Fancy a bigger boat? Want a bit more for your money? Simon Everett heads for Guernsey to test the new Atlantis 26 CC . . .

Generally, the desire for a bigger boat has to be weighed very carefully against the cost of upsizing. If you want more space, you know you’re going to have to pay through the nose for it. All that remains is to work out how much more you are willing to pay. But the Atlantis 26 CC alters the dynamic of this particular dilemma, by remaining an amazingly affordable boat for her nominal length and yet employing a very simple interior layout to offer the passenger a great many of the benefits you would associate with a far larger craft.

There is certainly much more room on deck than her 21-foot sister and far more kindly seakeeping too, but this is not just a consequence of the additional five feet in length. It’s also a consequence of a tremendously deep freeboard, plus a high prow and a deep-V hull. This combination of qualities combines to provide an ability to run short, nasty seas at speed and yet remain totally dry. It makes a lot of sense. After all, her home waters around Guernsey are some of the shortest, steepest seas you will find anywhere in the world. It is precisely this proving ground that has given rise to this new Atlantis with its imperious seakeeping and its uncompromising ‘big-boat’ feel.

Design that works

Patrick Wheeler, the designer and builder of Atlantis boats, recognised a need among local fishermen (and also among local leisure boaters, keen to explore) for a fast, ultra-seaworthy, open-decked boat. When the spring tide runs against just a mild breeze of force 3 to 4, the waves that build up in the run out from St Peter Port to the north can easily reach six feet or more. The Atlantis 26 has been designed to allow people to go out in much worse conditions and make the run across to Herm in winds as aggressive as force 8.

To help cope with the need to run through big seas at 25 to 30 knots, the Atlantis 26 is built with massive strength. It uses 4x2 longitudinal stringers just for the chines, while the main keel hog is a huge 12-inch beam with additional four-inch full-depth stiffening in critical areas. The total thickness of the hull is in excess of three quarters of an inch and the hull sides are of one-inch honeycomb. The deck is then given an inch and a half of honeycomb to provide rigidity and strength without adding weight high up and upsetting the balance. And the upshot is that, despite this enormous strength and a bare boat weight of 1,700kg, the Atlantis 26 feels very light on the water.

A minimalist interior
The interior design has been deliberately left clean and simple for the demonstrator, so prospective purchasers can add whatever they like in the way of additional seating, diving bottle rack or fishing additions. Patrick likes the completely uncluttered deck, which allows ease of movement all around the boat. The bulwarks are high, giving great security for those onboard and they are slightly angled outwards to provide a secure leaning support if you have to lean overboard, perhaps to deal with a mooring buoy or an anchor or to land a big fish.
Small, practical considerations like this have been incorporated into many facets of the boat. The stern bench, for instance, folds flat to allow unfettered access over the stern, for access to the water or for climbing back on board. Elsewhere, the enclosed compartment in the centre console has full standing headroom and takes a portable toilet facility to make the open boat concept more appealing and more useable. The volume of space inside here means it will also swallow up all your loose gear, keeping it safe, dry and out of the way.
The shape of the console has been carefully considered too, providing excellent wind protection for the helm and a vast area of GRP on which to arrange any retro-fit electronics. But I would like to see a standing board provided and I would also like to see the front-opening door of the console supported by some slightly heavier duty gas struts. As it is, they are not quite strong enough to hold the lid open against the breeze.

On deck
The deck is deliberately positioned higher than the waterline and by some margin too. With drains into the aft bilge and all compartments below the deck linked by limber holes to allow free drainage of water into a strumbox, any water that arrives on deck is seen overboard very quickly. As for the transducers, well Patrick doesn’t believe in making holes in a hull, so they are all fitted on protected brackets aft. It avoids the need for drilling holes below the waterline and over this element of the design, we are in complete agreement.
All around the boat, the moulding is very nicely carried out, with no ripples anywhere and all edges neatly rounded to ensure there are no sharp or wayward strands of glass mat. The standard of finish is something Patrick is very proud of, and rightly so. Certainly, production of boats by individual boat builders on a small scale does leave a craft open to more variable standards of finish but, by the same token, it also enables the prospect of something just a a little bit special. And happily, with the 26CC, the attention to detail is delightfully lavish.

What about the performance?
Underway, at pace around Herm, the hull clings to the water in such a way that she follows a true line, without the usual slip and grip of conventional chines. Patrick has developed his chine profile very carefully and, although there is only the one strake, it stops about three-quarters aft, allowing the stern to slip in a controlled manner during the turn. The result is a boat that you can put hard over at 30 knots or more without concern. She just sets on her heel and goes where you point her. There was no build up and release of water - just a smooth, regular and entirely unproblematic arc.
An additional benefit of this surefootedness is that the prop is given sufficient water to retain its bite throughout the manoeuvre. In fact, the Atlantis 26 will go about at full throttle so hard that, even at the wheel, you have to brace yourself to counter the G-force generated. Looking back, the wake shows how hard we have just turned. I reckon two boat lengths is about right.
Coming back from Herm, the ebb had started, so we ran out through the channel to the open sea against the building waves and this is where the Atlantis really comes into her own. That high freeboard, built for situations exactly like this, actively resists a plunge into an unexpected hole. The height of the bow keeps her head up and prevents stuffing, even running down steep waves into a trough. The sharp angle of deadrise also allows a much faster passage in the rough stuff, so keeping her head up and giving her the reigns will let the boat skip across from one wave to the next. And even without a foredeck or cuddy to deflect the spray, the boat remained completely dry, from helm right back to aft bench.

Out and about
Getting to know this boat over a period of a couple of weeks would allow you to gain the confidence to venture out in conditions that other boats simply could not tolerate in comfort. And it isn’t just an ability to get out. It’s an ability to run at planing speeds and make passages that should be out of bounds to a 26-foot boat. That, of course, is the whole idea of this boat - not just to make it possible, but to make it comfortable too.  
There is a slight trade off, in that the height of the bow does reduce your forward vision. Seeing that great prow rise up over a steep wave is a little disconcerting at first, but you get used to it and recognise that without it, you would now be standing in two feet of seawater.

Verdict
Many people will no doubt look at this article and believe that the Atlantis is more boat than they need. But, given its very reasonable price, it makes all kinds of sense. After all, if you have the budget for a 6.5-metre craft, why not inspect the merits of an eight-metre boat for the same sort of money. The fact that you are buying an Atlantis direct from the builder obviously carries with it major economic benefits, as well as the flexibility to adapt the build specifications to suit your own preferences. For me, the deal offers nothing but positives . . .