Let's say you want to build a powerboat and do some cruising on a tight budget. You're in no particular rush, but you do want some independence. You like doing a few hours a day on the water, then checking out a new seaside town for a while. You hate hanging around the fuel dock. You're happy with the speed of sailboats, but you motor most of the time anyway. You want enough space to live aboard for a few months, but you also want a boat that's small enough to avoid undue attention from folks who want your money.

If that sounds like you, the Bonaventure 570 just might be your boat. At 2.9 tonnes loaded and just 5.7 m (18'7") long, she can be towed over land by any pickup truck and will fit in a 20' shipping container. With a balanced, double-ended full displacement hull, she can carry a huge load of provisions with ease, and will be far more comfortable in rough seas than just about any other powerboat of this length.

Her lines include a substantial box skeg for directional stability and to get the engine down low. Lacking a transom, she'll be able to take considerably bigger seas on the stern than most 19-footers, but she still has enough bearing aft to keep from squatting at speed when she's loaded down with gear. A flat keel, 70 cm wide at midship, is armoured and ballasted with 25 mm (1") steel plate so that she can take the ground at will. 12 kW (16 hp) will give her a 5 knot top speed with plenty of power on tap for punching into a head wind. (For those who want more speed, longer versions are on the way.)

Her commercial-style pilothouse offers standing headroom for a proper helm station and a galley large enough to actually cook in. Under the foredeck, a V-berth / dinette can seat four for lunch, or can sleep two. On passage, lee cloths will keep the off-watch crew in place; in harbour, a filler cushion turns this area into a comfortable landlubber-size double berth. The front of the engine can be checked from inside the cabin, and a large hatch in the cockpit sole allows easy access to the entire powertrain without dismantling any furniture. Her hull is divided into sealed compartments by watertight bulkheads, some of which also form her large integral fuel tanks.

She'll be designed for one-off construction in cold moulded wood. Her structural and construction drawings are currently being prepared, and will be available as stock plans.