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Divers Thrive With Fast New 7.9 Cheetahs
01 Mar 2004
The second example of Cheetah Marine 's new 7.9m design has been delivered to Sunart Diving Services of Loch Sunart in Western Scotland.
The boat is being used by a team of four divers to harvest scallops from the seabed 40 miles offshore. The handling, space and stability which are characteristic of all Cheetah designs are further enhanced by the 7.9's deep-V high buoyancy hull.
The newest 7.9 is fitted with twin 90hp Honda outboards which will carry it to over 30 knots. On sea trials, with a force 7 blowing, the boat rode 6-8ft waves at 25 knots with ease and comfort. The following week, with 1,500kg of scallops on board, it cruised at 20 knots using less than 70% throttle and exhibited no reduction in performance or handling.
The 7.9 has a spacious deck area of 7m 2, a beam of 2.7m and a draft of about 30 cm dependent on load. Within the large, comfortable wheelhouse there is a suspension helm seat fitted on a storage pod and a bench seat with storage beneath. There is an outside walkway to the bow.
Steering is by Hydrive hydraulics and twin 130 litre aluminium built-in fuel tanks were fabricated and fitted by Cheetah. Options include a toilet compartment, stainless steel safety rails, aft boarding ladder, galley, bunks and heating. A fully disc braked trailer is also available.
Cheetah's first 7.9 is also a dive boat, based in the South of France. Powered by twin 225hp Honda outboards it achieves a top speed of 45 knots.
Orders for two more 7.9s are on Cheetah Marine's books and there is a busy demonstration schedule ahead.
MJ Information No: 19234
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