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CW Hood 43
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The new CW Hood 43 won best in show honors in Newport for its creative design, great looks and surface-piercing drives.
By Peter A. Janssen, Photography by Billy Black
Every season, it seems, there's a new boat that everybody's talking about. At the Newport, Rhode Island, boat show this fall — an event that signals the start of the boat show season — that model was the CW Hood 43, for many reasons: a gorgeous, long, low profile; classic Down East looks; and, once you get inside, a gorgeous, inviting interior with a true innovation, a helm station at the aft end of the salon so the captain is part of the social action on board.
While driving the boat off Newport a week after the show, it was easy for me to see why a group of judges declared the Hood 43 the best powerboat at the show, largely for its design and fresh thinking. And that was before I considered the advantages in top speed, low draft and easy maintenance of its Sea Rider surface drives. Driving the Hood 43 was fun; the boat turns surely and quickly and stops on a dime. It takes a second or two to get used to driving in back, but then I realized it does have its advantages. As Chris Hood, the head of the company, tells me: "This way you don't have to turn your head around to talk to everybody on board, as you do in a traditional setup. It's part of making the boat more sociable."
Another advantage, I soon realized, was the view forward. Yes, you can see and interact with the other people on board, but you also have a privileged view (since you are standing on a slightly raised helm pod centered at the back) of the classic, rich, satin-finished cherry salon unfolding before you. Your view, actually, is all the way forward — first to the main salon, then to what amounts to a second salon (with the galley and another seating area) and finally to the master stateroom all the way forward. The boat is open; the vista simply unfolds. If you open the two side doors just behind the helm station and lower the large glass window immediately behind the helm, the boat is open all the way from the transom to the bow. Visibility is excellent all around, through the large front, side and rear windows and even through the gently curved quarter windows in back. Ventilation is terrific when you open the windows and the huge overhead sunroof.
With the helm aft, there is certainly a valid concern about being able to see what's directly in front of the boat, particularly when it comes on plane. Once the boat is on plane, however, the running angle is sweet and low and you quickly get used to the view. The boat has a modified deep-V hull with 17-degree deadrise at the transom, which provides a nice balance of performance and comfort. In my test off Newport, the conditions were not rough, but I'd assume the Hood hull, with its relatively fine entry, would perform well in a seaway.
As interesting as the interior may be, the drive system is another innovation. The Sea Rider surface drives, made in Bergamo, Italy, have proven themselves over the years on military and commercial vessels but have not made much of an inroad in U.S. recreational craft. After riding on the Hood 43 (which is completed at the Hood yard in Marblehead, Massachusetts) I'd expect that to change. Sea Rider is a compact system, working at maximum efficiency even at lower cruising speeds and around the dock. It has a semicircular shield around the upper half of the props for protection. The backs of the prop blades feature a concave surface toward the outer edge, which delivers thrust when the prop rotation is reversed. When under way, the performance is exceptional.
At the dock, the boat simply turns heads. The proportions are right and pleasing to the eye. "The shape of the boat speaks for itself," Hood says. "It makes a statement about quality and design ability." You can climb on the boat via two teak boarding steps or via the gently curved teak swim platform and a custom transom door into the cockpit. The cockpit itself is comfortable and secure, surrounded by a curved teak stripe. You then enter the salon through the big side glass doors. You can walk forward or stop at the raised wooden helm pod with its two-person, all-leather seat. The salon is super-comfortable with a matching settee and table on each side; the entire interior is finished in the classic Herreshoff style with white panels, a gently arcing overhead and a teak and holly sole. Forward and down two steps are the galley and another settee (a mini salon, really) and a large head to port with a separate shower to starboard (both with frosted glass overheads for extra light). The master, with a queen berth, is all the way forward.
Since Hood is a semi-custom yard, Chris Hood says it can deliver the new 43 with conventional or pod drives, if you want, or even with the helm station forward in the traditional spot. For me, I'd be more than happy with the boat just as it is now.
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