Grand Banks Adds the GB65, Its Fifth Model in a 30 Foot Band of Its Own Range

Grand Banks has introduced the GB65 Skylounge, a long range cruiser the Stuart, Florida builder positions as equally suited to expedition cruising, sportfishing and family use. The new model joins a lineup that already includes the GB54, GB60, GB62 and GB85, all launched since 2017 under the same design philosophy.

The GB60 debuted in 2017 and set the current direction: passagemaking that did not trade speed for efficiency. Grand Banks says the GB54, GB62 and GB85 extended that approach, and the GB65 continues it rather than replacing it. CEO and chief designer Mark Richards frames the goal as passagemakers that cruise efficiently at higher speeds in a seakindly, comfortable way, tuned to each owner's specific use of the boat.

What the GB65 does not do is introduce new hull technology. Grand Banks' V-Warp construction, the proprietary combination of hull form, materials and build process behind the line's fuel efficiency, is already used on every current Grand Banks launch, according to the release itself. The GB65 is a new size running an established platform, not a new platform. That makes this launch less a technical story than a range one: Grand Banks now covers 54, 60, 62, 65 and 85 feet, five sizes inside a 30 foot band, with the newest one landing directly between two already published models.

Built around how owners actually cruise

The clearest difference between the GB60 and the GB65 sits in the salon, which gains four feet of length, with the cockpit adding one more. On the first hull, the owner expanded the galley with an upright refrigerator and additional storage. The nineteen foot, two inch beam gives the amidships master stateroom room for a king sized berth, an en suite and ample storage, while a VIP stateroom sits forward with its own en suite, natural light and ventilation.

The starboard stateroom is built to be reconfigured rather than fixed: Grand Banks offers it as a multiple berth cabin with en suite, an onboard office, or a utility room with extra refrigeration, a washer and dryer, an athwartships berth and hanging locker space. The galley sits aft, which the builder says makes provisioning easier before departure and keeps the interior connected to the cockpit, grill and outdoor entertaining areas once underway.

A hull tuned for a quiet, efficient ride

Grand Banks attributes the GB65's ride to V-Warp Technology, a hull built with a precise resin to fiber ratio using unidirectional and multi axial carbon fiber, then fused directly to the bulkheads, deck and superstructure. Standard power is twin Volvo D13 engines rated at 1,000 horsepower each on straight shafts; the first Skylounge carries twin 1,000 horsepower Volvo IPS 1350 units instead, which push the boat past 30 knots. At 50 percent load, Grand Banks says the 65 cruises at 20 knots while burning 37 gallons an hour, with a range of 2,344 nautical miles at a 10 knot cruise. In one figure the builder highlights directly, decibel readings in the master stateroom at a 28 knot cruise came in at 70 dBA, against a normal conversation level of 64 dBA.

What comes next

Grand Banks frames the GB65 as flexible by design: the cockpit can shift from an entertaining space to an offshore fishing platform or an expedition staging area for diving, paddleboards and kayaks, and the interior layout can be configured around how an individual owner actually uses the boat. The release also references a Flybridge version of the 65 alongside the Skylounge, though only the Skylounge's specifications are detailed here.

None of that answers the more basic question a fifth size in a 30 foot band raises: whether GB65 buyers are choosing this boat over a GB62 or GB60 because of what it does differently, or simply because the finer the range gets sliced, the easier it becomes to sell a client on the one size that matches their exact brief.