Just like today’s sailing cruisers, the new generation of motorboats give you a lot of space for their length. David Harding spent some time on the Delphia 11 to see what else she has to offer

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Delphia 11: the roomy cruising boat you can just step on and go

Delphia 11: the roomy cruising boat you can just step on and go

Readers with long memories might recall the Delphia name in connection with a range of sailing yachts built in Poland and designed by the prolific Andrzej Skrzat.

I tested a fair few of them going back to 2004. Much has changed with Delphia since then.

The company is still based in Poland, but is now under the Beneteau umbrella and building motorboats: the Delphia 10, 11 and 12.

The latter two are available in a choice of ‘Sedan’ or ‘Flylounge’ (conventional or flybridge) configurations, and all come with either conventional Yanmar diesel engines or Torqeedo shaft-driving electric motors.

I went to meet the ‘Sedan’ version of the Delphia 11 at Tingdene’s Thames and Kennet Marina, just outside Reading, on what felt like one of the few warm and sunny days of 2024.

All the Delphias are clearly geared towards use on inland waters but, as the 11 meets the requirements for Category B under the RCD (Recreational Craft Directive), there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be used on coastal waters in the right conditions.

A Delphia 11 motor boat parked in a river

The roof of the top-deck accommodation extends well forward over the lower-deck cabins. Credit: David Harding

According to the brochure, ‘this boat allows you to cruise on all playground in calm weather.’

Around the coast of the UK at least, you would probably opt for diesel propulsion.

Given the current charging infrastructure, you might well do the same inland, so it was no surprise to find our test boat fitted with a Yanmar engine.

It’s a different situation in parts of mainland Europe, reflected in Delphia’s emphasis on electric power.

The company is also very keen on ‘sustainability’ and on stressing its green credentials, so if that’s important to you but you still need the practicality of a diesel engine, you can seek solace in Delphia’s reassurance that, for example, any wood on board comes from all the right places.

Delphia 11: A boat with pedigree

One point that any sailor (or ex-sailor) will notice immediately on glancing through the specifications is that the design is attributed to none other than Tony Castro (perhaps best known to PBO readers for the Spring 25, MG 335, Barracuda and SB20, as well as dozens of highly successful racing yachts, a good number of superyachts – sail and power – and production motorboats for builders including Geleon and Jeanneau).

That’s not a bad start for any boat.

Clearly, his brief from Delphia included maximising internal volume for the overall length, which goes a long way towards explaining the somewhat unconventional appearance.

In recent years we have become accustomed to seeing sailing yachts with progressively shorter overhangs (now often practically none, or even reverse rake to the stems).

The loss of buoyancy forward has been offset by higher freeboard to guard against nose-diving downwind.

Bow sections have become fuller as well over the past few years, partly to help counter the imbalance induced by broad sterns, partly to enhance their downwind performance and – importantly on a cruising boat – to create bigger forecabins.

A view of a river from a boat

Looking out: the view aft from the saloon, with the door and hatch to the cockpit both open. Credit: David Harding

Motorboats also need buoyancy forward when the waves are coming from astern.

Life can be more challenging with large waves behind you than when you’re heading into them, as anyone who regularly goes out on breezy days in open water can testify.

Hurtling down the front of a wave, reaching the trough and stuffing your bow into the back of the next one can be mildly disconcerting, to say the least.

That’s why motorboats designed for offshore use have traditionally had well-raked stems and plenty of flare in the bow sections.

If a boat doesn’t have those features, the buoyancy still has to come from somewhere.

In the case of the Delphia 11, it comes from forward sections that are notably full almost down to the waterline.

That gives much greater internal volume in relation to the length of the hull than would be the case with rake and flare, and it’s the internal space that sets the Delphia apart from earlier-generation motorboats.

The bow of a motor boat

Especially full hull sections create a large lounging area in the bow. Credit: David Harding

We will have a closer look at the interior later, but for now, let’s just say that it’s impressively big.

You have a large saloon, galley and helm station at cockpit level. Then, down a couple of steps, are up to three double cabins and two heads/shower compartments.

Sacrificing the guest cabin to port allows you to have a sizeable office space instead.

That’s all within a hull length of just under 33ft (9.99m), the total ‘box length’ being 35ft 4in (10.77m) including the optional moulded bowsprit with a telescopic boarding ladder.

One notable feature is the long roof to the upper-deck accommodation, extending well forward of the helm station and over the top of the lower-deck cabins.

At the helm, this means you’re a long way from the windscreen, though the large window area ensures good visibility.

The obvious benefits of this arrangement are roof space for mounting solar panels, and a large base for the flybridge if you choose the Flylounge version.

Power to cruise

Our test boat had the 150hp Yanmar, the 4LV150. If you’re happy with less power, you can have 57hp or 110hp.

Even the 150 won’t take you above displacement speed, though if you’re punching into a seaway around the coast it can be useful to have more horsepower to call on than you would need inland.

More horses can also help when you’re manoeuvring in strong winds.

On the other hand, on lakes, rivers and canals you will rarely have the opportunity to open the throttle all the way, and diesel engines do like to be made to work now and again.

You certainly wouldn’t need to settle for a smaller engine for inland use simply to save fuel.

A man sitting a the helm of the Delphia 11 motor boat on a river

Good visibility all round from the helm. Credit: David Harding

Delphia quotes the consumption at 8km/h (4.3 knots to most of us) as 1.2lt per hour. That’s nearly four hours – or just over 17 miles – to the gallon, and you would hardly know the engine was even running.

The 400lt (88gal) fuel tank should give you more than 330 hours, or a range of 1,400 miles.

On some planing powerboats of similar size, 400lt might keep you going for all of four hours.

Priorities are very different inland from on the sea, so it’s a tall order for a boat to be equally well suited to both environments.

Inland you’re generally better off with a displacement hull, because planing hulls often weave around at displacement speeds and, with less rocker and more deeply immersed transoms, they will typically kick up more wash.

If you want to travel at displacement speeds, a displacement hull makes more sense.

An engine on a boat

Access to the engine – in this case, the 150hp Yanmar – is via a hatch in the cabin sole. Credit: David Harding

Piling on the power won’t make it plane. On our test, we found that 2,500rpm gave between 6.5 and 7 knots.

Full chat was 3,500rpm, the last 1,000rpm pushing the bow up and the stern down to create much more wash while giving what felt like only a small increase in speed.

If you use trim tabs – recommended with the upgraded engines (110hp or 150hp) – the specification states a maximum of 9.4 knots.

With the electric motors (80hp/55kw), the quoted maximum is 8.9 knots.

You should be able to maintain 6.5 knots for between 2.5 and 5 hours depending on your choice of batteries.

When it comes to handling, the Delphia 11 makes life pretty straightforward. In ahead she calls for minimal correction at the wheel and naturally tends to run straight.

You can see all round from the helm seat on the starboard side. You can also open the door to the side deck if you want to, and poke your head out through the overhead hatch, though you’re unlikely to feel the need simply in the interest of seeing where you’re going.

Response from the hydraulic steering linked to the 24in wheel was positive.

A delphia 11 motor cruiser on a river

Chunky all-round rubbing strakes provide useful hull protection. Credit: David Harding

Our skipper, Bill van Bommel, whose experience covers more than 700 types of motorboat, demonstrated simple techniques for completing three-point turns with no drama or need for lots of revs or energetic steering.

The Delphia 11 responded well.

Thanks to her long keel, maintaining control in astern was inevitably more of a challenge.

There are techniques to employ there too, which will be familiar to owners of long-keeled sailing yachts.

Much of the time the bow-thruster can be kept in reserve – the approach advocated by Bill, who prefers to use it only when there’s little choice rather than to compensate for laziness or sloppy boat handling.

Equally, there are situations, such as squeezing into a tight berth, when you’d be hard-pressed without it.

the lounge of a motorb oat

Looking in: easy access to the saloon, or forward along the side decks. Credit: David Harding

On any boat, power or sail, it’s a good idea to practice manoeuvres in clear water and to determine which direction of turn is tighter.

The Delphia’s right-handed prop means that she turns more tightly to port in ahead and tends to kick to port in astern.

It’s often said that, for a sailor, it’s best to forget everything you know about boat handling under power and to start afresh when you step aboard a motorboat but, with long keels, there are still some similarities.

How the Delphia 11 would handle in a seaway is hard to tell. One might speculate that a boat with flared bow sections and a raked stem would be drier and, perhaps, more comfortable.

Most elements of boat design involve a degree of compromise somewhere.

Lifestyle comforts

To many people, especially on inland waters, the nuances of a boat’s handling qualities are likely to be of secondary significance to the things that really matter: space and comfort on deck and down below.

So how does the Delphia 11 measure up in those departments? Starting on deck, you find plenty of space for moving around and making yourself comfortable.

The long cabin top extends over the cockpit with its U-shaped seating at the aft end.

Stowage under the seats can also be reached via hatches that open onto the stern platform.

Saloon area of the Delphia 11 motorboat

In the saloon is a generous seating area around the table, with the galley aft to starboard. Credit: David Harding

Synthetic teak can be fitted to the platform for £4,000.

If you want it in the cockpit and along the aft sections of the side decks as far as the steps that take you up to the raised deck level further forward, it’s an extra £6,000.

Tubular guardrails run all the way to the bow from just abaft the steps, and a useful feature on the starboard side is a door in the topsides opposite the sliding door by the helm station, giving easy access straight into the saloon when you’re alongside.

Enclosing the cockpit when you want to keep the weather out is easy.

Two narrow doors are built into the aftermost corners of the cabin’s superstructure at the forward end of the cockpit.

Opening these reveals acrylic ‘curtains’ that pull out and run on tracks all the way around the sides and back of the hard-top to enclose the cockpit in its entirety.

The engine on a Delphia 11 boat

Lifting the sole in the cockpit and the aft end of the saloon reveals useful stowage space abaft the centrally-mounted engine. Credit: David Harding

The two halves meet in the middle at the aft end, are secured by poppers at the bottom and include large windows as well as zipped doors to the cockpit on each side.

Seating and relaxation space at the other end of the boat has been taken just as seriously.

The bow is almost as wide as the stern for a start, and only slightly rounded, so there’s a large area to play with.

A recess in the forward end of the coachroof accommodates cushions with cup holders and angled backrests.

You can even have a canopy over the bow. Delphia refers to each separate seating area as a ‘lounge’; hence Flylounge for the flybridge versions of the Delphia 11 and 12.

Back in the stern, the saloon can be opened into the cockpit so each becomes an extension of the other.

The door on the starboard side slides open. To port, a top-hinged window-cum-hatch extends from roof level down to the top of the half-height moulding that forms the aft end of the saloon and from inside which the TV pops up.

A double bed on a motor boat

The hull shape creates an enormous forecabin for a boat of this length. Credit: David Harding

The seating forward of this wraps around three sides of a table that’s 1.6m (5ft 3in) long (fore-and-aft) and 53cm (21in) wide.

You would normally be able to lift the table out, allowing the sole to be hinged up fully for access to the engine.

Our test boat was different – but due to be modified – so we could only hinge the sole up partially.

Access around the engine looked as though it should be pretty good. Abaft the engine is another compartment reached via a hatch in the sole.

Here you find the stern gland and exhaust muffler. This compartment extends aft beneath the cockpit and would swallow a fair few fenders.

On the starboard side at the aft end of the saloon is the galley.

It provides all the essentials, only it’s not immediately obvious why the oven is down at sole level rather than immediately below the hob.

A cabin on a motorboat

To port on the lower deck, the space can be used for an office or as a double cabin. Credit: David Harding

Forward of the galley is the helm station with its almost yacht-sized wheel and plenty of space for instruments.

Dropping down a couple of steps takes you to the lower deck, where you find the heads and shower to starboard.

The standard arrangement has a dedicated shower compartment abaft the heads, or you can have a second heads.

To port is an office or, as on our test boat, a double guest cabin.

A sink, toilet and shower on a motorboat

This is the main heads compartment, adjacent to the master cabin in the bow. Credit: David Harding

In the bow, the full hull sections create an exceptionally roomy forecabin, with an island berth, eye-level windows in the hull sides and large overhead hatches. Should you need more berths, the bow can be divided by a fore-and-aft bulkhead to create two smaller double cabins.

Mouldings are used extensively throughout, giving something of a ‘production boat’ feel, but the finish and timber trim are neat.

Our test boat was finished in white oak. Walnut is an alternative.

Verdict on the Delphia 11

As a boat that gives you easy handling on sheltered waters, combined with vast amounts of well-used space, the Delphia 11 has obvious appeal.

She’s thoroughly modern, with the looks to match, and she comes with many of the home comforts that you won’t always find on older boats.

You could buy something like a second-hand Broom 33, for example, for a fraction of the money and have twin engines big enough to give you a lot more knots for coastal or cross-channel cruising.

But such boats are less spacious below decks and might be over 30 years old. You could buy an older steel-hulled, semi-bespoke river cruiser dripping with hand-crafted joinery, also for a lot less money and again offering less space.

If you want features that you can only find on an up-to-the-minute design, and you want a brand-new boat that allows you to step on and go, the Delphia 11 might be a very appealing choice.

Details

Price:from £244,070
LOA:10.77m (35ft 4in)
Hull Length:9.99m (32ft 9in)
Beam:3.85m (12ft 8in)
Draught:0.80m (2ft 8in)
Minimum Engine Power:(diesel) 57hp
Maximum Engine Power:(diesel) 150hp
Maximum Engine Power:(electric) 80hp (55.10kW)
Fuel:400tl (88 gal)
Water:380lt (84 gal)
RCD Category:Category B
Designer:Tony Castro
UK Distributors: Burton Waters (www.burtonwaters.co.uk) & Tingdene Marinas & Boat Sales (www.tingdeneboating.com)