midsize Downeasters don’t actually have all that
much in common. Whereas the Palm Beach 42 is
meant more as a day boat, the Eastbay 44 is capable
of longer journeys and overnights.
I tested this boat off the coast of Sydney, Australia,
with her owner, who heads a family of fi ve that he
likes to take up the coast to his in-laws’ house, as
well as to Pittwater, a pristine estuary and popu-
lar cruising destination 25 miles north of the city’s
business district, where the family does their over-
nights. He ordered his 44 with three staterooms, a
relatively unusual option for a model this size. The
forepeak master is particularly spacious with rich,
warm teak throughout. And there’s stowage pretty
much anywhere you could imagine stowage might be.
As I picked my way through the stateroom, opening
and closing each new compartment, the owner, with
classic Ozzie understatement, smiled wryly and said,
“Yes, she has quite a few cabinets.”
His two sons use the double-berth stateroom
aft and to port, while his daughter takes the single-
berth stateroom aft and to starboard. She shares
the space with a surplus refrigerator and freezer,
which come in handy during longer periods aboard.
Two heads are amidships with the galley-up option.
Owners can also order the galley down, in which case
t h e r e ’ s a c e rta i n ineff able joy to be found
when form and function combine to create some-
thing greater than the whole: the way a race car’s
wide back tires help it stick to the pavement while
making it look like a big cat gearing up to pounce,
or the eff ortlessness of Ken Griff ey Jr.’s swing, its
power generated from grace, and vice versa. In some
ways, the Eastbay 44 from Grand Banks joins this
rarefi ed class. Its lines are masculine without being
bulky, classic without being old-fashioned. They
not only look good on the outside, but they also
open up her interior to make this pocket cruiser
usable and cruisable — not something that can be
said of every boat of this size and class.
The Eastbay 44 is built in the industrial city of
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, alongside her sister lines,
Grand Banks Yachts and Palm Beach Motor Yachts.
One might be tempted — as I originally was — to
compare the Eastbay 44 to the Palm Beach 42 and
wonder why a boatbuilding company would pro-
duce such seemingly similar models. However, the
REVIEWED GRAND BANKS EASTBAY 44
IP YES:
The Eastbay 44
comes only with
twin 435 hp Volvo
Penta IPS600s. As
evinced by her
performance, they
are a solid power
choice for this boat.
She’s not a speed
demon, but she has
plenty of giddyap
and is easily maneu-
verable at low and
high speeds.
COOK IT UP
The topside galley on my test boat had plenty of features to
help make onboard entertaining successful.
Among these were a two-burner Kenyon cooktop, two
Isotherm refrigerators and good counter space for meal
prep. Nearly all the stowage was for glassware, and across
from the galley to port was a wine cooler stocked with
chilled shiraz and sauvignon blanc. (This particular
owner certainly does seem to put the onus on his guests’
good time.) The Eastbay can also be ordered with
a slightly larger galley down, but I prefer the galley-up
layout — I like to socialize while I cook too.
58 YACHTING JANUARY 2018
T
