SLEEK & EFFICIENT
The ability to motor long distance, say, New Zealand to Galapagos non-stop, in an owner-skippered powerboat – that’s the vision behind the Dickey Pacific 62. Rebecca Hayter takes a quiet cruise on Khaos following its Auckland Boat Show debut.
The Dickey brand of highly spec’d aluminium powerboats has delivered confident styling and thinking ever since Jason and Tristin Dickey launched the first Semifly 28 in 2007.
And now the Dickey Pacific 62: a new concept for extended coastal and offshore cruising. It represents the Dickeys’ dream of renting out the house to fund a long range ocean cruise in a powerboat of their own creation.
‘Tris wanted to call the boat Organised Chaos,’ Jason says. ‘We’re always in organised chaos and she thrived on it.’ He has simplified it to Khaos, the Greek goddess who inhabits the space between the Earth and Heaven where there is no order. ‘The part I enjoy about boating is also the chaos. When the reels go off, it’s always chaos. Nine people on board for New Year’s Eve is chaos. The word keeps popping up but in a good way.’
Visually, the Pacific 62 introduces herself with a sleek, stealthy bow and flat foredeck bordered by stylish, custom-designed yacht-like staunchions, with European styling in the topsides.
‘The idea is that someone can own this instead of a sailboat and still find a cost-effective way to go cruising,’ says Jason. ‘The fuel costs are minimal and the engines are simple to service.’ His pursuit of ‘that magic number’; ie, one litre per nautical mile at 8 knots, drove the design process.
At the centre of the equation is the long, narrow hull with hard chines aft, designed in-house at Dickey Boats. Efficiency suggested a single engine, but that wouldn’t do for an offshore boat. ‘Two engines are not as efficient as one, but it gives you redundancy,’ Jason says. ‘Every offshore passagemaking boat with a single engine is adding a wing engine as back-up. I don’t like systems that don’t get used because then they don’t work when you need them, so we decided on twin engines.’
For offshore work, Jason set an average cruise speed of 8 knots, with the ability to go up to 9.5 knots under load, on one engine. ‘We didn’t want a boat that is powered to do 16 knots, but cruises everywhere at 8 knots with no load on the engines.’
That led him to twin, four-cylinder 150hp Yanmar engines. ‘They are fully mechanical engines that I can start with a screwdriver, no electronics at all,’ he says.
The twin engines give Khaos two distinct modes: offshore cruising and coastal cruising. ‘It actually changes the world considerably when you’re coastal cruising,’ Jason says. For coastal work, he generally uses both engines and cruises the 18.5-tonne Pacific 62 at 10-12 knots with a top speed of 15 knots – enough to have to avoid a storm system at sea.
On passage, Jason allocates the engines’ running time evenly so that they meet their 250-hour service schedule at the same time. That doubles the interval between services to 500 hours. ‘That’s massive,’ says Jason, ‘so you’re carrying fewer materials, less cost, and you’re not servicing your engines mid-ocean. I can go to Fiji and back without having to service an engine.’ An onboard fuel polishing system of UV sterilisation and filters guards against dirty fuel.
The engines are sited low with their sumps in twin keels which morph into tunnels beneath the hull for the drive shafts and variable pitch propellers. That achieves a shaft angle of just one degree, so that all the propeller thrust is pushing the boat forward, not up. The tunnels protect the propellers underway and the keels allow the boat to dry out if required.
The variable pitch propellers were custom made by West Mekan in Norway and are crucial to the Pacific 62’s efficiency. As we cruised at 9 knots from Westhaven to Motuihe Island, Jason used the helm’s display gauges to observe the exhaust gas temperature and adjust rpm and propeller pitch to achieve fuel usage of one litre per mile on each engine. The throttles cannot be synched electronically.
‘Everything’s manual. That’s where it all gets a bit different,’ Jason says. ‘So once the rpms are even, I tweak the pitch on this engine, tweak the pitch on that one.’ By doing so, he can achieve the optimum fuel usage without changing the rpm or exhaust temperature.
‘The difference is huge in terms of efficiency. We’re doing 8 knots at 1650rpm. If we were doing the same speed at 2300rpm it would sound a lot busier.’ He ordered the propellers with a sailboat mode, so that the off-duty propeller can be feathered to zero drag if the boat is running solely on the other engine.
He says new owners will quickly become adept at pitching the propellers to optimum efficiency and they will appreciate the propellers’ confident bite when they are set to maximum pitch for docking, aided by the bow thruster. It certainly worked in getting the boat off Westhaven pier against a gusty breeze.
In another concession to long range cruising, Khaos has an unusual exterior coating. ‘I didn’t want it to
be full gloss because if you are not at a dock regularly, it’s a challenge to keep a standard finish looking great, so we’ve ended up with the textured system used on a ute deck liner. It gives us the satin look without it being a satin paint.’
KHAOS AT PLAY
Jason believes the passage should be as much fun as the destination. His goals for the Pacific 62 included having all the water toys easily available but never in the way. Another goal was to have the smoothest possible motion at anchor and at sea, even when stationary over a sea mount for deep-sea fishing. Those goals were well tested after he invited his teenage children, Rose and Jake, to each plan a boat trip with their friends.
Rose invited eight friends for several days in the Bay of Islands and the toys came out to play: the 3.5m tender, two fishing kayaks, two paddleboards, three surfboards, a wingboard and free diving gear. All are stowed on the coachroof where their weight contributes to dampening the boat’s motion, and are launched and retrieved using a small crane. Ladders either side access the coachroof, which is also home to the liferaft.
The 32 fishing rods have handy, concealed stowage near the cockpit. About the cockpit: it’s playtime. There is little seating except on the coamings and it is mostly about watersports including fishing with live bait tanks, tuna tubes and the generous swimboard. Stowage abounds beneath the sole and there is a day head off the starboard side of the cockpit. A winch under the coaming is available for towing or setting a sea anchor and, a neat touch, a push button pumps out fresh water either side into the sea, for hand-washing.
But back to Pacific 62’s performance as a comfortable platform in most conditions. That was tested when Jake invited three mates and another Dad on a trip to the Three Kings Islands, 34 miles northwest of Cape Reinga. Jason and Jake had already experienced more than 50 knots off East Cape on Khaos’ maiden voyage from Napier to the Bay of Islands, and the Three Kings trip delivered more rough water opportunities. ‘The first day there was pretty average, but the kids were fishing the whole time,’ Jason says.
As a long narrow hull with a hard chine, Khaos has a short roll period, which is softened by the substantial keels and Quick gyro X19 stabilisation system. ‘You can run Quick gyro when stationary, even when fishing in mid-ocean. I haven’t seen it work harder than 50 per cent of its capacity. When it’s a bit sloppy at anchor, even when we anchored outside the Cavalli Islands, the Quick gyro is operating at around 10 per cent, so it’s a low power draw, which I’m really happy with. And there’s no slapping of waves against the hull at anchor, because there are no chines forward. I’ve never had anyone seasick on the boat.’
Jason says he has rarely seen water over the foredeck. Although the boat is narrow in the hull, the topsides flare slightly above the upper chine for interior volume and to deflect spray, and the deck protrudes slightly over the topsides, further deflecting spray.
There are other elements that exude calm on board:
it’s quiet underway, like going for a drive in the family sedan. This reflects the cruising speed, modest 150hp engines and excellent insulation with 14mm closed cell foam throughout the boat.
The Pacific 62 is strong, too, constructed in 8mm aluminium on the bottom of the hull, 5-6mm on the topsides, 4mm on the decks. The saloon’s all-round windows are double glazed toughened glass: 12mm on the outside, 6mm on the inside. They are spec’d to withstand a roll-over, until the boat’s natural righting moment puts the world to right again.
But the calm vibe on board also reflects the work of Dickey Boats’ Architectural and Industrial Design specialist, Mark Addis. The galley and saloon feel integrated for socialising and living on board. Subtle changes in flooring and upholstery designate the helm and co-skipper’s area, a message for guests to keep clear in busy times. The settee, to port, opposite the helmstation can double as an off-watch skipper’s berth at sea and lifts up in entirety to provide stowage for day bags or e-bikes or scooters.
In the saloon, the boat’s social HQ is the table and seating on the port side. In the cockpit, social HQ
is the bar and barbecue on the port side. When the large window between them is swung up beneath the coachroof, it combines the two spaces and allows free- flow of fresh air, food and conversation.
The bar area provides access to the engine room and workshop – I’m just lovin’ the toolbox with drawers that slide home all by themselves. A watertight bulkhead opens to the engine room where the twin 150hp engines are easily accessible in the
vast space. There’s a whole town of facilities down here: washer dryer, two deep freezers (one for bait), and heaps of stowage.
For’ard of the helmstation, steps lead down to the accommodation. On Khaos, there are cabins with stacked berths either side, separate shower and toilet, and a master cabin with island bed and en suite. However, this area can be adapted in the build stage to suit the client.
With 3000 miles (350 hours) already under Khaos’ keels, and two sisterships in build, the Pacific 62 is forging new territory in offshore powerboat cruising. With all components designed and cut to CNC in- house, the Pacific 62 is immaculate and structurally sound throughout. But the real success is in the many hours of consultation and expertise, including Jason’s extensive offshore experience, in her development. Dickey Boats has created the Pacific 62 with a consistent focus on what works best for the offshore owner-skipper: a boat that is easily manageable and efficient to operate. Just rent the family home and go cruising.
SPECIFICATIONS
Make & Model Dickey Boats Pacific 62
Price as tested Approx $2.5m – $2.8m
Type Offshore Cruiser
Construction Aluminium
LOA 18.75m
Beam 4.75m
Weight, lightships 18,000kg
Test Power Twin Yanmar 150hp
HP Range Twin 90hp to 240hp
Fuel Capacity 4400L
Water Capacity 1200L, 750L in bow; 550L in stern, plus watermaker
Construction Aluminium 5083 marine grade, Dickey Boats space frame interlocking
