh height protection as you come forward. Good handrail support. And as you come forward you notice the handrail is beautifully integrated, so again, it keeps the nice clean lines of the boat.

The cabin version actually has a secret door here, so you access it straight from the cabin. But here you get this nice wide walkway that's slightly larger to port, but you can also comfortably walk around the starboard side. Moving forward, you find this sun lounge. Two people can sit really comfortably here in terms of lighting. There are a couple of hatches just here, so the cabin below can actually get a bit of natural light in. Again, you've got really nice access, more drink holders on the boat and really clear access to the bow.

The anchoring system is all class. How clean is it? There's no bow spit jutting out. All that's taken care of underneath the hull. So you don't spoil the aesthetics of the boat. Plus it's nice and clean when you're running.

Easy access to the hatch. You do have a remote, so you can operate the anchor from either the helm or with a remote up front. It's just basically set up lots of room in there for your rope and it just all happens out the front of the boat.

Sitting now in the lower cabin, which is a huge bonus, to have this much space. It's also nice and light. You've got those side windows. You've also got some overhead windows to let that sort of natural light come in and a really good size companion light.

It also feels really standy down here, which is not surprising for a boat from Finland. They use lots of timber trim. This case they call it beach. It's light coloured, but it resonates a warmth and ties in beautifully with the rest of the upholstery.

Now the breaker panel is immediately inside the entrance. For such a slim bodied 32-footer you get a surprisingly large double bed.

Behind these bi-fold doors is a head compartment. Very clever they slide out of the way. So you get really good access to the toilet. Now, it's not a shower compartment, it doesn't have drainage, but for over-nighting you at least get a really nice toilet, a hand sink and fresh water. In this case it's got a saltwater toilet, but you can specify a freshwater electric flush.

Saxdor offers the 320 with three Mercury engine options. Starting with a single V8 300, and then you can double up with either the twin 225s like this boat's got. Or go all the way to twin 300s. So that's 600 horsepower.

Speed range will vary from around about that mid 30 knots to over 50 knots. So it just shows how versatile this hull can be.

Dead rise is 22 and a half degrees, and that's sort of getting into race coat territory. It means you get that really nice soft ride.

The other thing they've done is given it twin hull steps. Now that gets a little bit complicated, but what those steps do is just break the aeration. So when you're coming onto the plane, you don't get that water tension. It also just gives you that little bit of softness and air when you're landing off big swells.

So I am actually really looking forward to giving this boat a spin. As I say, it's not conventional, but they've done lots of work to make sure it's right.

Right now we are doing about six knots. Engines barely ticking over. Those V6s are notably quiet at this speed, very smooth running motors. Fuel usage is just 10 litres an hour at this speed, so that's great fuel economy. Just coming out of Sydney Harbor now. It's going to be a little bit of swell out here. And that's why we're here. You really want to test this boat in a bit of chop.

Ringing up now you can feel that it's just starting to accelerate already. Quite nonchalant, really the way it's up and running. Really efficient. Now we're starting to get some nice ventilation swell running in and we are planing now very easy. 15 knots off we go. Honestly, this is such a smooth ride. That bow is just cutting through the waves like it's supposed to. Those V sections they're doing really all the heavy lifting at the moment. Spray is being tossed well aside. Lightweight on the helm. This is lovely to drive this boat. Now we're slightly calmer in here. There's no other boating traffic around. Let's give it all she's got. Oh, it's still got that mid-range acceleration even from 3000. We're now doing five, four revs per minute. Speed, 40 knots.

See how she goes. I'm going to get a high speed turn here. Here we go. Holding 33, 34 knots through this turn. Perfect amount of slide. Honestly, that is... I feel like I'm on a motorbike more than a boat. That is amazing. Just came round down on the rails. Tiny bit of slide, but really not aggressive at all. That is really, really nice handling.

The other thing you like about it, yes, it's a performance boat, but it's also about that you can take your family and friends out on. Really enjoy its versatility. To get where you need to go quickly, comfortably, safely, drop anchor, and then enjoy all this boat has to offer. Really impressive.

I have to say. The combination of that reverse bow, the deep dead rise, the hull steps, and those twin 225 Mercurys works incredibly well. As does the whole layout. Now this is a genuine sports boat that you can tame for family use and also entertainment.

Pricing starts at 330,000, but as you see it here, it's more like 430,000.

However, Saxdors sell almost as quickly as they arrive on our shores, so you are going to have to be quick too.

I'm Mark Rothfield for Club Marine TV. See you next time.