The Grand Banks 47 Heritage EU was paralleling the beach at a cruising speed of 20 knots. As Captain Oscar Breeding turned the wheel hard to port, the 47 responded to the helm like a thoroughbred, leaning nicely into the turn. This was definitely not your grandfather’s Grand Banks.

Stubborn adherence to tradition made Grand Banks one of the most successful boatbuilders in history, with more than 1,500 GB 42s produced since 1965. In the early days, the owners were trawler folk, content to steam along at 9 knots. But by the go-go ’80s, Grand Banks was attracting younger, feistier buyers with a need for speed. A vessel’s speed is largely a function of hull and horsepower, and Grand Banks focused entirely on the latter as it began installing ever more powerful engines in its traditional semi-displacement hull shape.

The “sweet spot” for these big-power 42s was a 12-knot cruise, but because of the hull’s rounded semi-displacement shape, performance at the higher end was not entirely satisfying. The 42 might hit 18-21 knots at wide-open throttle, but it did so in the netherworld, between displacement speeds and the liberation of full plane, a wet ride was the result.

Turn rudders hard over at speed, and a 42 would behave the opposite of the new 47 we tested off Ft. Lauderdale; unlike the 47, a 42 would have leaned off the turn, a function of her rounded trawler hindquarters.

Our 47 EU has a big motoryacht feel, but with twin Caterpillar C-9 567hp diesels, she sprinted from idle speed to plane in less than 10 seconds. Naiad active stabilizers ensured a rock-solid ride, and Capt. Breeding asserts that the fins probably diminish her 25-knot top end by just a single knot. (Unquantified, however, was the negative effect of the 47’s keel, a vestigial structure for better tracking and stability at displacement speeds.)

What Grand Banks had done with the 47 EU was to work the other half of the speed equation. They had tasked the naval architects at Sparkman & Stephens with designing the first Grand Banks Heritage with a modified-V hull. The result was a leap forward in performance without sacrificing the traditional aesthetics the world has come to expect from Grand Banks. That this could be accomplished without obvious major compromise, makes one wonder what took the folks at Grand Banks so long to adopt the V-shape, a shape brought to it extreme by naval architect Ray Hunt in the early 1960s.

The new hull shape accounts for other performance improvements. Unlike the plumb bow of the 42, the 47 sports a subtle flare, which should ensure a drier ride. Similarly the deep forefoot has been eliminated, which may well diminish the tendency to bow steer in following seas that had dogged the 42 since Hull No. 1.

The 47 EU has two cruise speeds. At 1000 rpm, she doddles along at nine knots burning 5 gallons of diesel an hour. Throttle forward to 1400 rpm and she runs at 10 to 11 knots burning 13gph. Between 1400 and 1600 rpm, fuel consumption increases dramatically with little payback in speed. At 2100 rpm, the 47 cruises at 20 knots with a burn of 36 gallons per hour. At this speed, you could leave Lauderdale at 11 a.m. and be in Nassau in the Bahamas in time for Happy Hour—a 150-nautical-mile passage—and still have more than 300 gallons in the 47’s 600-gallon tanks.

Here, it might be worth mentioning the boat’s dimensions. In terms of LOA the 47 EU is really not that much bigger than the old 42; in fact, Grand Banks originally designated it as a 44, following the company’s usual rule of thumb. Then the decision was made to comply with ABYC’s recommended standard, which includes in LOA any integrally formed, molded or welded components, while excluding those that can be removed “in a non-destructive manner.” Because the Heritage series featured a molded-in swim platform, inclusion of which brought the boats’ LOA of 46 feet, 8 inches, all three Heritage models were re-designated as 47s.

So the 47 was longer than the 42 but not as much as the number suggested; with its added length, however, came two more feet at the beam. This was significant, and accomplished a couple of things: it allowed walk-around decks wide enough for the beamiest of mariners, while ensuring stowage down below that might otherwise have been lost due to the constrictions of the deep-V.

Our test was courtesy of Hal Jones and Co., and our host was Vice President of Sales Steve Fithian, a samurai of the yacht sales world. Fithian easily fended off one of my few doubts about the new hull design. Why had Grand Banks chosen to retain a centerline keel on a twin-screw boat when it could have designed the boat with dual keels to shield the otherwise exposed running gear from pot warps and debris? Performance, he insisted. Such a modification would likely produce unacceptable cavitation in the props at speed.

Fithian’s success in selling yachts may well be a function of his ability to alternate between that kind of “gear talk” and the language of decoration that was rolling off his tongue as we walked the 47’s interior. “Rollbacked settees,” “inset cabinet fronts,” “barrel chairs’’—to me these improvements seemed awfully subtle, but, then again, until today I might have judged the boxy interior look of a 30-year-old GB to be the height of seagoing elegance. That’s what happens, I suppose, when one focuses on the quality of the woodwork (superb) rather than the big picture.

Grand Banks, however, hired a professional design company to ensure that the interior of the 47 EU said “megayacht,” rather than “trawler.” Fithian said the approach to styling was an evolution that started with the 46 Europa as Grand Banks responded to buyers, increasingly in their 40s and 50s instead of those in their late 60s.

From the galley-helm area, three steps lead down below. Forward, the master has a warm feel, thanks to teak furniture and traditional ceiling strips lining the hull. The queen-size berth is accessed via step-ups on either side. Without them it would be a chore hopping into bed, an annoyance in many vessels with centerline berths forward.

This owner’s cabin features an en suite head with separate shower, while the guest bath is a wet head. This is a good tradeoff, however, allowing a washer-dryer combo unit in the space that would have been occupied by a separate shower. The guest stateroom has a double berth athwartships.

A tour of the deck highlighted more differences between the 47 EU and its earlier siblings. Traditional teak decking extended only from the cockpit to the break in the deck forward, while the foredeck was coated with non-skid. According to Grand Banks, the teak decking is bonded to the glass deck entirely with adhesive; the absence of hundreds of screws that were once used will vastly diminish the likelihood of water ruining the deck core.

The test boat, Hull No. 19, was rigged with a 44-pound CQR for ground tackle, which would be fine for owners bent on cruising from dock to dock. Owners who enjoy spending time on the hook should upgrade to the next larger CQR, and while they’re at it, they should also specify a dual gypsy windlass instead of the single gypsy type on No. 19. In doing so, they could more easily deploy a second type of anchor—either a Fortress or Danforth—in the second anchor bail on the bow pulpit. They would be better served also with a tad more aggressive nonskid under their boat shoes.

On deck Fithian noted another difference between the 47 EU and its antecedents. While the 47 retains the varnished teak caprail and signature teak planked transom, Grand Banks had eliminated entirely the little bits of teak accent trim that are so difficult to keep finished to yacht standards.

For stowage, the 47 boasts twin deck lockers forward, while the cockpit opens up to a lazarette extending the full width of the boat. The path to the flybridge is a molded staircase that is hinged for double duty as access to the engine room. The flybridge layout is superb and, with the addition of an optional bimini top, is destined to be the boat’s most popular social space. Professional design principles were applied, Fithian said, “to make it comfortable not just for 5 minutes but for 5 hours of a party.” The test boat featured twin Stidd chairs and a forward-facing single bench. Behind the helm to port is a small fridge and sink and small bench, while to starboard an L-shaped settee wraps around a teak table. A nice touch is a molded fiberglass electronics “wedge,” which is hinged to recess into the dash when not in use.

The engineroom is for squatting, but affords access to all machinery. The presentation—white motors, white gel coat, teak flooring, flawless wiring and plumbing—is impressive. The fuel manifold, a source of confusion on many boats, is neat, logical and labeled; nearby in a wonderful low-tech touch, a fuel-tank sight gauge is ready to deploy from dedicated mounts.

The base price of Hull No. 19 is $856,500 and with a strong optionspackage is $1,103,709. This sum buys you a yacht that looks like a GB should but with performance and interior styling firmly planted in the 21st century. For the 47 EU, the V in deep-V truly stands for Victory.

Grand Banks 47 EU

Base Price:$856,500

LOA..........................50'9"

Beam........................15'9"

Draft .........................3'10"

Deadrise...........17 degrees

Displ............ 50,827lbs.

Fuel......................600 gal.

Water.....................260 gal.

Contact: Grand Banks Yachts ,(206) 352-0116; www.grandbanks.com.