Maxum 3700 Sport Yacht: Sea Trial
Maxum 3700 Sport Yacht: Turn-key boating with style.
January 11, 2004
The 3700's Max-Trac hull, designed for enviable performance and smooth handling characteristics, has 15 degrees of deadrise.
Just about every boater has heard of the Brunswick Boat Group, the world's largest builder of recreational boats. The company's Brunswick Family Boat Co. division, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, is the parent company for Maxum boats — in addition to Bayliner and Trophy boat lines.
Maxum is a stylish and well-designed line of boats, introduced in 1987. Through the years, the company's designers have listened to boaters and have added features and styling elements that appeal to those who seek a bit more luxury in their boating.
Maxum offers a quality-built boat — and the 3700 Sport Yacht is a prime example. Maxum's designers have included, as standard equipment, many details that make for a safe, enjoyable recreational experience.
One of the largest Maxum, Bayliner, Trophy and Meridian dealers in the world is Olympic Boat Centers, with nearly 30 locations in the United States and Canada. Olympic Boat Centers has been in business since 1955 and has many years of experience helping families enjoy the boating experience. The company's well-known slogan sums up its philosophy: "We'll make a boat nut out of you!"
On a sunny but windy winter afternoon, I met with Kevin McNally, manager of Olympic Boat Centers' Newport Beach, California location. McNally is a transplant from Canada and has worked on and off for Olympic Boat Centers since 1991. He and his wife are very happy to be relocated in sunny Southern California.
McNally is very knowledgeable about the entire Maxum line, so it was natural for him to show me the Maxum 3700 Sport Yacht. This sporty boat's stylish exterior design is definitely eye catching.
McNally explained how cutting-edge weight-saving fiberglass composite construction technology has been utilized to allow the Maxum 3700 to offer both a strong, rigid hull and an optimum power-to-weight ratio. "Engineering is state of the art, as the engineers and architects have been with the company for years — with years of experience."
The 3700's Max-Trac hull, designed for enviable performance and smooth handling characteristics, has 15 degrees of deadrise. An exclusive gelcoat Finish Guard process, utilizing vinylester resin, makes for a flawless finish and helps prevent future gelcoat blistering and cracking.
Get On Board
Boarding the 3700 is easy, by stepping on a large two-tier swim platform. I found it to be very stable — even while under way.
When casting off, you will not have any difficulty walking up to the spacious foredeck, as stainless steel rails enclose the bow and extend down each side all the way to the cockpit.
This model has a very clean-looking bow, with an anchor compartment that conceals (under a hinged hatch) a windlass, an anchor tie-down cleat, a rode locker, a washdown spigot and the foot pedals to control the windlass. Three deck hatches (skylights) mounted on the foredeck can be opened from belowdecks to provide ready ventilation.
Located on either side of the foredeck, just forward of the windshield, are two small vents in a D-shape. Over the forward stateroom is a 20-inch round green translucent opening hatch. All include screens.
The cockpit area of the 3700 is an inviting place for guests to relax, with a large U-shaped settee and an oval table that is hinged, so one end of the table can flip up for more room. Our test boat's cockpit included a hot and cold transom-mounted shower nozzle, a wet bar — complete with an ice-maker, a cutting board, a molded-in sink and lots of storage.
Fender storage, aft, and DC electrical battery switches are in a port locker, for easy access. The main electrical panels are belowdecks, in the saloon.
The engine room hatch is in the middle of the cockpit sole. It opens to reveal a large engine compartment.
Twin 320 hp Mercury MerCruiser 6.2L MPI freshwater-cooled gasoline inboards are standard equipment, with V-drives. I found adequate work room around the engines — and even between each engine and the outboard side fuel tanks — for regular maintenance. Additionally, abaft the engines, there is plenty of space to add an optional auxiliary generator (a feature we highly recommend) and room for storage.
We stepped up to the helm area, where there is excellent visibility all around the boat — even when backing down into a slip. Seating is provided on both sides, with the helm on the starboard side (with dual seating) and another single seat located on the port side. There's also a handy built-in chart table with a plastic cover.
The skipper's seat is adjustable, with a flip-up bolster — plus, there is storage underneath.
Instruments for the dual engines include tachometers, fuel gauges, voltmeters, oil pressure gauges, engine water temperature gauges and hourmeters. You'll find ample space to add the marine electronics of your choice to complete the package, and there is built-in storage for accessory items — such as binoculars or backup hand-held electronics.
The most attention-getting control on the dash is the Control Max 2.0 integrated control for the bow and stern thrusters. Its control knob is shaped like a miniature boat. Instead of having to fiddle with separate bow and stern thruster controls, all you have to do is move the knob in the direction that you want the boat to go — and the thrusters will respond to your directions. You can activate both thrusters simultaneously or independently, depending on how you twist the control knob.
The Insider
While McNally was cruising along Newport Harbor heading for the open ocean, I decided to check out the interior living quarters.
The hatch that leads down to the main saloon is clear glass, which provides an open feeling when closed. The belowdecks living space is one open area, but portions can easily be closed off by privacy dividers, to enclose the forward stateroom and the aft stateroom.
Conveniently located at the base of the steps on the port side is an enclosed head compartment, with a VacuFlush marine head and an enclosed shower.
A maple-accented Euro-style galley is also on the port side, with teak and holly sole, a two-burner Ceran cooktop and a Norcold refrigerator. The galley cabinets have abundant storage space and the countertops on our test boat were solid-surface black Karadon, which added a touch of elegance to the galley and saloon.
The main saloon is comfortable and has a settee that converts to a berth and a matching single side seat, on the other side of a cabinet. The designers did well letting just enough daylight into the belowdecks area without overpowering the space with glare. Cherry wood cabinets add warmth to the space and provide abundant storage.
The forward stateroom fits well in its V-berth space; however, instead of a V-berth it offers a roomy centered queen-size berth with storage underneath. The area has two hanging lockers, and curtains along the sides soften the feel of the area. This area can be closed off from the main saloon with a solid pocket door, which recesses into the bulkhead.
The aft stateroom (which Maxum calls the "mid-stateroom") opens with lounge seating that leads into another queen-size berth. This stateroom has a hanging locker and overhead lighting for reading. A privacy curtain separates the stateroom from the main saloon — but with the privacy curtain open, it feels like an extended part of the saloon.
Performance Plus
Our test boat performed well on the open ocean, where we had 2.5- to 3-foot seas and 10- to 15-knot winds, causing small white caps to form on top of each swell. We were making 5 knots into the seas at 1,200 rpm, but immediately kicked it up a notch to 17.6 knots, to achieve a smooth ride.
When we put the 3700 through a series of offshore maneuvers, we found that the boat performed figure eights effortlessly. It also remained quite stable: Running through our own wakes was barely noticeable, as this boat left little behind in the seas.
A little water swooshed over the swim step when we pulled the throttles back fully. The holeshot was acceptable, with the standard MerCruiser 6.2L engines, but it would have been truly impressive with the optional MerCruiser 8.1L.
At wide-open throttle, we were doing 25.8 knots at 4,400 rpm — into the seas. Surprisingly, not a bit of spray hit our windshield. On most other boats of this style, I would have been eating spray on a windy day like this — and that demonstrates a good bow flare in the 3700's hull design.
The 3700 scooted along when we were running with the seas, and the speed increased as expected in this direction. However, I never had the feeling of being pushed down the swells — and the stern never kicked to the side.
This boat provided such a smooth ride that I would like to see how it handles in seas twice this size. I'm certain the 3700 Sport Yacht would be up to the challenge.
Maxum 3700 Sport Yacht Specifications
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| Length | 37'2" |
| Beam | 13' |
| Draft | 3'7" |
| Weight | 17,800 pounds |
| Fuel capacity | 300 gallons |
| Water capacity | 80 gals. |
| Sleeps | 4 adults and 2 children |
| Propellers | 20" x 22" four-blade |
| Base price with twin 320-hp MerCruiser 6.2L MPI gasoline inboard engines | $259,626 |
Performance
| Top speed | 25.8 knots |
| Cruising speed | 17.5 knots |
| Miles per gallon at 17.5-knot cruising speed | .48 |
| Range at 17.5-knot cruising speed | 145 nautical |
| Sound level at 17.5-knot cruising speed | 79 dBA |
Standard Equipment
VacuFlush head; UV-resistant Solex windshield; windshield wipers; two 16,000 Btu air-conditioning units; heavy-grade 45-gauge upholstery; ProMariner battery charger/converter; Teleflex tilt hydraulic steering; Bennett trim tabs; 6-gallon water heater; PYI bronze seacocks on all through-hull fittings; packless shaft sealing system; Ceran two-burner electric cooktop; microwave oven; Norcold 3.1-cubic-foot refrigerator; full instrumentation; compass; 316 stainless steel grabrails; nine through-bolted stainless steel cleats; molded icebox with drain; transom-mounted shower.
Options
Six-disc CD changer; raw water washdown system; innerspring mattress; cockpit ice-maker; 7.3 kw gasoline auxiliary generator or 9 kw diesel generator; electronic engine controls; electrically adjusting helm seat; navigation electronics package; transom platform extension; remote stereo controls on transom.
Construction
Max-Trac hull system, designed for improved performance and handling. Core-Max hand-laid fiberglass hull, utilizing Uni-Max rigid matrix construction to eliminate unnecessary weight and create high strength and rigidity. Rigid-rail construction strengthens the hull and deck at critical points. Exclusive gelcoat Finish Guard process with vinylester resin optimizes the hull surface for a flawless finish and provides superior osmosis resistance to fight gelcoat blistering and cracking. Thermal and acoustical insulation. Skid-resistant decks, toe rails and drainage. Limited transferable five-year structural deck and hull warranty. Lifetime-guaranteed cleats.
