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Paul Spencer has been building sleek sportboats since 1996. It seems that each one that splashes behind his factory in Wanchese, North Carolina, turns out prettier than the last. While Spencer builds look great, they run even better. Ask owners what they like most about them, and I’ll bet they’ll say, “The ride.” Some like the ride so much that they keep building new ones. I recently checked out Spencer’s latest 80, Flight Plan, the fourth Spencer built by a discerning, loyal owner. Based out of Hillsboro Inlet, Florida, Flight Plan will fish the Atlantic, while her sistership, a 74 of the same name, makes its home in the Pacific.
I’ve crawled on thousands of boats, and I always enjoy checking out ones built by experienced owners. Nothing exists solely for looks or because it sounded cool. Good reason lies behind every choice. This boat is no exception, fully custom and built by an owner who knows what they’re doing and fishes hundreds of days per year all over the world.
Cockpit and Interior
The cockpit, as expected in an 80-foot boat, is massive. The mezzanine features a table and a beautiful curved sofa with molded cup holders and backrest AC. The bulkhead is painted in faux teak. A radio remote hidden beneath the armrest of the couch adds to the clean look. Flush speakers blend into the ceiling overhead. The step features freezer space, a drink box and a cavernous ice dump, and a hidden livewell sits just forward of the tackle center, which also has a grill fitted on top of it. A custom BlueWater rocket launcher sits centered in the deck. The stanchion of the rocket launcher features a hidden hose outflow with quick disconnect and livewell connections built into the deck plate to keep the deck as clean as possible. A generous fish box is centered in the transom.
Moving into the salon, the dark-blue granite countertops with purple and white accents immediately catch your eye. They are fitted on top of a center island with wraparound counter space. Situated in front of the center island are two custom BlueWater bar stools. A full bar, with that same fun granite and a beautiful teak bar top, sits on the starboard side and includes two full-back bar stools. A custom backlit compass rose is affixed to the front of the bar. The bar area also features an ice machine, a wine cooler, a beverage fridge and its own sink. A large TV is mounted on the forward bulkhead above the bar appliances.
The salon features an L-shaped sofa and a custom expandable BlueWater coffee table, which can be folded out to act as a full dining table. An additional two-person sofa—which also serves as a tackle storage center with fitted, custom vertical slide-outs to accommodate 20 Plano boxes—is located to the starboard side. Additionally, a day head offers convenience in the starboard aft corner next to the salon door.
Moving into the galley, you’ll find several Wolf appliances, including an induction cooktop and a full-size oven. Above, a Viking microwave is hidden behind the beautiful custom teak cabinetry. Six Subzero slide-out refrigerators and freezers sit across from each other, tucked under the center island and portside countertops. A stainless sink is in the corner. A generous pantry sits forward of the galley with plenty of space for snacks for long trips.
The master stateroom is situated to the port side with plenty of room to move freely around the queen-size bed. Custom closets are located aft, and the starboard closet door hides the transducer lift for the Furuno omni sonar. Positioning the lift there makes service a breeze and frees up space in the engine room. A large master head sits forward with a nice shower and vanity countertops to match those in the salon and galley. Across from the master is a massive laundry room and electrical center, with a full-size washer and dryer located beneath a fold-out table. The breaker panels sit hidden behind teak cabinetry.
Located midship are mirrored twin bunk rooms on both sides. They both feature a lower double bunk and a single upper bunk, a nice touch for hosting couples. Two additional staterooms sit forward, oriented Jack and Jill style. Each features its own door but shares a guest head located all the way forward. The portside room features two single-stacked bunks for crew, while the starboard room is captain style with a single double bunk. Bilge access for the forward bilge area, which also features shelves built to house and secure plastic storage bins, lies beneath the deck just aft of the forward staterooms. This area is also a convenient location to store the boat’s four Dometic AC condensing units outside of the heat of the engine room.
Engine Room and Bridge
Climbing down into the engine room, monster MTU M96 16V motors putting out 2,600 hp per side take center stage. Twin Northern Lights 38 kW generators sit aft of the motors. Forward sits a Seakeeper 26 stabilizer with tool storage, a Spot Zero SeaXchange system, an ElectroSea and multiple pumps located neatly above. The tunnel houses horizontal storage for gaffs, tag sticks and harpoons. A nearby manifold controls the various livewells above in the cockpit, all fed by a Pentair pump with plenty of power to circulate the six options fed by the manifold. Additional storage is available back in the lazarette with the Optimus steering system.
Up on the bridge, three BlueWater helm seats with diamond-patterned gray-and-white cushions with navy piping sit in front of the large helm console. Three large Garmin MFDs, one 22-inch model and two 17-inch models, are situated at the helm, along with the MTU displays, Garmin autopilot controller and Garmin data screen. Tucked neatly in the flip-up boxes are the VHF radios, Furuno omni controller and helm toggle switches. An additional Furuno display for one of the two radars sits above the helm. Dual radars have become commonplace on large sport-fish boats since they allow crews to see distant and close targets simultaneously.
The rest of the bridge is fitted with bench seating on both sides and a large lounger forward of the console. Plenty of storage exists under the seating. Two additional freezers are located forward of the bridge under flip-up doors. Above the helm is additional rod storage located under two large flip-down storage areas. This boat also features a full Palm Beach Tower with a 10-foot gap and another full set of controls up top with a 12-inch display. The owner opted to go with the Starlink antenna for true high-speed internet nearly anywhere in the world.
Performance
Shoving off from her home dock, a stone’s throw away from the Hillsboro Inlet, we headed offshore to stretch her legs and see what she could do. Admittedly, it was a chamber of commerce day offshore, with light winds and 1-foot seas. While conditions couldn’t really test that Spencer ride, we got to see one of the other qualities for which Spencer is known—speed. Capt. Chris Meek nudged her throttles forward, and the 80-footer leaped up and out the water like a sports car. We easily jogged down the beach at 36 knots, which was the cruise speed at 80 percent load and turning 2,050 rpm with all three turbos engaged. At cruise, we saw fuel consumption of 196 gph. Pulling back slightly to an economical cruise, we clocked 32 knots at 1,750 rpm or 75 percent load. At this speed we were burning 158 gph.
When I asked Meek to push them forward, she really started to sing. We flew up and then back down the beach with an average top end of 45.5 knots at full-rated rpm of 2,450, burning 266 gph. We both grinned as she sizzled down the beach and left all other boats headed back to the inlet in her wake. What an impressive machine, and with speeds like that, she certainly felt as if she was about to take flight.
Spencer 80 Specs
- LOA: 80’
- Beam: 21’
- Draft: 5’8”
- Displ: 130,000 LB
- Fuel: 3,300 gal.
- Water: 400 gal.
- Power: Twin MTU M96 16V, 2,600 HP
- Gear/Ratio: ZF 2.5:1
- Propellers: CJR 42.5X62
- Paint: Imron by Axalta Matterhorn White
- Climate Control: DOMETIC
