Legacy’s 24m flagship a Paragon of clever design and innovation.
Glenn Shaw has long been a man driven by a passion to create the best possible boats, especially fishing boats, he can. Starting in a shed on the banks of the Rangitaiki River some 25 years ago, with not much more than an engineering background and a deep love of boats and boating, he has built his Extreme Boats brand into one of New Zealand’s most successful and most highly awarded manufacturers of aluminium fishing boats.
Along the way, he out-grew those riverside premises and moved into a modern factory and showroom on the side of the main road into Whakatane. Extreme Boats, still a family-owned concern involving Glenn, his wife Di and sons Ben and Todd, now boasts over 100 staff, produces over 300 boats a year and exports around the world, including to Australia, New Caledonia, the United States and Europe.
Once a virtual one-man brand, Extreme now completes virtually every part of their manufacturing process in house, employing their own designers, CNC operators, fabricators, painters, upholsterers and marine technicians.
Having achieved virtually everything he could in the world of trailerable fishing boats, in the mid-2010s Glenn turned his attention to larger vessels, those capable of extended coastal or offshore cruising. In his typically positive, go-for-the-doctor fashion he decided to start not with something small or even mid-sized but with a ’70-footer’ – a 24m flagship for his new Legacy brand and a cruiser capable of transporting him and his family up to Tonga and around the islands. Launched just last year, when Pacific Powerboat visited in late May, the aptly-named Paragon already had multiple coastal journeys (down to East Cape and up to the Bay of Islands) under her keel.
She had also already tagged and released 12 marlin and yet, apart from the pre-departure preparations underway, looked as though she had been launched just that morning. Just as Glenn had bucked the preference for GRP in setting up Extreme all those years ago, so he has again chosen to stick with aluminium for his new Legacy brand. Not that one can easily tell.
At first glance, the finish, compound curves, attention to detail and deft touches all speak of a fortune spent on GRP moulds and endless hours of sanding. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Using the company’s in-house CNC experts and overseen by Glenn this first Legacy boasts lines and a quality of finish that is almost superyacht-like.
INNOVATIVE FEATURES
As one would expect from a man who has spent decades building boats, hours upon countless hours chasing big fish and who has owned multiple launches, Paragon is packed full of innovative yet intensely practical features. For a start, the cockpit is a completely sharp corner free zone. There is absolutely nothing at all for a line, a piece of clothing or a section of skin to catch on. All edges are rounded; all hatches, catches and hinges recessed.
Even the doors to the multiple stowage lockers are machined recessed. The transom doors are another clever feature. One simply lifts the transom section above the door which then swings open automatically and clicks into place. Rather than being low down or under a step or a seat, the large livebait tank is handily positioned in the middle of the transom and comes complete with a pair of tuna tubes.
Other innovative touches in the cockpit include a huge (232-litre) underfloor ice bin (serviced by a choice of fresh or salt ice) to complement the two underfloor, stowage or fish bins; a clever multi-layer rod locker (also under the cockpit sole and capable of holding up to 23 rods and reels); recessed electric reel sockets; and a full length aft platform with a long “holding” rail for swimmers, protective pushpits in each quarter and a “hidden” boarding ladder.
A centre station divides the cockpit from the outdoor “viewing lounge” above and houses an array of purpose- designed lure and tackle lockers, an electric hotplate, wash-down station (with push button hot and cold water), outdoor fridge and freezer and a handy outlet for a water blaster to ensure everything stays clean, no matter how messy the fishing. The station also provides access to Paragon’s very impressive engine room. Built to survey (Lloyds and DND), it features a thick fireproof door, a full fire-suppression system and a surprisingly spacious layout with loads of good headroom throughout.
An underwater exhaust system ensures quiet running, all the electrical wiring is tidily installed in lockers in the forward bulkhead and a C-Zone monitoring panel gives instant access to all the ship’s systems. Paragon is a 240v ship with power supplied by a pair of Fisher Panda PMS45i 45kpa generators, Mastervolt inverters and an 800amp/hr lithium house battery bank. And, if there was any doubt that this is primarily a fishing boat, that is put to bed by the rack of gold reel beddecked rods hanging from the ceiling.
PRACTICALLY STYLISH
With Paragon’s interior, Legacy has managed to combine the practicality needed for a “hard-out” fishing boat with the classy, modern style one would expect on a 24m motoryacht. One of the first things one notices is the see-through stairway up to the bridge.
Probably best described as “industrial chic” it perfectly encapsulates that combination referred to above. Like the galley and saloon floors, its steps are hard-wearing timber, meaning they can easily cope with sets of wet feet returning from a swim or a session on the rods. Its ladder-like, no-back design means it does not act as a block to the those on the settee wanting to look aft or those heading inside and wanting to know what is happening in the saloon.
The aft galley is perfectly positioned to service both the saloon and those in the upper cockpit’s viewing lounge (through the aft bulkhead’s wide electric window). Its layout is also ideal for a boat designed for oceanic passage-making: compact with no wide open spaces and everything needed within easy reach. There is also loads of fridge and freezer stowage, again ideal for those pre-frozen meals that are so handy when out at sea in inclement weather. The décor, courtesy of Donna Maree Interiors and Di Shaw, is a combination of oak veneer facias and Hi Mac tops, the latter all featuring recessed lips; solid oak tables and free-standing chairs and cream-coloured settees, ceiling, pelmets and surrounds.
The saloon has been set high enough to ensure really good all-round visibility through the large windscreen and side windows, all of which are 16mm thick for safe passage-making without the need for storm shutters. The upholstery on the free-standing chairs comes complete with domed “wing flaps” that attach to the table’s underside to ensure they stay in place during rougher weather and there is a pop-up TV at the front that can connect to the internet anywhere in the world.
CLASSY ACCOMMODATION
If the emphasis in the galley and saloon has been on hard-wearing practicality, this definitely changes once one enters the companionway down to the accommodation area of the ship. Here the timber floors are replaced by wool carpet, the ship-wide air con is suddenly much more noticeable and a quiet air of classy luxury prevails. The Shaws are clearly a sociable bunch, there is definitely no shortage of accommodation on Paragon.
In addition to the owner’s full-beam stateroom and large ensuite in the centre of the boat, there is a queen berth VIP suite (again complete with ensuite); a queen berth guest cabin with day head close by and a Pullman cabin with single berths one above the other. The cabins all have their own control systems for both the air con and for a selection of music and there are TVs in both the master and VIP cabins.
All the skylights are fitted with both insect screens (a real must in the tropics) and shutters. There is a Miele laundry (washer and dryer) secreted behind a side bulkhead and, the more one looks, the more obvious it is that every single square centimetre of space has been put to good use.
GLASS BRIDGE
Paragon’s glass bridge helm station is a true information hub. Four 19in Raymarine Axiom screens dominate, displaying the incoming data from the chartplotter module, the twin Airmar 3kW transducers, the specialist ultra-wide frequency transducer (ideal for chasing broadbill swordfish), the 4kW Raymarine Magnum 72nm open array radar and the multitude of FLIR and Raymarine cameras (thermal, cockpit and engine room).
The Twin Disc joystick control and Raymarine autopilot ensure the two large MAN 1900hp V12 diesels follow the skipper’s commands; they come complete with features such as “station hold”. Twin Disc bow and stern thrusters give even greater manoeuvrability when required, the C-Zone control panel provides all the digital switching and there is even a weather station providing up to the minute information on the wind strength and direction.
While there are just the two large comfortable helm chairs, there is plenty of both space and comfortable seating here for the rest of the crew, too. Paragon’s bridge can easily seat up to 10, there is a huge electric Webasto sunroof for fresh air and cooling breezes and a brace of Dometic fridge drawers should anyone get thirsty. Out the back, a poop deck provides a superb wee grandstand from which to watch the fishing action below, as well as a handy vantage point, complete with docking station and 12in Axiom screen, from which to control the boat. There is also an electric/hydraulic control for the 15m-long outriggers and more rod holders (another 9). Another drop-down electric window complements the sturdy stainless steel door, adding more ventilation and ensuring the two flybridge areas easily connect.
When it’s time to anchor, there’s a Muir 4500 capstan windlass to do the heavy lifting and, for getting to and from the shore, a 5m tender (built in-house, of course) and its 60hp Mercury are able to be easily launched and retrieved thanks to the Steelhead ES1500 davit. And, should things somehow go horribly wrong, there is a self-deploying 8-man liferaft. There are a couple of other pretty special bits of kit, too.
An Electroguard live anoding system automatically neutralises any stray electric current in the waters around Paragon and a Seakeeper 26 gyro stabiliser ensures the boats always remains on an even keel.
SUMMARY
This first L70 is not just a stylishly-designed, extremely-practical ocean-going vessel, it is a pretty good performer, too. Despite weighing in at around 60 tonnes, it boasts a top speed of 36 knots and cruises at 9-10 knots using 2.51 litres per nautical mile. With a 9000-litre fuel capacity, it easily has the range to get from its home port of Whakatane to this winter’s cruising ground in Vava’u in the north of Tonga.
While the L70 was Legacy Marine’s first offering it is by no means the company’s only. There are already two L35s and a L45 in the water and a L52 catamaran and L55 enclosed flybridge sportsfisher under construction. There are, no doubt, many more to come.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Boat Design Name Paragon
- Year Launched 2022
- Builder Legacy Marine
- Designer David Devilliers
- LOA 24m (78ft)
- Beam 6.2m
- Max Speed 36 knots
- Construction Aluminium
- Fuel Cap 9000 litres
- Water Cap 1000 litres
- Engine Make 2 x MAN V12 1900hp diesels
- Drive Train Conventional drives
- Generator 2x Fischer-Panda PMS45i
- Thrusters Twin Disc
- Stabiliser/Gyro Seakeeper 26
- Underwater Lights Bluefin
- Anchor Winch Muir 4500 Capstan
- Aircon Dometic
- MFD 4 x 19in Raymarine AXIOM XL (linked to 3kW & 2kW thru-hull transducers)
- Any other notable options fitted: FLIR M346c thermal camera; Raymarine 4kW Magnum 72nm open array radar; Baur dive compressor; Twin Disc electronic joystick control; Twin Disc vessel position hold; Electroguard live anoding system; fresh/salt water icemaker feeding into insulated underfloor fish bin; Raymarine engine room and cockpit cameras; 15.2m Rupp hydraulic outriggers; Vesper VHF/AIS system; Webasto sunroof; 5m aluminium tender w/Mercury
