BOAT REVIEW Integrity 380 Flybridge

Weeks of rain, strong winds and a hefty earthquake in North Canterbury; one could hardly call spring’s environmental conditions benign.
Then the very day we’re scheduled to test the Integrity 380 Flybridge Hughie sends us one out of the box – glorious sun, a gentle breeze and the Waitimata Harbour sparkling at its best.
Our test boat on this wonderful day is the Integrity 380 Flybridge, the flybridge version of the 380 Sedan which has been around a couple of years now.
Integrity launches are built by Chinese company Jianghua Marine and most of its models, including this one, are pure displacement hulls aimed at the baby boomer market in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.
Handling and performance
Wayne Baston from Laurie Collins is the New Zealand agent and he pilots us smoothly out of Westhaven Marina making it look easy. Once out on the harbour my first impressions from the helm is how similar the Integrity feels to the old Warwick 36, it has that same ship-like, no-nonsense feel.
The relatively beamy, displacement hull’s speed sweet spot seems to be around eight knots, which in calm water is achieved at 1,800 rpm, just shy of where the engine develops its maximum torque. At 1,800 rpm fuel consumption is 19.5 litres per hour (lphr), so at this speed a fully-fuelled Integrity should cover around 420nm. That’s plenty for coastal New Zealand coastal conditions.

Pushing the engine harder to its maximum 2,600 rpm reveals the limitations of a displacement hull; boat speed lifts to 10.2 knots while fuel consumption doubles to 59 lphr. Those last 800 revs are best kept in reserve for punching into adverse conditions.
Experimenting with the Integrity’s handling while performing for the camera boat proved it to be docile, predictable and easily-handled, the hydraulic steering making light work of helming.

As Baston demonstrates, docking the Integrity 380 is a walk in the park as it’s fitted with both bow and stern thrusters as standard and one can walk the boat through 360 degrees on the same spot in either direction at will. This boat will make any skipper look good at docking time.
Accommodation
 Apparently the Australian Integrity dealer has had considerable input into the styling, layout and fit out, and the results are stylish and easy to live with. Our test boat is privately owned and has been fitted with numerous optional extras over the standard model.

Top of that options list, no pun intended, is a GRP flybridge hardtop mounted on substantial stainless steel brackets with clears to make it fully enclosed. While it’s a practical and pragmatic fitment, it does make the boat look top heavy and some may prefer the standard folding canvas bimini aesthetically.
On the flybridge aft deck to port houses another optional extra, an RIB inflatable and electric davit crane. The ladder access between flybridge and cockpit was excellent, nice wide steps and good handholds.

The cockpit is a beauty; the overhead roof provides excellent sun protection and there’s generous seating around the offset table. Beneath the cockpit floor is a massive hull width locker for the likes of diving and fishing gear.
Cockpit and main saloon are separated by twin glass panels hinging down from the ceiling on gas struts, combined with a waist-high glass door that slides back into the galley return.
The saloon has an L-shaped galley to port, with the dining table and seating area opposite. The galley is an all-electric one with twin burner cooktop and oven, which means there’s no need for LPG aboard.

Forward to starboard is the lower helm station with the main instrument display in front of the helm with the usual array of electronics and the Raymarine MFD taking pride of place. The main electrical switchboard is under the helm seat and the area opposite houses a pop-up, flat-panel TV.
Beneath the saloon floor is the engine room, accessed through lift-up floor panels. The white John Deere engine adds a classy touch, and there’s generous room either side for servicing. Fuel and water tanks are outboard against the hull sides.
Going forward, four steps down from the main cabin there’s a double cabin to port, while the ablutions compartment opposite has a glass door separating the WC from the shower to contain the showering water.

The owner’s cabin right forward has a substantial island berth with a hanging locker to port. Under the berth is a 200-litre reserve water tank, which can be pumped into the main tanks if they run dry.
The Integrity’s build quality seemed great, the holly and teak joinery fits were excellent and from what could be seen the wiring and other detailing was neatly laid out.
 Engineering
The Integrity 380 is powered by a John Deere 6068SFM50, a straight six, 6.8 litre, turbo-charged, after-cooled diesel, driving a five-bladed propeller through a ZF gearbox. Besides the John Deere, the other main item in the engineering department is an Onan 7kW generator located beneath the rear cockpit floor, aft of the engine.

An invertor supplies 240v power so standard household appliances such as toasters can be used, and of course it also powers the stove, hot plate and refrigeration.
Other options fitted by the owners included air-conditioning, remote anchor windlass operation and a Salt-A-Way engine flush system.
 Design and construction
Hulls and superstructure are solid GRP, with the main hull featuring imitation planking seams. The cabin roof is a vacuum-bagged Nydacore GRP sandwich.
The Integrity 380 has a relatively beamy hull, and while it’s less easily-driven than a traditionally slim-displacement hull, it does provide excellent interior volume and stability underway.
A full-length keel extends aft to support the lower rudder bearing providing full protection to the propeller and rudder and, while not recommended, an accidental park up on the putty isn’t likely to cause an issue.

 Opting for a displacement launch over a planning hull requires a different mindset and won’t suit everybody. While some people feel eight knots is far too slow, many appreciate that pleasure boating can be as much about the journey as the destination. For those people the Integrity 380 offers an economical, gentler means of boating.
With its bow and stern thrusters, and massive prop wash onto the rudder, the Integrity handles extremely well in close quarters, while the solid, no nonsense feel underway will win many hearts.