ZAPHIRA 18M ELITE

Apart from aesthetics, the engines’ installation is designed to enhance their smooth running. ‘We have the 30.5-inch x 32.5-inch propellers on a 2.5-inch drive shaft which couples to a thrust bearing,’ he says. ‘From that we use a cardan or universal shaft which links to the back of the Twin Disc Quickshift transmission. Effectively, we’ve taken all the thrust from the propeller and pushed it all into the structure of the boat through the thrust bearing. This takes the thrust load off the engine and makes for a much smoother ride on the boat.’ Zaphira’s 1600hp gives her a planing speed of around 15 knots and a top speed of 30 knots at 2300rpm. Rod generally cruises Zaphira at around 15-18 knots. For our run on Zaphira, we had calm conditions, but Rod recounts a trip home from Kawau Island to Sandspit in a 1.5-2m swell in beam seas at 20 knots. ‘So it was a bit of a rocky ride, but Zaphira just kept going,’ he says. Upfold has designed the hull with his signature silent chines in a warped planing hull with diminishing deadrise aft. This suits the mid-pilothouse boats because, as dictated by the layout, the engines are well forward. The diminishing deadrise reduces displacement aft to keep the boat at optimum trim, fore and aft. ‘It is an easily pushed hull,’ Upfold says. Rod and Gae were happy that they cruised from Sandspit to the Bay of Islands using half the amount of fuel of a similar-sized, heavier flybridge boat travelling at the same speed. As for boat handling at low speeds, Rod and Gae are even more comfortable with Zaphira than their previous Upfold Elite 16m Maeve, thanks to EJS (Express Joystick System). 

Zaphira has bow and stern thrusters, twin propellers and throttles, but managing them together demands a high degree of multi-tasking. Zaphira has EJS on her flybridge helm and the auxiliary helm, port-side on the aft flybridge deck. With the EJS function engaged, the skipper moves the joystick to reflect how he/she wants the boat to move, and the EJS makes it happen. It has three modes: docking, hold and drift. The EJS docking mode works as described above. In EJS hold mode, the EJS uses the GPS to hold the boat stationary, regardless of wind and tide. It’s handy for arranging fenders and dock lines before entering a marina, especially singlehanded. If there’s a sticky moment in berthing, the skipper can hit ‘hold’ while planning the exit strategy. The EJS drift function is primarily for fishing. The skipper sets a heading and allows the boat to drift with wind or current at the designated drift speed. ‘This EJS was the first we’d fitted ourselves,’ says Stevenson. ‘Normally the boatbuilder would buy the system and Twin Disc would supply all the rubber hoses at the lengths provided, but Benji decided to install solid stainless tube instead. He used flexible hose only for the connection to each component. When the EJS representative signed it off, he wrote that it was probably the best installation of an EJS system he had seen for a long time.’ Saynor used stainless steel pipes instead of hoses for longevity and because it enables a quieter system with better hydraulic pressure. The installation is immaculate and out of sight, as the engineers were able to schedule their work with the builders as the engine room took shape – an advantage of a custom build in which nearly every part of the boat is built in-house. In engine room décor, bulky exhaust systems are, well, bulky. ‘It is quite an elaborate system,’ Saynor says. ‘It is a wet exhaust system, [meaning that it uses water to cool the exhaust gases] but to incorporate the air vents we had to run a dry exhaust system to start off with, then we run a water mixer which cools the gases and then exits underwater through the hull. That was many man hours in design and fabrication, of which 99 per cent was done in-house by engineer Sam Hill.’ Sparkling white engine rooms require housework. Zaphira has a fully plumbed Wetvac system and hot and cold water on tap for cleaning and hand washing. 

The MAN engines have electric oil pumps which ensure clean oil changes. Any leaks of hydraulic oil can be identified as relating to either the EJS system, dinghy davit or steering system by its colour pigment of red, blue or standard yellow. Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders is big on easy maintenance. ‘We service 95 per cent of our own boats,’ Stevenson says, ‘so when the boys are fitting out the boat, they’ve got future servicing in mind. Anywhere there is a join or something that needs to be serviced, it is accessible without needing specialist tools,’ says Saynor. Both engines run off a main diesel tank of 4400 litres, supported by two long range integral tanks of 800 litres per side, giving a total capacity of 6000 litres. Diesel can be transferred between tanks with a reversible pump managed by CZone. It means Rod and Gae can cruise for several weeks without refuelling. Also with long term cruising in mind, Zaphira has a 240V DC water pump for the main house fresh water system, with a back-up pump connected to the watermaker, requiring only a turning of a valve in the engine room to bring it into service.