New Doral 40-Footer Has High Performance

Because the Doral 40’ Mediterra is
so long on styling and luxury amenities and is one the most robust boats in her
size-range, her outstanding performance is easy to overlook. Nevertheless, she is
a winner here as well, and recorded the second highest speed at WOT and at best
cruise – nosed out by only .5 mph in both cases -- that we have tested in her class.
The boat we tested was powered by twin 370-hp IPS 500s (with a joystick) but she
has many engine choices, gas or diesel, with both IPS and Zeus, Volvo or Mercury
stern drives and Axius.

The Mediterra's cockpit is designed for entertaining and cruising.

Doral is not as well known as other brand names in the
U.S., perhaps because it is a Canadian brand, but one that has been around a long
time. In fact, the staff and workforce in the small Quebec town where the boats
are built have an average tenure of about 20 years with the company, something that
is unheard in most boat building operations. But craftsmanship and good fit-n-finish
has been noted widely about Doral boats before; what hasn’t been talked about much
is their performance.

The 40’ Doral Mediterra has world-class performance.

Built for Cruising at Speed



The Mediterra is built for both entertaining and comfortable cruising. Her beam
is 13’ which is typical for this size express cruiser. What isn’t so typical is
her 25,000 lb. displacement wet. She is one of the heaviest boats in her class and
is several thousand pounds heavier than most. She’s heavy because of her hull laminate
schedule, all of the wood joiner work in her accommodations and the robust standard
equipment list. All of this, plus her 19-degree deadrise (one of the deepest in
her class) should make her slower than the others – but she isn’t!



The twin Volvo Penta 370-hp IPS 500 diesels seem to be a superb match for this boat.
As we have noted, we clocked her at 40 mph WOT, burning 37.8 gph. That is outstanding
performance and something that no other boat we have tested in her class has achieved.
At best cruise she gets 1.25 mpg which is typical of many of the boats we have tested
and she is at the high side with a speed of 30.3 mph at 3000 rpm.



All of this makes the Mediterra a stellar performer. For detailed information about
the Mediterra, see Capt. Smith’s reports…


See
test video of the Mediterra --


Read Captain’s
Report --


See tests of all Doral boats --