Lounge seating on the flybridge of the Altima 61 is spacious
and comfortable, with plenty of storage beneath.
for easier boarding from the water when sport diving and
swimming, or for storing the dinghy in chocks near the
waterline for short runs rather than towing it or hauling it
up to the boat deck by davit. An integrally molded swim
platform that projects well aft of the transom is part of
the design, as well, and it makes boarding through the
transom door that much more convenient. Five stainless
steel staple-style rails mounted on the edge of the swim
platform, and handrails mounted on the down curve of
the hull sides, contribute to boarding safety. For higher
fixed docks, there are bulwark doors port and starboard.
The stern features five built-in storage areas and is home
to fresh and saltwater washdowns, plus twin 50-amp
shorepower connections.
Another big improvement for the new 61 is the raised
aft deck, up 10 inches from the original design. This
feature offers multiple benefits, from easier passage into
the saloon or to the side decks (with no need for a step
up) to the creation of a voluminous lazarette that offers
almost 700 cubic feet of room for equipment, storage,
and easier access to the engine room. The lazarette’s
wide hatch rises with the help of an electrically actuated
hydraulic lift, revealing a ladder leading down with
12-inch teak treads on a pitch selected for safe ascent or
descent. Access to the Teleflex hydraulic steering gear and
rudder heads with Tides Marine seals is excellent. Several
battery boxes are installed to port with safety straps, and
the Onan genset backs up to the engine room bulkhead
just to port of the centerline-mounted, watertight door
with viewing port.
As you would expect, the genset has its own Racor
fuel-water separator and strainer-equipped water pickup
Altima 61
with bronze seacock. Battery switches are installed up
high on the bulkhead to the starboard side of the engine
room door, above an equipment locker. There is plenty of
room to starboard for a tub and mechanism for a 67-foot
Glendinning power cable reel. In fact, there’s room for an
optional second installation, which our test boat had.
An optional Cyclo Vac central vacuum cleaner system
is located just outboard and forward. Within easy reach
for clearing is one of five Rule 2,000gpm bilge pumps.
With 6 feet of headroom, a wide path down the
centerline, and good clearance on the outboard sides
of both 800hp Caterpillar C15 Acert diesels, the engine
room on the new Altima 61 makes routine maintenance a
breeze and should improve the life of your favorite engine
tech for regularly scheduled maintenance. The engines
are mounted on massive, full-length stainless steel
brackets capping and through-bolted to substantial engine
beds. Each engine turns a 2.5-inch-diameter Aquatech
Marine shaft through a ZF-325 1A marine transmission
with a reduction ratio of 1.964: 1. Exhaust gases and
engine cooling water exit underwater through large
Activa Marine mufflers in the aft corners. Tides Marine
self-aligning, dripless shaft seals are standard equipment.
They’re cross-linked to ensure constant lubrication in the
event of an engine failure.
Twin Racor duplex fuel-water separators are mounted
to port against the aft engine bulkhead, within easy
view for quick inspections and easy reach for filter
maintenance. They flank two compact fuel transfer
manifolds that are clearly labeled. An Algae-X FPS-500
fuel polishing system and a single battery box sit just
ahead of them. The box is secured against movement
of the 8D battery inside (8Ds are used throughout),
and twin battery boxes are mounted to starboard.
Compressors for the 90,000-Btu air conditioning and
reverse-cycle heating system from Marine Air are located
on a shelf on the forward bulkhead, along with the water
heater above. Bronze seacocks and large strainers are
found forward of the engine drip pans—again, there’s
lots of room for access. A Fireboy FE 241 automatic fire
suppression system is mounted to starboard. The saddle
fuel tanks are fiberglass and are equipped with sight
gauges, which I would like to see better protected. Fuel,
water, and electrical lines are all installed with great care,
well padded against vibration damage, and supported at
regular intervals.
Back on deck, wide walking spaces along both sides
of the cabin are protected by the flybridge’s substantial
overhangs, hip-high bulwarks, and solidly mounted
2.5-inch stainless oval safety rails that run the full length
of the deck. Four pairs of large hawse cleats, set in the
bulwarks to help keep the side decks unobstructed, are
