Motor Boat & Yachting — August 2017

LENGTH OVERALL 7. 7 m

BEAM

2.6m

FUEL CAPACITY

58 imp gal (265 litres)

WATER CAPACITY

17 imp gal (79 litres)

DRAUGHT

36in (91m)

RCD CATEGORY

C for 9 people

DESIGNER

Barry Parker

DISPLACEMENT

2.9 tonnes (at light load)

THE DATA

The exterior

galley is ideal for

cockpit parties

Cave lockers at the back

of the mid cabin offer the

only meaningful storage

There are plenty of

windows and skylights to

brighten up the interior

The optional full-length
bimini provides plenty
of welcome shade

compromise is the beam. Americans think nothing of trailering

boats like this, so the beam is set to comply with their towing

width restriction of 8ft 6in. With a sub-8m length overall (length

is pegged at 25ft 2in/7.7m), the designers have their work cut

out delivering a meaningful sportscruiser experience within

these compact parameters.

The biggest diffi culty is that, annoyingly, buyers of smaller boats

tend to be about the same size as those of larger ones, making

proportions challenging. Standing headroom is a prerequisite

for the successful sportscruiser, and the GS 259 delivers, offering

a full 6ft of clearance at the base of the cabin steps. The layout is

standard-pattern sportscruiser, with a horseshoe of dinette forward

that drops to create a double, a small galley opposite the head and

a double berth stretching back beneath the front of the cockpit.

That head is a particularly good size – people are less prepared

to sit on the loo with a shoulder against each wall these days, and

the GS 259 ensures that they won’t have to. Pale wood and classy

linings are well lit by triple overhead skylights (the forward one

an opening hatch) and slim fi llets of window. But unfortunately,

for every inch you take, something else has to give, and in this case

that something is storage. Apart from unlined lockers beneath the

seats and a couple of shallow shelves in the galley, the only proper

storage space is two slim open-fronted lockers next to the cabin

steps (the lower of which looks like a hanging locker but lacks a

rail) and three cave lockers in the mid cabin aft bulkhead – again,

open fronted. Travelling light would seem to be a prerequisite.

Head upstairs and that narrow beam makes itself felt via a total

lack of side decks; the only route to the foredeck is through an

BOAT REPORT

mby.com/GS

SEE THE VIDEO