{"id":53708,"date":"2018-11-14T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/?p=53708"},"modified":"2023-05-08T09:09:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T13:09:20","slug":"palm-beachs-gt50-is-off-to-the-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/palm-beachs-gt50-is-off-to-races\/","title":{"rendered":"Palm Beach\u2019s GT50 is Off to the Races"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"palm <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The Palm Beach GT50 Express, which the builder says hits 42 knots, is the first higher-speed sport yacht from Palm Beach.<\/span>\n Palm Beach Motor Yachts<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Palm Beach has made a name for itself building smooth-riding, efficiently designed, Downeast-style cruisers that can tackle a seaway. But until now, the company had skewed toward tradition, with classic lines and speeds that, while running in the jaunty 30-knot range, were not necessarily making eyeballs pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

That changed this month at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, where Palm Beach debuted its GT50 Express, the first in its sport-boat-inspired GT series (a GT50 Open is scheduled to debut this winter in Germany).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The GT50, with a fluid, flowing profile, reportedly tops out at 42 knots thanks, in part, to twin 600\u00a0hp Volvo Penta IPS800s. The yacht is said to cruise at a none-too-shabby 35 knots while the engines burn 40 gallons per hour. Ease the throttle back to 25 knots, and those Volvo Pentas consume 24 gallons per hour, according to the builder\u2019s test data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The vessel\u2019s speed and efficiency can be attributed largely to two factors: First, Palm Beach focused on reducing the GT50\u2019s weight. The hull is fully infused vinylester and cored E-glass in construction. This model (and future ones) also has a carbon-fiber superstructure that places her securely in the bantamweight division at 28,660 pounds dry while enhancing the structure\u2019s rigidity. The lightweight material up top also helps lower the yacht\u2019s center of gravity, aiding in stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"palm <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n This yacht\u2019s cockpit (top) is built for sundowners with friends, with a refrigerator and ice maker. The opening salon window and retractable roof help to bring the outside inside. Four forward-facing seats near the GT50 Express\u2019 helm (above) make excellent perches in rough seas, with sturdy armrests to grab. Note the broad visibility in all directions.<\/span>\n Palm Beach Motor Yachts<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The second factor in the GT50\u2019s performance numbers is her hull form. Palm Beach CEO Marc Richards believes in racing-sailboat-inspired hull designs. With a super-fine entry and a series of deadrise variances, the GT50\u2019s hull form is built for the yacht to get on plane with an even attitude (see: no bow rise). The boat is designed not to climb or porpoise in a seaway. She\u2019s made to slice it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The yacht also has a carbon-fiber helm station, an accommodations level with woodwork options including wenge, teak and oak, and a \u00adcockpit with twin L-shaped settees, a refrigerator and an ice maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"palm <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The GT50 Express has four \u00adforward-facing seats near the helm, an L-shaped settee to port, and a bench seat across from it in the salon. Two L-shaped settees are in the cockpit.<\/span>\n Palm Beach Motor Yachts<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Palm Beach has additional plans for the GT series, with a 60 slated for next fall that\u2019s projected to top 50 knots, and a 70-footer on the drawing boards to premiere after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Perhaps no one would have predicted that Palm Beach would have gone down the sport-boat road, but then again, this is a company that has always blazed its own trail. And predictions may be best left to those mired in tradition.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This sporty cruiser is full of carbon fiber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Kevin Koenig","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20181114","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"163","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Palm Beach\u2019s GT50 is the roadster version of its tried-and-true formula.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Palm Beach\u2019s GT50 is Off to the Races %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"5BOA2SUC2JFNJF6IY654CWXVYM","arc_website_url":"palm-beachs-gt50-is-off-to-races","custom_permalink":"palm-beachs-gt50-is-off-to-races\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[267,361,362,164],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53708"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}