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How many express cruisers have you seen lately that can lay claim to a bright, open, well-ventilated interior? Although we’re living in an age that touts innovative marine design, these days many of our sporty midrange express cruisers proffer the same long, tubular, gloomy, virtually airless interiors that first characterized the genre years ago, despite the liberal usage of opening hatches and skylights.
Here’s good news, though. Examine these photos of Regal’s 2860 Window Express, paying special attention to the forward portion of the stylish, reverse-sheer profile. Notice the pair of large, flush-fit, cat’s-eye windows that are located in the cabin sides, just below the Taylor Made windshield. Then notice the dark, mask-like band across the cabin’s leading edge—it contains two more large, flush-fit windows cleverly installed to give them a more upward-facing (read: light-collecting) orientation. Tap into an express-style interior with these four sunbeaming beauties, as well as a big Bomar foredeck hatch and a couple of opening ports in the hull sides, and you’ve got some seriously upbeat living spaces. To heck with gloominess!
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Other features add to the felicity quotient. For starters, although the 2860’s interior layout is conventional, with a midcabin aft, a U-shape convertible dinette forward, and head/galley/lounging area in between, it’s got some savvy touches. The absence of filler cushions to fool with when converting the LeatherCrest-upholstered dinette for sleeping is an excellent example—you use the seat backs! Another example is the midcabin’s practicality. Its mattress is thick, queen-size, and eminently snoozable, and the space is genuinely useful, thanks to sit-up headroom (for a person of my 5’11” stature), a privacy curtain, a screened, opening port at the head of the berth, reading lights, and a couple of near-duffle-bag-size lockers to nix the unconscionable practice of retiring amongst one’s personal effects.
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Nice home afloat. Stylist outside...bright and cheery inside. And capable of doing well over 40 mph should the weather pipe up. |
The cockpit’s pretty darn practical as well. Thanks to a nifty flip-flop seat back and a fold-down bench along the transom, the after seating arrangement to port does triple duty as either a traditional aft-facing/forward-facing lounge, a dinette area with hi-lo table, or (with an assist from the table and filler cushions, which stow easily in a slot-like gunwale locker) a whopping sunpad. And if multifaceted componentry doesn’t do it for you, consider the Corian countertop-equipped wet bar (with removable 36-gallon Igloo cooler) to starboard and the integrated radar arch with lights and speakers. Fun-friendly? Oh, yeah!
Of course, even sunpad enthusiasts need to zoom off into the sunset occasionally. And to get a better handle on how the 2860’s engine room is laid out, take another look at the photo gallery. Obviously, entry is gained easily via an electro-hydraulic engine-hatch actuator. But wrench-swinging room inside is limited, mostly due to the jam-up presence of two V-6s, an optional 6-kW Kohler genset, mechanicals for the VacuFlush MSD system, poly tankage for water, batteries, battery charger, and lots of wire runs. Still, maintenance access to most everything seems reasonable once the hatch is powered all the way up.
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