Larger than expected, this sporty family cruiser will be widely accepted.

Doral’s newest 26’ cruiser, the Venezia, is anything but your typical pocket cruiser.

Stepping aboard the wide built-in swim platform, in front of the port-side walk-thru transom, the first thing you’ll notice is the lack of side-to-side motion so often found in boats of this size.  Mid-twenty foot cruisers typically have an eight foot beam.  Not the Venezia.  The Doral designers gave her a wider and more stable 9’ 6” beam – and the difference is far more than a foot and a half would indicate.

Underneath the hardtop and Sunbrella Seamark canvas, the cockpit opens wide with a large l-shaped lounge to starboard that’ll seat a full family: five to six for dinner or card games around a large single pedestal table.  Forward, you’ll find a double-wide helm seat with twin flip-up bolsters, and to port a sunlounger with rear and forward facing seat backs. 

There’s tons of storage under all the seats and the wetbar, and more storage in the “garage” in the transom. The single level fiberglass floor of our test boat was covered with a very nautical teak and holly pattern marine-grade Aquatrac carpet with no-skid backing.  Regardless of the weather, the Venezia’s cockpit will be bright and airy feeling thanks to the full side curtains featuring tons of clear vinyl …. and colour-coded zippers for when you have to get the canvas up fast.  The entire aft-portion of the cockpit floor raises hydraulically to provide very generous access to the engine compartment.

The helm features black-on-grey Faria gauges set into a mahogany and grey gelcoat console, a sharp 3-spoke mahogany-on-chrome wheel, piles of leg and foot room and a well-placed footrest.  Behind the white powered-coated windshield frame, there’s great visibility seated or standing and well over six feet of headroom.  Add a 12-volt power-point outlet, a functional-sized chart table, a remote searchlight, a Clarion AM/FM CD stereo and a digital depth and water temperature gauge…and there’s still room to add your own fishfinder or GPS.  The wide steps up to the walk-thru windshield are just to starboard of the lightly-smoked sliding door to the cabin, and eliminate the need to sidewalks allowing the designers to utilize the full beam for increased living space in both the cockpit and cabin.

Up on the fore deck, there’s a double-wide sunning area behind the forward hatch, and room for four adults to sit and soak up the summer sun while the kids swim and jump off the bow.

Down below, the grey counter-top of the well- equipped galley lies to port and features a moulded-in single sink, single burner electric stove, microwave, and 12V/110V fridge.  The wide beam shows it’s usefulness once again in the larger-than-normal head to starboard and by making room for a large round dinette that will again seat five or six for dinner below on cooler evenings.  The vacuflush head also features a large vanity surface with storage underneath and hot and cold shower. The dinette converts quickly to a double berth that is great for kids – especially with the flat screen TV!  The adults will likely prefer the larger double berth in the aft cabin behind a privacy curtain to port.  The entire cabin is light and open, finished in soft neutral upholstery with cherry wood accents.

Performance wise, the wide beam really shines again with the increased area of the running surface helping the Volvo 8.1 Gi duo prop in our test boat to have the Venezia’s 7,000 lbs up on plane in just 4.1 seconds.  Trimmed right out with a light chop on Kempenfelt Bay, I recorded a smile-inducing top speed of 53 mph at 4800rpm.  A comfortable cruising speed would be about 30 mph at 3000 rpm, but I found I could keep the Venezia on plane down to about 26 mph at 2600 rpm.  If the plan is to use this boat for water sports and a weekend liveaboard, then kids of all ages aboard both tubes and skis will love the tight turns the Venezia made without noticeably losing speed.  It would be easy to forget you’re piloting a cruiser, as the Venezia responds to helm control input in much the same way a large runabout does.

As I sat floating in the middle of the bay and making notes, I found myself asking “just how long is this boat again?” because not just the illusion of space, but the actual and useable living space of the Venezia was indicative of a larger (read longer) cruiser.  What with marinas usually charging by the foot for dock space, launch and haul, and winter storage, Doral’s new Venezia is sure to provide a lot more beam-for-your-buck for many seasons to come.

SPECIFICATIONS:
LOA:                                    26’ 5”            /    8.05  M                                   
Beam:                                    9’ 4”            /    2.84  M
Weight:                        7000 lbs. / 3181 KG
Fuel:                                    75 gal.  /   284 L
Water:                                    30 gal.              /    114  L
Deadrise:                        18º           
Power As Tested:            Volvo Penta 8.1 (375hp) Gi DP

WOT                           53 mph @ 4800 rpm
0-plane                         4.1 seconds
0-20                             5.2 seconds
0-30                             8.12 seconds
Cruising Speed            30mph @ 3000 rpm

For more information contact:
Doral Boats
1991 3rd Avenue
Grand Mere, PQ, G6T 2W6
1-819-538-0781
www.doralboat.com

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