Her name was Shananigans, a 32-foot Topaz that belonged to my buddy"s father, a licensed captain and founding member of a New Jersey tuna club. Aboard her he fished the canyons off Barnegat Bay for more than a decade before selling her. According to his son, he"s lamented that day ever since.  I can identify with his loss. I recently sea trialed Hull No.1 of the 33 Express, now built at Topaz"s new home on the grounds of Egg Harbor Yachts in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, and found her an impressive off shore performer. (Egg Harbor purchased the Topaz name in 2005, and while the 33 has the same LOA as the 32 Express 32"8"-she"s called the 33 Express.) From the starboard-side helm, I piloted the 33, powered by standard 455-hp Caterpillar C7As, from her quay in Somers Point, through the Egg Harbor Inlet, and into the Atlantic Ocean, where I was promptly greeted by a three-foot head sea. Reaching 24.7 mph and 2000 rpm, she cut through the breakers and landed softly in the troughs. Returning on a following sea, I retracted the Lenco trim tabs to raise the bow and was able to maintain 25 mph with no bow steer or yawing. Sightlines remained excellent at all speeds and in all directions.
In the protected waters of the bay, the 33 reached an average top speed of39.8 mph at 2860 rpm, and when I backed her off to a cruise speed of 30.4 mph at 2250 rpm, her fuel burn was 26.2 gph, or 1.16 mpg for a 417-mile range. At both this speed and WOT, she had high bridge-deck sound levels: I measured 91 and 96 dB-A, respectively (65 dB-A is the level of normal conversation). During my inspection of the engine room, accessed via a hydraulically lifted bridge deck, I noted sound-attenuation panels made of aluminum-face melamine foam on the ER headliner but not on the bulkheads; an upgrade here might help with bridge-deck sound levels.
As for upgrades, fishing has been Topaz"s focus since it was founded more than 30 years ago, and not surprising, numerous changes that will improve her fishability have been made to the 33 in this regard. |
|  | The first one I noticed was the two 58-gallon insole fishboxes. Located aft in the cockpit, both are close to the 2"1"-wide transom door but need gas-assisted struts to keep the hatches steady while loading-they could easily slam shut on someone"s foot. Topaz also increased cockpit tackle stowage, ad ding six more tackle drawers than the 32 had, with three each under the single seats just abaft of the bridge deck"s two forward facing double companion seats. The cock pit, side decks, and foredeck nonskid are new as well: Topaz now uses a sandpaper like nonskid that"s purportedly more uniform than the 32"s diamond pattern. It worked like gangbusters-a foggy morning on test day had left the decks covered in dew, and the nonskid provided steady footing. In addition, the cockpit and anchor locker water connections are now the quick connect type. Add some fishy options-a Murray Brothers tuna tower, Rupp double spreader outriggers and center rigger, and as many as 14 rod holders-and the 33"s one formidable sportfisherman. 
Her build has also been upgraded thanks to a new one-piece deck mold that incorporates all of the deck hatches (except the one on the bridge deck for ER access), the cock pit"s livewell and bait-prep station (to port and just aft of the bridge deck), and fish boxes, thus eliminating a lot of caulked seams and therefore potential leaks. The deck is secured to the hull with stainless steel screws every six inches and 3M 5200 adhesive. While Hull No. l"s hull is hand-laid, balsa-cored fiberglass, production models will utilize DIAB core infusion and Diviny cell cores. According to Topaz, the core infused 33s will be stronger, stiffer, and approximately 2,500 pounds lighter. After a day aboard the 33, I determined the new Topaz understands what hardcore anglers want and knows how to deliver it. As for my buddy"s old man, I hear he"s close to retirement. At press time there was still no name on Hull NO.1"s transom, so for $462,739 he could have a brand-new and even better Shananigans. Topaz (609) 965-8143 |
|