Duchy 27 review by Dans Boat Life

“The Duchy Difference”

The Duchy Motor Launch brand is produced by Cockwells Modern & Classic Boat Builders, located near Falmouth in Great Britain. These guys are trusted by the super-yacht industry to create the best custom tenders for some of the world’s finest yachts. As it’s the same team producing your Duchy Motor Launch, it should hopefully give you some perspective on “the Duchy Difference”. Watch the video to learn more.

For many of you, I believe this is a special find. Here’s a delightful 27ft motor yacht, that would be perfect for couples who are looking for the best quality possible, in a package that’s easy to handle and will last many lifetimes. If you’re an ex-sailor then this boat is perfect for you!

 

Credits: Dan Jones

Audio Transcript

TEST DRIVE

Gentlemen, welcome to the test drive part of the video. It’s windy. It’s not dogs off chains but it’s definitely kite-flying weather. So, it’s actually a great condition to test this boat.

Now first things first, this is the Rolls-Royce of small gentleman’s cruisers. So if you are looking for a boat that’s going to pass through a wide variation of conditions – keep you comfortable, keep you dry, and just for you and your partner, this is the sort of boat that you should focus on.

It’s going to have a really good ability to go up and down the coast of Sydney, for example. It’s going to have low fuel consumption. Put it this way, I’m imagining a lot of guys who’ve had sailing yachts being interested in this boat. So if you’ve been a yachty, if you’ve had a nice yacht or something like that, if you’re done with your 50 years of sailing and you’re ready for something to keep you on the water, keep you protected and keep you happy, this is an excellent boat to consider, because it’s a size that will take you everywhere that you’re used to going and it’s a size that you can manage by yourself or with a partner. I see that it’s a nice little niche that this Duchy 27 is filling or suitable for. 

On the seat, my armrest is adjustable. The seat will go forward and back and I have a little footrest that I’m resting my feet on right now but that can be removed. So if I wanted to transition to standing or if you’re doing a bit of day boating and you find yourself more comfortable just standing for those short trips, it seems logical to do that as well.

The hull form is really a classic gentleman’s cruiser style. The cutting bow coming back to a keel which goes all the way to the back of the boat. Shaft drive, four-bladed propeller and a rudder behind that. So there’s more of the boat in the water as opposed to on the water like the planing boats that you might see me test. So when we are going through some of these waves, we’re really having more substance and hull shape to slice through them quite comfortably.

The boat comes with one engine option, the Nanni, 205 horsepower. This one’s got a Yanmar because you can do customisations. This particular owner wanted a Yanmar but it comes with the Nanni.

I’ve got the wheel here and forward of the wheel is a bow thruster, that’s logical on a single-shaft boat. This particular boat’s got spotlight wipers and screen wash. I’ve got my anchor operation. I’ll go through the rest of the systems up here in the walkthrough because I think you want to see the boat driving.

Here we are in Falmouth, I’m in England by the way. It’s quite a nice place. I haven’t been in England in a while. I feel very welcome here. I’m actually half-English. I have the passport. So after a month in Europe and it’s nice to get back to driving on the correct side of the road again and speaking English.

I’m not going to go fast straight away because I don’t feel like everybody is going to drive this boat fast immediately but what I noticed from that slower speed was my SOG (Speed over ground). I got quite a bit of wind up the back of the boat right now. Probably 25 knots of wind today, at the slower speed is about 3 to 4 knots, it felt like I had a little bit less directional stability and now it’s kicking in at 7 knots. As I bring the boat through the rev range, I noticed on the drone that she’s really starting to come into her own. I’m just coming up through 2000 revs, it’s 8 knots. Getting it to 10 knots is quite noticeable. She wants to go in straight lines comfortably. I’m just sitting on 10 and a half knots and some people are going to be quite happy doing this sort of speed on the harbour, being social because you’re not so worried about your closing speed of other vessels and you want to talk to your mates or your guests, which are just there. So a boat like this is perfect for that.

So what I’m going to do is just bring the revs up by coming through two and a half thousand, because it does feel like she wants to go faster. It’s not a boat that has trim tabs and all sorts of trip settings. It’s just a rudder and a keel and a nice hull and a throttle. So it’s pretty simple. Going from 3 metres to 25 metres of depth, that’s a good thing!

So at 2600 revs, 13.4 knots, the boat’s sitting pretty. She can go a lot faster than this. 2800 revs (bearing in mind we don’t have the standard motor) this sort of feels like the boat’s happy-cruise-speed at the moment.

I haven’t finished the rev range yet so we’ll just see how we go. 2800 revs, 14 to 15 knots, it’s comfortably slicing through the waves. If you are looking for a boat to keep you and your partner comfortable, if you have people who are susceptible to seasickness for example, or you just don’t want the thing to be belting around, this is a style you’ll look for.

Now, I’m 27 metres and the depth really varies around here. She really gets along with a good clip, so this is a boat that if you need options, you’ve got them. Simple as that. I’m now coming through 3200 revs and the boat’s quite comfortable. It basically just wants to go in straight lines. We are not in calm waters. The boat is just looking after us and I’m doing 18.8 knots and I still have more left in the rev range.

Let’s actually speed it up. We’ll give it wide open throttle, just one little blast. 32 metres of water. I’ve got waves. 21 knots, 3500 revs. I think I was almost over steering it before because you can feel the hull doing the corrections for you. So I think the correct way to steer this boat in a little bit of swell is just let the boat do it. Don’t oversteer.

Now we’ll go to 4000 revs and she’s really getting along for a little boat. This is awesome! 24 knots SOG, we are going downwind. I’m just going to slow it down in a second. I’m staying behind this ferry so I know that I’ve got clear water. 24 knots is almost more than you want to go. If you’re the sort of person that I think you are and you’re looking at this boat, I think you’re gonna be happier at this sort of speed, around 15 knots. Because if you notice there’s a beautiful castle off to our left and a lovely little English town in there and I reckon you would be excited about doing things like this.

We don’t have castles in Australia but we’ve got lots of lovely towns and this boat with the accommodation that I’ve already seen downstairs, with the beautiful lounge out the back, with the sun and weather protection, you could stay out of the sun in here. But if you want the air, you can slide the window open and get lots of air in. So if you’re worried about all of that sailing that you’ve done over the years and the skin cancers that you’re cutting off your nose and your ears and your face, this is the sort of boat that you should focus on. Because it’ll keep you on the water.

So I think it’s about time we visit this town and give you a detailed walk through so just keep watching. We might even do some slow speed manoeuvring and then demonstrate that at the very end of the video. So keep watching for that, if that’s of interest to you. We’ll also go through the engine bay and explain the mechanical setup on this particular boat. Hope that was useful.

WALKTHROUGH

I’m on a modern classic that is perfect for couples who know boats, who appreciate quality and who love that modern classic style. This is the Duchy 27 and this is the walkthrough part of the video. Basically, I’m just going to start at the back of the boat and make my way through.

What have I learned so far? This boat is handmade custom quality. This is a builder that will do what you want and this is a style of boat that you would keep for generations. This is the kind of thing that, if you wanted to look after it, you could hand it down to your kids and then we can move on down to the grandkids. That’s the vibe I’m getting and I’ll explain that to you. It is a traditional gentleman’s cruiser, picnic style of boat, but it’s got a cutting bow and it’s a full-keel style of boat.

EXTERIOR

I’m only on a 27 foot boat but she’s 3.5 tonnes. And as I walk around, you don’t see it moving very much so that’s going to translate to you and your mates being quite comfortable for lunch. So, these things make a difference. If we were on a flatter bottom boat that was a lot lighter and a different centre of gravity to what we’re on right now, your lunch is going to fall off the table, simple as that!

The features are many. This transom, I believe it’s optional but it’s a beautiful timber finish and even though we’re from a country that we get beaten up by the sun, I would go for this. This is absolutely gorgeous because I believe if you’re the sort of person looking at this boat you want that top end quality and you’re going to be prepared to put the tiny little cover over it at the end of the day to protect it because it’s absolutely stunning.

How gorgeous is this? So, that completes the boat when you’re underway that gives you that traditional look. But then when you’re entering the boat you just have two switches there and there, little locks and this just deploys and you’ll have this lovely teak step.

Now we are looking at a lot of teak, and you don’t have to have real teak, you can have the Flexiteek. So it’s really up to you and they are such a custom style of builder from what I’m learning. It really is up to you.

So, we’ve got a swim shower just here, it pulls out right here. We have a decent cleat on both sides with some protection for the lines and I can also see protection for cover so there’s going to be a cover that goes over the whole back of the boat here when you pack it up at the end of the day.

So as you enter, this is what it looks like. You can step on this one teak step here, this is removable. This will give you access to the rudder. This is a picnic boat so this is what you do, you step into the cockpit, you kick back and have the best seat in the house and enjoy a nice lunch. But you’ve got options if you want to do your lunch with four or maybe six people, you can do that. This beautiful piece of timber table doesn’t have to stay out. If you want to have it open or if you want to go watch the sailing for example and you’re going to be moving around, this actually has its own custom holding spot down below.

Just immediately at the back of the boat as you step onto the main deck, underneath there’s a grate and that’s basically where the rain water is going to go. So that goes into here and then it pumps out via a bilge pump and you’re automatically operated, obviously. Because the style of this hull does have a lot of the boat under the water therefore it’s not going to be all naturally draining out. So you do have to have bilge pumps and batteries protecting that and it’s all done. I’ll explain that as we make our way through.

Underneath these seats, we’ve got some storage as mentioned. We’ve got the holder for the table and I saw the exhaust going out that way. It’s got the raw water pickup, that’s the filter for the royal water pickup. Everything is accessible.

Then we get into the middle of the boat where there is a rectangular teak access panel and it is removable. This gives you access to the shaft exit. As we lift the engine box, there’s gas strut, it’s sound insulated, there’s your engine, straight shaft drive, beautifully done. It is a Nanni 205. This particular owner decided to go for the Yanmar, so just don’t pay too much attention to that but obviously being this style of boat, the engine box is also a beautiful lounging area.

So, underway this boat will do over 20 knots. If you’re going to be on this seat, you’re going to be quite protected. On those seats, you are going to be in the wind. But if you want some sun protection, they will do some carbon fibre poles and an extendable sunshade which I’m told you can leave up, in  20 knots. So it can be set up in this whole area in protection from the sun and they have done that for a customer in New Zealand, so if it works in New Zealand it’ll work in Australia.

Moving forward we obviously have this backrest in the middle and this is just the one cushion and this is over the whole engine bay. This then gives you options for four people going out for the day, two people could sit here if they wanted protection from the wind and another two people could sit here.

Got little cupboards here and here and these teak steps actually give you access to the side decks which we’re going to go to in a second. I just need to explain a few more bits and pieces.

I said this in the test drive, I really do believe that the guys and girls who are going to be really attracted to this boat are probably coming out of sailing. They’ve probably done a lot of sailing. Whether it’s racing sailing or cruising sailing and you’re at that stage of life where you’ve had enough sailing and you want a beautiful boat. A boat that’s going to last. A boat that’s not going to use too much fuel and it’s going to look elegant. This boat does all of that. It’s going to be reliable because it’s just a tried method that they’re using on this boat.

So there are speakers, courtesy lights, stairs going up to either side, grab handles to reach either side. And remember the inherent stability of this hull, meaning it’s not going to rock around awkwardly when you are going forward.

We have our gas locker just here, for cooking and then we have a fridge on starboard. These seats will swivel around to face the other side so we do have these levers here and on the other side and we can turn them around to face aft. So when you’re in lunch mode, that’s doable and everyone from here forward has wind and sun protection.

I’m just going to start on the starboard side and make my way around. I’ve got an opening roof hatch just here. So that’s going to be great for letting a little bit of air in. I’m sure they can do them with sun block-outs as well but we’re here in England, so it’s not really a necessity. And this slides and that’s going to be great for saying hello to your mates when you’re cruising past with your beautiful boat and pulling up at your mate’s house and just waving goodbye and also good for ventilation.

We’ve got a couple of down lights here and a couple more down lights there, so that’s all very practical. And then I can see the windscreen wiper motors there and the VHF there. The finish in everywhere you look, or even everywhere you touch, is just at another level. Like I touch a lot of boats, does that sound weird? But everywhere that I’m looking in this boat, it’s just to another level. You open cupboards, you look underneath things and you’re like, “Oh, they’ve paid the extra little bit of attention,” which many other builders would not because they go, “Oh, it’s out of sight out of mind,” and I’m not seeing that here.

Both of these forward-facing seats have footrests. The footrests are in the form of these removable stainless steel essentially bars so you can just pull them straight up and then use it as a normal stand-up position, if you’re underway and you might do that if you’re in a really rough sea, it might be more comfortable to stand or if you wanted to sit, you can put your foot and then that just gives you a nice comfortable place to sit. I’ve got a beautiful armrest just here in teak. That’s all rounded and that’s really nicely done. I would be very happy on a long journey just sitting here as a navigator. That would be great. So that’s cool.

Then let’s get around to the helm. Those two doors there, they are basically access to the holding tank and they’ve got access to some electrical systems behind this one. So they’re not really storage.

But this is the kind of style of hull that’s just going to eat up the chop at its 15 knots or at its 20 knots and you can just sit here and communicate with your mates. So let’s focus on this helm but just before we do, I mean look at this teak around the helm and look at this handle, look how nice that is. It’s really well done. It’s incredibly well done. So the timber wheel, stainless inserts with the Duchy logo just there. Then starting up here we’ve got our spotlights. I’ve got a bow thruster. I’ve got the wiper operation. I like having the wipers individually operated and see here you can go slow and fast and off in the middle then you can wash this screen with these and then this is the anchor windlass up and down. Because you’re going to go offshore on a boat like this so you will catch water over the bow and so it just gives you that immediate ability to clear your visibility, so it’s nice.

That’s for phone charging. We’ve got our flat screen Simrad here. I’m sure you can do all sorts of electronics and they’ll just do all your usual stuff.

Look at the stainless surround here isn’t that pretty? Ignore the Yanmar because it’s Nanni. That’s our revs. That’s our temperature. This is our tank level. That’s our volts and then we’ve got alarm, windless, bow thruster, heater, wipers, horn, AIS, Nav, Autopilot, audio, shower, pump, low bilge, high bilge.

So when we say low bilge and high bilge, there is a low bilge right in the bottom of the keel. So if you blew a hose and you started, and its pouring water into the actual bilge, that’s going to set off an alarm. So that’s kind of handy to know. The high bilge it’s just for the rain water. So if you forgot to put the cover on and you had a big rainstorm and water is building up in that grate that I mentioned before, that’s going to get pumped out from the high bilge. So that’s what we’re talking about there.

Fresh water pump, that’s just pressurising your fresh water. Light panel, navigation, lights and the all-round white light. That’s the last four up here. I’d say these lights here are probably indicators of various safety items which I don’t exactly know. Compass is just up here, mentioned the VHF up there and we have another opening hatch just here. So that’s going to be really comfortable. On a hot day, this is going to be a lovely place to be.

Let’s go up to the bow, many of you are going to be thinking about this because you’re going to be worried about your partner. The way to move forward, first things first, if you want to pick up a mooring you could actually just do it from the midships in this style. But it’s going to track pretty straight. You can just use the bow thruster and pick up the mooring and then just walk it forward, if you’re worried about sending people forward. But you shouldn’t be worried about sending people forward because the way to do it, you’ve got to step here. You’ve got a handle here. You have another handle here and then you choose if you want to get up on the next step and just throw this leg over and step on that. I’m a man with very short legs so if I can do it, your wife can too or you can do it, or you do it and your wife can drive. Because that’s how we should do things, too. But when you get up here, you get this grab handle here. It’s wrap tapping all the way around and see how this midship’s cleat folds down. So that’s then reducing any trip hazard moving forward to the bow, so you’re going from here. Sliding your hand and then when you get to here, you’ve got quite a big bow rail, which you could also slide your bum along if you were worried. But you’ve got something to hold on to all the way up to here and then if it was a rough day you’ve got plenty of options as you make forward. So I see this as a really safe boat. If you’re an older couple, this is a very safe boat to be using. If you’re not so sure on your feet you’re not going to have any problems.

But just look at all this. How beautiful is that? The stainless gear up here. The lovely little anchor. We’ve got the quick anchor windlass. Got our bollard just there for the mooring. We can operate the anchor from here. Probably do a spare anchor on those teak pads there. We’ve got some nice fairleads for the mooring lines. There is a sun cushion which will go up on the front here.

This hatch opens the other way. So I’m sure you’re still going to get some airflow down but it’s not going to suck air down as opposed to a forward-facing hatch or whether they can change that for you. I don’t know that’s a question you’d have to ask.

We can see these two other ventilators just here and here and then I see opening side windows here and here and on the other side I see two matching on this side as well.

So the windscreen, they’re not opening -they’re toughened glass but this particular boat has got some solar panels running down the middle of the roof. That’s very logical. I think a lot of people would want to do that. We’ve got the spotlight, so that’s operated by the joystick at the helm. We’ve got proper air horns. You can see the top of the opening sunroofs. But notice how the radar or the mast I should say. It’s in timber, you can have it in stainless. 

Now I also want to point out, we’ve got the teak on the floor deck here you don’t have to have real teak. You can do the Flexiteek and you could probably do or choose to do it without teak if you wanted. Confirm that. I’m not 100 percent sure.

Coming down the starboard side we’ve got the pump out. You can see this cleat in the up position, so that’s how you fold it down if you want to be safe. We’ve got the diesel in, just there and I can see some breathers as well. 

lf you’re packing up this boat at the end of the day, you’re just going to attach a cover to this bolt rope track here and then the whole cover is just going to go over here and then you’ll just have attachments. So it’s really quite simple because that angle is quite nice for water running off. So don’t see this as a complicated boat to pack up at the end of the day.

Before I get there, I can’t miss the little toolbox. Isn’t that the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen?  Look at that. So if that doesn’t give you an idea of what we’re about to see downstairs I don’t know what will.

Let’s check out this interior. First thing that’s worth pointing out, they’ve got a really good latching system, so this is not going to come undone in a big sea and hit your feet, simple as that. So it’s quite safe. You come down basically one step. You just step over this. That’s going to stop any water from entering the main cabin, then down onto one timber step which lifts up and it’s got a little esky or bin basically. It looks like a little pull out esky to me, which then gives you also access into the deep bilge.

INTERIOR

But just come on down into this beautiful interior. This is what handmade quality looks like guys. So basically this is a bit of a lounging area right now but it will convert into a nice comfortable bed. Are you going to sleep on it? Probably not. You’ve probably got a nice waterfront house and your mate does too but if you’ve got guests coming to your place and you’ve run out of spare bedrooms and this is at the end of the garden. What a beautiful place to invite guests to come down and have a night or two when they’re at your house.

But if you are going to be doing the overnighting thing, basically there’s an infill that sits in here. These backrests go down on either side and because they’re half thickness they double up and so that’s what gets you the full mattress thickness.

That’s just the toilet door rattling as some ferry goes by. That is the tidiest anchor well, I have ever seen. It’s great and that’s accessible through this little door but it’s all nicely flow coated on the inside. Incredibly well done. With this cute little door. As you come up, all the lining it’s basically leather wrapped. Beautifully done. I’ve got these timber strips down the centreline of the boat here and same here that’s giving you a nice sort of accent. I’m sure they could do sun shades for Australia here and that’s the hatch that we saw up on deck. These are the opening windows here and there. But once again look at the detail, the beautiful custom little housing and great for some ventilation to keep the air flowing through the boat.

Look at this. How good is that? And notice how they finish it. Like essentially that is never going to fall apart. If you do it like that, you notch it in like that, it’s solid. Take your cutlery drawer to the beach for your picnic. Like isn’t that cute? I think it’s great.

So we can do all of our coffee cups or whatever you like up here. You can do your bowls, you can do your plates in here and then we have storage in here and then we have a jacket hanging just in here, so all of our coats can go in here. We have our stereo and our light operation.

This particular boat has got a heater. If you do live in a cold climate having used these heaters, these little Webasto diesel heaters, they are great to blow some hot air on your feet. If you’re down in Tasmania this boat would be awesome. East coast of Tasmania, imagine the adventures you could have and you would essentially extend the season. If you don’t like the cold feet situation, get one of them. Having tried it in New Zealand myself.

I’m going to get in the toilet, just to give you a sense of the space. It’s not huge but it’s doable. It’s a sit-down toilet. You have your storage here for your toiletry bags. You’ve got a proper sink. You can actually pull this out and use it as a shower and then you’ve got more storage just down there. Electric operation and it will vent quite nicely. So look at everything you need and it’s just beautifully done and of course there’s storage underneath the seats / bed as well. And in the cabin itself you don’t have standing room. You’re not supposed to because then that would ruin the lines of this boat from the outside, so it is a bit of a crouch situation but lots of sitting room is the key. So if you wanted to move the situation or the party or whatever’s going on down here because it was warmer or whatever, you can do that. But like I said, you’re probably just going to lend this as an overnight bedroom for your guests I think. That’s where it’s going to get the most use.

MANOEUVERING

All right guys so I told you I’d talk about the slow speed manoeuvrability of the boat.  Boats like this will typically have a bit of prop warp, so you’ve got a big propeller turning left or right and when you put it in reverse, it’ll often pull the boat one way or the other. So that’s just something you want to pay attention to, or be aware of, or alert. And also essentially, you’re going to have a little bit of resistance from the keel. It’ll track in a straight line. Unlike a flat bottom boat it’s not going to slide sideways as easily compared to something that’s perhaps a planing hull.

So I’m just giving you a little bit of a reverse now. This boat appears to, just drive straight. This doesn’t have much prop warp. So I’m gonna say for an average yachty, this is actually going to be a little bit easier. Normally you’re going to be factoring in your prop warp and you go right when I reverse the boat pulls left or the boat pulls right and you have to think ahead to allow for that difference when you’re pulling into the dock. 

Let’s just do it again. So I’m just going to give a little bit of revs in reverse. Put my rudder centred and now I’m going to put my rudder to starboard. I’m going to put my rudder to port. Yes, she just slowly responds with a little bit of water over the rudder. I’m just going to click it in forward. This is really quite predictable guys. So with a little bit of training or just regular use you’ll get used to this.

So let’s just try the bow thruster and see how that goes. I’ve had this on Grand Banks, and other heavier displacement boat where there’s more boat in the water as opposed to on it. You have a bit of resistance with the bow thruster. So I’m just going to stop the boat. I’m just going to bow thruster port. Yeah, pretty good. It’s not the most powerful because the boat is providing some resistance, due to the hull shape but that’s going to get you essentially, where you want to go. Because remember it’s not going to get overtaken by the conditions as quickly, as a lighter, flatter boat. So it’s going to be more predictable, moving into the dock of the marina. You’re going to just move and track slowly and predictably at slow speeds. Then you’re going to line the boat up for your berth. Look over your shoulder. Stick it in reverse and she’s going to go where you are pointing it.

That’s actually quite easy. So once again, my original thoughts, couple’s boat I agree. It is a couple’s boat.

SUMMARY

Guys that was a lot of fun. Who buys this boat? I really do believe it’s the couples. Couples who know boats. Couples who are experienced with boats. Couples who want to enjoy all weather conditions or have the ability to enjoy all weather conditions and people who love this modern classic look. 

So if you are that person, if you want to stay on the water, if you want to enjoy fun adventures and just also enjoy being on a beautiful boat, check out the Duchy 27. This will keep you happy. If it’s just you and small groups on a beautiful piece of machinery, you’ll be happy.

My name’s Dan Jones. This has been Dan’s Boat Life. If you like this content that I make, I will make it for you. I don’t take money for the videos. I’m completely independent. Get on to support me. Give us a like. Share the videos. Get onto my Patreon. I’d appreciate it. Thanks very much!

See more details on the Duchy 27 here: