Just Listed and at SBM now and OMG what a Weapon! 2009 Midnight Express Fwd Cabin Model. For those boaties who are after a serious fun toy that will turn heads, be the most awesome Harbour escape vehicle and or at the same time provide the ultimate platform to chase hard core Pelagic offshore - the Marlin season is not far away!
Want to know more? Enjoy the article below!
A mobile phone rings, the photographic boat is on its way, and its skipper asks where we are hiding? With a rush of blood, I have slipped into the saddle on the Midnight 37, bridled its 3 x 300hp outboard engines, tugged on the reins, and given them a boot full. Quick as that, we are now some distance up the coast from Sydney. There's been nigh a bang, jolt, or lick of spray. This is power boating at its finest.
"See you in five," is our reply before calling on the 900 horses to propel us back from where we came. I draw a line under the towering sandstone cliffs that stand guard to Sydney Harbour. The water flows deep by their weedy edge, but it's more of a test due to the waves bouncing back off the rock platforms. Even in calm seas, it's a washing machine in here. Not that you would realise doing 40 kts cruise on the Midnight.
Indeed, "see you in five" is a fitting catchcry for the Midnight 37. With 3 x 300hp Mercury supercharged Verado outboard engines snorting astern - yes, you heard it right, as one person put it to me on a triple-rig some years ago, pigs at the trough - you are never far from anywhere. And while you might draw breath at the thought of 3 outboards, the thing is it's not like you're clocking up too many operating hours on this point-and-shoot rocket ship.
We range from Sydney's CBD to Manly in roughly five minutes, but once comfortable with the triple setup I put this pursuit boat to the offshore test. Impressively, in seas of about a metre all round, it's not like you have to back off. In fact, I take it up a notch.
With a tweak of the sports wheel, we bound offshore to Fairy Bower, an oceanic roadstead at the southern end of famous Manly Beach, arriving in the blink of a couple of watering eyes and with barely a feather out of place. The Midnight 37 is just so well behaved it makes you want to take to sea. And with that all kinds of options open up.
Palm Beach is a 15-20 minute run from Sydney; Jervis Bay or Port Stephens is less than two hours away; Tangalooma would be a short run from the Gold Coast; and you could make lightning raids on places all over Port Phillip Bay, the SA Gulfs, and WA. Talk about tackling the tyranny of distance. What's more, given the precious commodity called time, this boat actually makes sense.
BUSTING THE BADDIES
But in the case of Midnight Boats, truth is stranger than fiction. The story goes that a South American drug lord began building the boats in the 1980s. Word got around that they could outrun the US drug enforcement agencies and, after a couple of quick deals, the boats were in hot demand by fellow drug runners.
When the original owner was finally busted, the US Government gave him an ultimatum: build the boats for us or we throw away the key. They got the company, and he got to walk. The moulds were sold off some time later to American owners and, nowadays, clean-living civilians are given the chance to jump behind the wheel.
Thus, it's testimony to the unsinkable performance that Midnights still covet respect among law-enforcement agencies and those they pursue on the high seas. The US Navy and customs are among the government agencies who have fleets of the specially-made 39-foot Interceptors fitted with quads - although five outboards aren't unheard of - usually a 50mm machine gun, and a brig.
Designed for nothing more than the pursuit of pleasure, the 37 has it all and more . When the mood strikes, say on a sunny Sunday, the Midnight makes reaching the weekender a snap and certainly outruns the terrestrial traffic. But unlike a lot of multi-engine, point-and-shoot boats I have driven - Scarabs, Hydrasports, Boston Whalers, Contenders (we left on in our wake on the day), Wellcrafts, Black watch, et al - the Midnight also wows with impeccable manners.
ON RAILS
Offshore, there is no chine walking that requires a correction on the wheel, no over or under steering, nothing untoward. Here, speed comes with control. Dare I say, almost anyone can drive it. And fast. Another nice thing is that, at these speeds, the spray is left behind. Thanks also to an additional spray rail high up the hull sides, you get an exceptional dry ride.
When you advance the throttles, the 37 shoots forward nice and level and, as such, there's never any loss of vision. That's quite some achievement with the weight of 3 four-stroke outboards on the tail and it points to the great wet-track form of the special twin-stepped hull.
While the twin-stepped hull is designed to break free of the water and reduce drag, it doesn't get unnecessarily airborne. In fact, it's a real effort getting hang time in the bouncy water below North Head. Cruising at 35-40 knots , the boat wants to stay connected. When the 3 whirring props finally break free, it's only for a split second before they bite and, thus, there's no real loss of speed.
With a deep-vee with 22degrees of dead rise, the hull cleaves the waves. But and as there's very little boat above the waterline, it remains stable underfoot. Abundant non-skid mouldings and rails where you reach for them add to the surefooted ride offshore.
Meanwhile, to handle the loads of high-speed offshore boating, the hull is built using composite materials: hand laid fibreglass over a strong Nida-Core (polypropylene) honeycomb core, pulled together via vacuum bagging. There is also a bonded interlocking stringer system and a hull and decks joined to create a monocoque or one-piece structure that doesn't shake, rattle or roll.
Compared with some, the lithe hull isn't exactly a lightweight, weighing in at 6800kg, with the 3 outboards accounting for an additional 850kg. But it's this and the hull design that helps keep this boat in the water at speed. And, as such, you're not battling to hold on as you get airborne. It's smooth and fast, predictable BUT fun.
FULL-BORE UTE
Although a point-and-shoot boat, there's a degree of utility about the Midnight 37 . The ride comfort and seating are such that you can carry a crowd and be first to the best anchorages. But given the distances you can cover, I'm imaging you will be exploring a lot of places where dayboaters and the hoi polloi otherwise fail to reach. Distant ports of call, offshore islands and upriver boltholes are all on the cards. The adventurer really is spoilt for choice.
Once you arrive at your destination, anchoring duties are taken care of by a push-button windlass. It's then that the 37 aims to please with its plush bow adult-length sunpads or daybeds.
Like all good centre consoles the sub-floor area is a catacomb of storage, plus there's storage under the moulded seat bases. Most of the hatches are lined, while some are fully insulated so as to double as fish or drink boxes. Shade comes gratis courtesy of a robust Bimini top built on a powder-coated aluminium frame. 3 sided clears made out of strata glass keep all the wind and any spary away almost to the point it is an enclosed helm area.
HELM SETUP
The helm is fitted with a two-person lounge built over an amenities nature. The awesome dash was replete with digital and analogue engine gauges, two big Garmin screens with GPS chart plotting, sounder and radar functions, trim tab controls and among other things like the windlass and spotlight remotes. She is also fitted with night vision and side power bow thruster.
The race-type trim tabs were used to effect offshore, with a touch of tab keeping us glued to the water, and a touch of opposing tab keeping us on an even keel when travelling fast beam-on to the wind and waves, but by and large the boat runs in fine fettle without them.
Predictably, there was an impressive clarion sound system, a TV & DVD player, so you could watch a movie on the dash if you felt so inclined. The boat is highly optioned.
BULLSEYE
With 3 x 350hp outboards purring astern, we attracted plenty of looks on Sydney Harbour. Inevitably, the boat is something of a police magnet, too. But as the owners aren't the criminal type, the local constabulary are more inclined to wave than pull them over these days. They have already grown tired from doing that several times, I'm told. Rather than being about speed and pose, the Midnight is more about finely tuned performance and poise.
GENERAL
Material: Vacuum-bagged composite
Type: Deep-vee, twin-stepped planing hull
Length overall: 11.15m
Beam: 3.45m
Draft: <1M
Weight: 6350kg (hull only)
CAPACITIES
Births: 4
Fuel: 2200lt
Water: 265lt
ENGINES
Make/model: 3 x Mercury Verado outboards 300 4 Stroke
Type: Supercharged straight-six cylinder, 24-valve four-stroke outboards
Props: Stainless steel
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