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News Update May 2004
What People Say
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Quantum Flybridge 4000 with fully enclosed flybridge and upper deck extension equipped with twin 440 hp motors and extended fuel tanks.
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Instead of technical information, we thought this time to share some feedback from people who have a first-hand knowledge of our catamarans. They come from different backgrounds and have different boating requirements and priorities, so there's bound to be something you might be able to relate to.
Enjoy your reading and kindest regards.
David Evans
Diver's Quick Glimpse
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Terry Maas (left) and David Evans say farewell after a brief but worthwhile visit.
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Internationally renowned, American free-diving legend Terry Mass made his first visit to New Zealand in February. He had arranged a week-long visit to film a world-record attempt at spear-fishing in the Bay of Plenty. In spite of his hectic schedule, Terry also took the opportunity for a quick stop over in Tauranga to inspect our catamarans. Coming purely from a "diving" perspective, he had expressed interest in the Quantum Flybridge 4000 and wanted to see our boat firsthand. "It was great to finally meet Terry as we've had on-going correspondence with him for about a year now," says David Evans. Terry is no stranger to multihulls as he currently has a 32 foot power catamaran specifically set-up to cover vast distances at speed. Not having much time to spare in Tauranga, Terry flew-in for a quick half hour inspection of our cats moored at the local marina. With no time to waste, he immediately inspected details in every corner of the vessel, looking for structural integrity and quality of construction. Here is what Terry had to say:
I like to run my current diesels at 3200rpm and ideally would like to cover around 300 miles without refuelling. I made the switch to catamarans because I just got so sick of the pounding my knees get in order to cover large areas in a hurry. What immediately struck me about this Quantum 40 footer was the incredible amount of room available. Space is crucial not only for carrying extra equipment and supplies, but also for large engines and fuel tanks. The Quantum Flybridge is a quality boat. The interior is first class and the engineering including the engine bays are well laid out. New Zealand is a beautiful place and so are its people, and this has to reflect in their work ethic. I came away very impressed and will certainly continue to consider these cats when the time comes for an upgrade. I look forward to my next visit to New Zealand.
Terry Maas
Revving the Big Game
Dynes McConnell is a car enthusiast who loves racing "classics" in New Zealand Targa rallies, and has recently been invited to race car-club Mustangs in the US. Dynes also happens to be an avid big game fisherman, and owns an earlier version of our Quantum Flybridge. Big game fishermen have various techniques in attracting record-breaking game to their lures and Dynes believes that the sound the boat makes underwater plays a crucial part in this process. Not wanting to give too much away, lets just say it¹s got something to do with "curiosity" when big game are hunting frenzied schools of smaller fish. Other than that, Dynes shared with us many other positives about catamarans in an unsolicited email he has sent us. He walked into our office one day and brought in some photos, which together with his wonderful words we felt was worth sharing in this news update. Dynes writes:
We have just returned after 2 weeks at sea covering 1200 nautical miles. We have been competing in various game tournaments as far up as Doubtless Bay.
You will be interested to know that the boat attracts game fish very well. On the first day we hooked three Marlin and landed two Yellow Fin Tuna. It is a known fact that some hull designs are not successful in attracting the big game fish. You will have no worries with the Quantum design.
The boat far exceeded our expectations in both performance and economy. On the trip up, we contacted a friend who was doing the Wangamata tournament with the view of meeting up at the Aldermans. He informed - - us the tournament was cancelled for the day because of very rough seas. He refused to believe we were cruising at 22 knots heading North past Wangamata!
In the Whangaroa Tournament, we were comfortably fishing in what was a reasonably rough sea. The forecast was reviewed to gale force winds and very rough seas. We had to be careful not to be complacent because of the excellent sea keeping capabilities of the boat. It¹s a pity the boating magazines couldn¹t test the boat in these conditions instead of inner harbour. Fishing 25 miles out off Doubtless Bay in big seas, you felt completely safe. In fact on three occasions entire crews off other boats came on board for the day because it was too rough for their vessels to go out. All were totally impressed at the stable platform and space available even with eight keen fishers on board.
All the best on your future marketing...
the boat is a winner all round.
Regards, Dynes McConnell
Breaking With Traditions
Ron is an insurance and financial adviser who enjoys fishing and pleasure cruises along the scenic East coast of New Zealand. A traditional monohull owner (whose boat is moored at Whitianga on the Coromandel Penninsula) who got tired of hearing one-too-many raves about catamarans, he decided to see what the fuss was all about. Ron shares:
I first saw the Quantum Eclipse when I was travelling out of Whitianga on my boat in what could be described as the slight-moderate South-Easterly. When the wind is blowing from this quarter there is usually a fetch as the wind opposes the tide. This was the case when I first observed the Quantum catamaran. What impressed me was that ease of which the boat appeared to be handling the conditions and the speed at which it was travelling.
About a month later I was fortunate to be in Tauranga and had the opportunity to have a first hand look at these catamarans. I was immediately impressed by the overall layout of the boats in as much that they appeared to be extremely conducive to easy living and most definitely flowed for this purpose. As I currently own a 45 foot flybridge planning launch, I would have to say the volume in the Quantum 40 footers was fairly impressive. Like most monohull boaties and having come from a sailing background over the last 30 years, I have been somewhat sceptical
as to the characteristic and performance of multihull boats. There is no doubt however, that the multihull design has come a long way. Having accepted a short trip invitation, David Evans and I ventured out of the Tauranga Harbour in a Quantum Eclipse 4000 into what could be described as 18 to 20 knots coming from the North East. Had I been in my boat in the same conditions, we would have cruised at around 16 knots and no doubt would have been throwing a considerable amount of spray over the boat. As we cleared Mount Maunganui, David was cruising the cat at approximately 22 to 23 knots. I could not get over just how comfortable everything was on board, so much that I could have sat a glass of rum on the table and it would have stayed there until I dealt to it.
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| Quantum Eclipse 4000 - stable in rough seas. |
The other points I think are worth mentioning is the fact that the boat was absolutely dry without a drop of water coming over the foredeck or anywhere on the boat. Furthermore, I could not get over just how quiet everything was, with the saloon door closed whilst travelling at 22 to 23 knots.
Overall, I guess my sceptical views have changed somewhat in what could only be described as a very impressive boat. The Quantum catamaran is a well thought-out boat, well appointed and certainly has me thinking just what my next boat might well be. I had contemplated a larger mono to get more room, but once you exceed 45 feet it becomes a problem just where a boat can be kept.
The Quantum catamaran has the attributes that clearly gives a significant amount of volume equivalent to a much larger monohull, and this I believe goes a long way to satisfying a boatie who requires the separation in terms of accommodation as well as a reasonable amount of volume not to mention a vessel that delivers on economy as well as sea-friendliness.
Ron Stephenson
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