he Grand Banks 47
Heritage was created
in response to customer
demand. Clients loved
the Grand Banks style,
but wanted the ability
to cruise at faster speeds. This boat gave
them that”. I’m talking to Colin Watts,
director of Boat Showrooms and guru of
all things Grand Banks, and he’s describing
the gestation of the 47 Heritage.
Introduced in 2005, the boat was initially
mooted to take over from the venerableGrand Banks 42, a classic that dated
way back to 1968. It was (and still is) the
archetypal trawler yacht and Grand Banks
was keen not to mess with that winning
formula. The company turned to naval
architects Sparkman and Stephens for a
design that followed the styling cues of
the original, delivering low sweeping
teak-capped bulwarks and solid-looking
upright superstructure. The difference was
under water – a planing hull better suited
to the larger engines and higher cruising
speeds demanded by buyers. Initiallylaunched as a 44, the company quickly
realised that hull dynamics could be
improved further by extending the hull
beneath the bolt-on-style swim platform
to increase the waterline length.
However, that created an administrative
issue with the American Boat & Yacht
Council (ABYC) who objected to the now
47ft boat being badged a 44, an issue
resolved by renaming the boat a 47.
The 47 Heritage was born, and in fact
ended up a replacement for the larger
Grand Banks 46. In 2008 Grand BanksGRAND BANKS
47 HERITAGE
T
IN BUILD 2005-2014 PRICE RANGE £395,000 - £825,000BUYING A USED...
The Grand Banks 47 was the
fi rst model to be designed
with a proper planing hull