Windy SR38 first boat: Norwegian brand aiming for a slice of adventure boat market
Windy is developing a brand new 38ft walkaround model in a bid to grab itself a bigger slice of the lucrative adventure boat market, called the Windy SR38…
The new model will be offered with inboard and outboard engines to maximise its appeal. Inboard power will come from a pair of Volvo Penta D6-440 DPI diesel sterndrives. However, it is the outboard-powered version which is expected to be the bigger seller due to the extra performance and storage space it offers.
With the biggest-twin 450hp Yamaha XTO V8s or 400hp Mercury Verado V10s it should be capable of 48 knots and 46 knots respectively. As with the recent Windy 37 Shamal and Windy 34 Alizé models, the exterior styling is by Espen Øino, the Norwegian designer best known for his work with German superyacht builder Lürssen.
The interior, meanwhile, is from British studio Design Unlimited, which also does many of Sunseeker’s. The most distinctive element of the Windy SR38 is a new semi-enclosed hard top linking the windscreen to a pair of contrasting radar arches amidships.
In conjunction with fully glazed side panels and sliding doors on either side of the helm station, it provides full protection for the entire front half of the cockpit. The other big news is a pair of folding aft bulwarks that drop down to expand the deck space at the more exposed end of the cockpit.
There’s bathing platform access to the water here as well as a sunpad on both inboard and outboard variants. Outboard models also benefit from a large lazarette beneath the sunpad, which will accommodate docking stations for a pair of Sea Bobs.
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Amidships, an L-shaped sofa to starboard with a folding table that expands to meet the facing bench seat creates a big sociable dining area. The standard layout below deck features an open plan cuddy cabin forward with a convertible U-shaped dinette in the bow and a separate heads and shower compartment amdships.
It will be possible to specify a separate forward cabin with a permanent double berth for those who want it. The Windy SR38 will make its debut at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.
“Just when I thought Axopar, Nimbus and Saxdor had the market for 40ft adventure boats all sewn up, Windy comes along and blows the whole thing wide open again,” comments MBY editor Hugo Andreae. “If this new Windy SR38 drives as well as the Alizé 34, and comes to market at a half sensible price, it could even be the best of the lot.”
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