Estate Manager Drew Harris has several uses for the new 7.9m. Visitors are transported from Mallaig to the Peninsula, where they stay in one of the five luxury cottages or renovated barns on the Estate. He offers a range of outdoor pursuits based on years of practical experience and knowledge from working in what can be an extremely inhospitable environment. ‘Sula’ is used to transport clients and equipment to remote areas of Loch Nevis and the Sound of Sleat for the various activities, which include fishing, hunting, stalking and shooting.

The Cheetah was chosen for its good load carrying and sea handling capabilities. A further requirement was the ability to load and unload people and equipment from the bow onto various beaches and rocky shores around the Loch. Cheetah Marine has thus fitted a removable bow ladder which enables people to pass easily between the boat and the beach.

The 7.9m has proved popular as an MCA coded craft and can be coded to carry eight people. ‘Sula’ has been fitted out with all necessary safety kit and the vessel is coded to Category 3, 20 miles from a safe haven.

The long style wheelhouse features helm and navigator’s suspension seating plus additional internal seating for passengers running fore to aft with plenty of storage both under the seating and forward of the dash. Cheetah Marine has fitted a complete Raymarine electronics package which includes the C120 Multifunction Display with the DSM High Definition Fish Imaging / Sounder Module and DGPS Raystar 125 satellite receiver. Outside, the Cheetah manufactured stainless steel gantry houses all necessary aerials and Radome unit as well as navigation lights. Other stainless steel work includes a full set of surrounding safety rails to comply to MCA standards including wheelhouse roof rails and aft boarding ladder.

Outside seating and storage units have been fitted on both port and starboard sides of the aft deck. On the starboard side a 5.5hp Honda power-pack, housed below one of the passenger seats powers the Spencer Carter slave hauler on the aft wheelhouse bulkhead. The hauler will be used for hauling stags dragged down to the beach after a days shooting onto the deck as well as for hauling creels in the loch.

The typical draught of a 7.9m is 0.35m, enabling Drew to navigate shallow areas of the Loch. Stainless steel keel bands protect the hulls when beaching and working in shallow water, again manufactured in the Cheetah Marine workshop. A chine band protects the chine from creels or stags hauled over the gunwale.