Above: A teak-tread stairway leads down into the lazarette,
where battery switches are properly located for safe operation.
The engine compartment door has a viewing port, and the
genset is easily accessible. Opposite page: The engine room
offers excellent access to both sides of the large optional Cats.
a small dinette table and bench seat sit adjacent to the
helm console, a fine perch for crew and friends to keep
the helmsperson company.
The galley is located to starboard and is notable for
its contemporary granite-and-cherry appeal, plus its
wonderful assortment of storage. The “see-through”
configuration, with overhead storage cabinets kept to a
modest height, makes visibility aft and to the sides from
the lower helm much easier. The Vitrifrigo RF Series
under-counter refrigerator and freezer on our test boat
helped improve the visibility even further. Deep, double
stainless steel sinks with a Moen Pegasus faucet, as
well as GE Commercial Series appliances (including
microwave/convection oven, three-burner cooktop, and
garbage disposal) add at-home familiarity, easy service,
and reliability to a well-thought-out, U-shaped galley.
Cooking under way will necessarily be limited to
the microwave, unless there is a sea rail solution for
the cooktop.
A single black Devine pedestal helm chair sits on the
centerline forward, facing an instrument console finished
in burl wood that is low enough for good views forward
yet large enough to accommodate up to three Big Bay
screens for navigation. On our test boat, two sets of
traditional engine performance gauges flanked the
Caterpillar electronic engine displays just ahead of the
wheel, serving as a backup, but there was ample room for
a Tank Sentry gauge, Bennett trim tab readouts (useful for
balancing the boat in a crosswind), the Fireboy control,
and a host of other switches. Glendinning electronic
engine controls to starboard and SidePower bow and
stern thruster controls to port sat within easy reach of
the wood-rimmed, stainless steel wheel.
The accommodations layout forward and below is
typical of many pilothouse motoryachts, with a full-beam
Altima 61
ALTIMA 61 PILOTHOUSE
LOA
LWL
BEAM
DRAFT
DISPLACEMENT
BRIDGE CLEARANCE
FUEL
WATER
HOLDING TANK
GENERATOR
ENGINES
MAXIMUM SPEED
CRUISE SPEED
RANGE AT CRUISE SPEED
DESIGNER
BUILDER
PRICE AS TESTED
62' 11"
53' 8"
17' 4"
4' 10"
69,500 lb.
18' 7" (to top of arch)
1, 200 U.S. gal.
250 U.S. gal.
100 U.S. gal.
251k W Onan
Twin 800hp Caterpillar C15
Acerts (optional; tested)
Twin 715hp Cummins QSM11s
(standard)
22. 8 knots
8. 5 knots (with Cat C15s)
1,200nm (at 8. 6 knots with
standard engines)
Frank Sciortino
Altima Yachts
$1,799,000
•
For more information:
Altima Yachts
8075 Larrey St.
Montreal, Quebec H1J 2L4
866. 925. 8462
altimayachts.com
master stateroom amidships, a large guest stateroom in
the bow, and a second guest stateroom to port opposite
a large head compartment. But there is nothing typical
about the fit and finish of the cabinetry, the warmth of
the cherry bulkheads, or the beauty of the traditional
teak-and-holly sole. The forward head compartment
has a companionway access door and a private door
leading to the guest stateroom, plus a separate shower
compartment. SeaLand Magnum Opus vacuum-flush
heads are standard throughout the vessel.
In the guest stateroom, steps on either side lead up
to the island queen berth. Other features include a
cedar-lined hanging locker with quartersawn door
