Flannos Exit Fishin' Fashion

Newcastle Herald

Friday June 2, 2006

Boating, Mark Rothfield

THE flanno-wearing diehards of days past must be weeping in their pilchards as they survey today's fishing runabout landscape.

Not so long ago a stubby holder was considered a luxury item . . . and who needed a loo when the world's biggest urinal lay merely a gunwale's width away?

Now, the blokey model names like Marlin, Swordfish and Canyon Runner are largely gone, replaced by prissy monikers such as "weekender", "all-rounder", "executive" and "sapphire", which suggests that the days of the dedicated offshore trailerboat are numbered.

To survive in today's market a boat needs to be multipurpose, hauling fish one day and kids on tubes the next.

They must offer dry storage for towels and tackle, iceboxes for white wine and tarwhine, berths for windswept wives, and cockpits that can accommodate deck chairs.

Proof, if it was needed, came in the Fishing Trailable category of the Australian boat of the year awards for 2006. It was the most prolific section, with 11 finalists, but of those only three were tagged and released as being fishing specific.

One, the Haines Hunter 490 Pro-Strike, was named winner, and the commendation award went to another, the Plate Master 7300 Kingfisher.

Among those overlooked were the Australian Master Marine Weekender 6400, Bar Crusher Weekender 640 HT, Commodore Marine Allrounder 670 Executive, DKG Marine Intercoastal 2300, ExcelCraft 5.8m Sapphire Series and Razerline Olympian 6.6 Hard Top.

The Haines Hunter is at the cutting edge of bass and bream tournament fishing boats. Renowned sports fishermen Ian Miller, Andrew Ettinghausen and Chris Wright all had a major say in the cockpit design, while the builder's pedigree shines through in the performance at 5.22 metres in length and weighing 580 kilograms the hull can handle up to 150 horsepower. It's a rocket ship.

Surprisingly there were just two finalists in the Fishing Non-Trailable field, and neither of them really belonged. Add a pair of outriggers and a livebait well and you have an instant gameboat apparently.

Capricorn Cruisers' Classic 40 edged out the Riviera 51 Enclosed Flybridge Convertible, which showed the folly of the judging system. As one of the judges, I felt the Capricorn was reasonably well built but the hull formerly a Mustang demanded more power than was offered.

The Riv is also well built and, in my book, scores highly for innovation and performance. It may not be as inherently manoeuvrable as the 40-footer but I know which I'd rather own.

In the arena for trailable cruising boats, six finalists lined up, with the Powercat 2400 Sports Cab pipping the Haines Hunter 650 Horizon. Other very strong contenders were the CruiseCraft Executive 700 and Whittley 630 Cruiser.

The Powercat's beam (2.5 metres) is within the legal towing limit but at 2800 kilograms on trailer you'd need a massive tow horse.

It won a separate trophy for safety, a rating that probably tipped the scales in the pointscore system. For mine, the Haines Hunter 650 Horizon and the Whittley are the best genuinely trailable options.

The Haines Signature 580 BR won the Dayboat category, beating the Quintrex 480 Freedom Sport in what was really a two-horse race, despite the presence of the Blue Fin 5.25 Escape Half Cabin and Stacer 549 Easy Rider.

The ski/performance category winner, uncontested, was the Force F21.

Of the 10 imported trailable powerboats, the Crownline 220EX won from the Cobalt 24SX. The custom category had four finalists, Powercat getting the gong for its 3400 Party Cat and the Australian Master Marine Liveaboard 3300 being commended.

If On the water was presenting an award, the cruiser winner would be the Maritimo 52. Yacht of the year would be the Bavaria 37, Haines Hunter the victors for trailable fishing and family. Imported powerboats wouldn't get an Aussie award.

Four trophies, thanks for coming.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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