Boats

Performance of Spencer 69

By Gary Caputi

Updated: November 24, 2015

Spencer 69

This is a popular size for Spencer because it’s big enough to travel anywhere your fishing exploits take you but fast and nimble enough to be a genuine threat in tournaments. This one was built with input from her master, North Carolina native Daniel “Backlash” Davis, one of the most experienced sport-fishing captains on the water today. He had concerns that stem from the fact that the vessel will be making trips to the Pacific and back. “I went all Caterpillar,” Davis says. “Engines, generators, even engine controls, because if something requires service or parts, there are Cat distributors almost everywhere, and it’s one-stop shopping. If I had another brand of generators and controls, tracking down service providers could become a nightmare outside the United States.” Courtesy Spencer Yachts

Engine Room of Spencer 69

The heart of Inappropriate is her engine room. It houses the twin C32 ACERT diesels paired to ZF transmissions and a matching set of Cat C2.2 21.5 kw generators. There’s plenty of room to access the engines, Racor filters, priming pumps and all the support systems housed there. There’s a Dometic Spot Zero water-polishing system, a backup transfer pump to move fuel from the center storage tank to the outboard feeder tanks, a Stingray raw-water pump for the transom livewell, a desalinization unit, a Dometic ice maker and a Mach5 freshwater pump that draws from two 200-gallon freshwater tanks. Courtesy Spencer Yachts

Performance of Spencer 69

Unfortunately, Oregon Inlet was all but closed after recent storms, so we opted not to run aground trying to navigate it with the new boat and did some speed and handling runs on the sound. Having fished other Spencer boats of similar size, and knowing that the hull dynamics on this one were relatively unchanged from earlier builds, I am confident in saying that it will please the most demanding captain under almost any sea conditions. Out on the sound, Davis throttled up, and the boat accelerated at a surprising rate, quickly racing to 37 knots at 2,000 rpm, burning 140 gallons per hour. There was a profusion of crab-pot buoys, and Davis began a series of quick-handling maneuvers to avoid them, with the boat responding in sports-car-like fashion to every input from the helm. Want more speed? You’ve got it. Pushed to full throttle, the big Spencer almost pins you to the seat on its way to 43 knots, ridiculously fast for a vessel of this size yet the hull handles it with ease. Davis reported the boat was as nimble in reverse as it was in forward, so chasing a hot blue marlin is almost ho-hum easy. The boat carves tight turns with ease, and the combination of speed and handling left a smile on my face. Courtesy Spencer Yachts

More: Boat Engines, Sport Fishing Boats

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