1800 Tournament

Name: 1800 Tournament
Brand: TOURNAMENT

Quality small trailer boating at an attractive price

LIKES

- Entry level boat that ticks all the boxes
- Very good quality
- All round finish

DISLIKES

- Talon Elite power socket could be shifted to a more user friendly position
- Cabin roof hatch needs rubber seal against water ingress

OVERVIEW

- A smaller boat with some big-boat dimensions

Tournament Boats have for some time been making inroads into the medium to larger trailer boat market thanks to their practical no thrills build, honest quality with sensible pricing.

With eight Tournaments in the range this, the 1800 sits in amongst boats from 16 feet to 24 feet, the latter being the Club Sport which we don’t see a lot of.

The 1800 model enjoys some of the seaworthy dimensions of the bigger boats namely a beam of 2.34m and deadrise of 21-degrees which are seen on the 1900 and 2000 Bluewater models. This ultimately gives it the flexibility required by those that wish to sneak outside for a look-see when the forecast suits.

The beamy hull also puts it high in the stability stakes, especially when off the plane on the drift or trolling.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

- A good price even with some extras

In this day and age where price means almost everything, the recommended retail attached to this boat of $51,500 will be welcomed by the masses!
It does have a few extras that get it to that price point though. A bimini with awning extension, a rocket launcher for a brace of rods, infill for the cabin bunks and the Garmin 551 combination depth sounder and GPS take it above its base price of $47,900.

The Seastar hydraulic steering is standard on this and all other Tournament Boats in the range which is a move in the right direction; and one that could be emulated by many other manufacturers that hold fast to mechanical steer even though it creates in some cases a critical balance point in regards to effort versus performance on some hull/engine combinations. And there are some cases where this reluctance to go hydraulic tips a boat over that point; more is the pity!

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATION

- Plenty of room for fishing or the family

This boat has a beam of 2.34m in a relatively short 5.56 LOA hull which results in a cockpit from where some serious fishing and recreational activity might take place. In fact this cockpit, relatively speaking, is larger than all others in the Tournament range.

Full-length side pockets feature each side with upholstered fascias which will be comfortable against the shins when fishing in less than calm seas.
The carpeted marine-ply deck runs to under the transom where a rebate centrally opens to a drop down into the bilge.

Risers for the filler, suction and breather pipes on the fuel tank protrude above the deck level and create a barrier for larger objects that might slide further aft.

The fuel filter is located against the back of the bulkhead and an engine oil reservoir is secured here with a filler neck flush-mounted into the coaming.
There’s a rear lounge which has a full-width back rest permanently mounted against the bulkhead while the lounge base is a two-part affair and may be individually deployed. When both collapse they offer plenty of foot-under access for those standing and fishing out the back.

Two large-volume livebait tanks are recessed into the transom but were not plumbed on the review boat. Mouldings in the topside have a smooth rounded finish and there is a short boarding ledge on each side with the portside fitted with a telescopic fold-down boarding ladder.

Back at the helm, both the skipper and passenger chairs are mounted on stainless-steel racks under which various items such as tackle and ice boxes may be stowed and secured. These racks are a stand-alone system and with legs spread well apart will offer better wear and tear than typical pedestal-style seating arrangements. It’ll be a handy place to get obstacles off the deck when the serious fishing gets underway.

Under the deck between the seat stands, a kill tank is installed which is bunged and drained to the bilge. Due to the way the voids in this hull are pumped with floatation foam, this box is effectively insulated making it suitable for use as an ice box as well. A good place for slurry of ice for improved fish eating qualities we think.

At the helm station we found Garmin’s 551 combination depth sounder/gps fitted on a bracket to one side. There is room in the flat fascia on the lower brow of the dashboard to flush-mount an eight-inch screen if one wishes and the upper brow is occupied with the ETEC engine management instrumentation.

There’s ample room for other electronic cabinets to be mounted on top of the helm station right across to the passenger seating position.
The windscreen is a tinted acrylic type which is wrap-around with aluminium frame but without any hand rails fitted. However, handrails are an option and one that would be welcomed in an offshore boat.

On the inside edge of the companionway leading into the cabin a Talon Elite power supply plug base is fitted. We have mentioned the merits of these in a previous review but perhaps this one could have been placed on a flat surface, facing into the cockpit rather than protruding into the companionway where any inserted plug could be knocked by someone passing through.

Cabin area we found to be roomy and while not touted as an overnight proposition, this boat cabin could sleep a couple at a pinch with the use of the infill. Without it, there was ample leg room and head height for the average-size person to sit comfortably.

One problem we found was that the roof hatch allowed the intrusion of dew and accumulated water on the hull during towing. We guess that rain might also ingress when towing or running this boat at sea during inclement weather. A rubber seal to protect against the elements would be something easily addressed.

Typical side pockets surrounded the inside of the cabin and storage was available under the berth cushions which were built on waterproof composite plastic board.

MECHANICAL AND HULL

- Standard layup with positive buoyancy

Hull lay-up of the 1800 is similar to the others in the Tournament range. There is only a small amount of timber used in its construction and that is in the transom.

The hull is laid up in the usual mould situation and then a matrix system is put in place which includes the stringers and cross-section in hollow fibreglass. This is then adhered into place with polyester resin and a fibreglass layer placed over the entire construction.

Foam which has a density of 38 kg per cubic metre is then injected into the voids resulting in this hull qualifying for the ‘positive’ buoyancy category.

Topside, the cabin roof features a sharper entry at the brow compared with the 1900 model which gives it a more ‘racy’ appearance. The reverse chine which is swept up and low profile at the bow, widens as it goes aft and a pair of strakes on the deadrise run full length.

ON THE WATER

- Lively performance with good economy

The review boat was fitted with the maximum 130hp which gave it a gutsy performance out of the hole and throughout the throttle range. It was very torque positive right to WOT which was 6000 rpm. At that rate it could clip along at 36 knots with a fuel consumption of just 40 litres per hour.

Backing off to 3500 rpm for a cruise at 17.5 knots, fuel consumption was 17.5 litres per hour. This was with a half tank of fuel and one aboard.
The minimum recommended horsepower rating for this hull is 115 and we doubt it would be a lazy hull with that setup based on its performance with just 15 more horses.

It behaved well on an unfortunately calm sea but we raced up a few waves and wash to prove it has no nasty characteristics underway at speed.

Steering was excellent and typically more trim in was required for hard turns at speed to alleviate cavitation at the propeller; nothing alarming there.

What we are noting with Tournament hulls is the consistent good quality in finish throughout. We couldn’t find any blemishes to speak of and the boat presented as a good honest buy for the price and one definitely worthy of further investigation.

RATINGS

Overall rating: 4.5/5.0
Mechanical/equipment: 4.3/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.6/5.0
On the water Performance: 4.5/5.0
Value for money: 4.7/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

Specifications:

Price: $51,500
LOA: 5.65 m
Beam: 2.34 m
Draft: 0.3 m
Weight: 750 kg hull only (approx)
Engine: Evinrude ETEC 130 hp two-stroke
Water: nil
Fuel: 160 litres
Berths: Two
People Day: Six

Supplied by:

Australian Marine Centre P/L
Ph: 07 3808 7333
Fax: 07 3808 7300
sales@australianmarinecentre.com.au
www.australianmarinecentre.com.au

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1800 Tournament

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