Ally Craft 560 Bowrider

Boating families have become increasingly influenced by a fashionable trend - the bowrider. But this popular style of boat is not simply the express domain of yuppies and bourgeoisie who embrace an in-vogue lifestyle.

No - whether it be fishing, diving, skiing or wakeboarding - this on-water trendsetter is also a family all-rounder.

And don't fall for the fallacy that all bowriders are built from fibreglass. I recall an aluminium boat with a bow lounge and walk-through screen on display at an Adelaide boat show some 25 years ago.

In keeping with current trends, Ally Craft is now producing six bowriders across its range of boats (around 50 models).

Our testboat was the Ally Craft 560 Bowrider, which has an LOA of 5.78m, beam 2.35m, and hull depth of 1.25m.

CLIMB ABOARD
Much of the boarding and disembarking is done over the bow, so Ally Craft has installed bowrails that are short and easy to climb but extremely heavy-duty to enable iceboxes and the like to be rested during loading and unloading without bending.

The large anchorwell is exposed, with a small bowsprit roller and an oversized cast aluminium bollard welded aft of the well.

The coaming around the bow section has a rodholder each side and, in the testboat, a filler for the forward fueltank. The tank location (specific to this boat) is to counterbalance the weight of the 150hp Mercury, which is over the maximum recommended 140hp. An underfloor midships tank of 115lt with a gauge and sender unit is standard. These tanks are of rotomoulded construction.

The inside of the forward coaming has an upholstered backrest running all the way around.

Three large, soft cushions make up the seating atop three carpeted, removable compartment hatches. The cushions are held down to the hatches with velcro strips. The uprights of the seat boxes and the small floor are also carpeted. Storage within these boxes is ample for extra ropes, a full complement of lifejackets and safety gear. By removing the cushions, anglers are left with a good non-slip walkaround casting platform.

The windscreen on the 560 is walk-through and the width of this companionway is quite large. Below the screen is a carpeted bulkhead hatch which opens into a cockpit section. First impressions are that this door is a little flimsy, but when shut it sits snug against both sides of the bulkhead and against the step that leads up into the bow section.

PICK-A-BOX
The dash layout is such that the bulkhead either side of the companionway is made up of aluminium boxes, on top of which the screen is installed. The cockpit sides of these boxes are open for dry storage access. On the starboard side, instruments are mounted in a fibreglass module fixed to the box section. Instrumentation included Mercury gauges, and Skipper Hi-Drive hydraulic steering was fitted. A Lowrance X75 sounder, which operated effectively at speed, was also fitted to the testboat.

On the passenger side, an identical module has a glove compartment and a CD player installed.

There is pedestal seating, with the posts located directly into holes in the floor. Wraparound seat bases with short backs offered plenty of lower-back support without cluttering up the forward section of the cockpit. The cockpit floor is carpeted throughout.

A short sidepocket is located on either side, aft in the cockpit. The bottoms of these pockets are around 160mm off the floor, so clashes with feet when standing fishing at the gunwales is not an issue.

Across the transom bulkhead a lounge hides a checkerplate shelf that runs full beam width. There is ample room here for twin battery installation and oil bottle, with room for spare oil containers. The lounge is as comfortable as it looked and constructed with maximum strength in mind. It has a full aluminium tube, box-style construction to which an upholstered fibreglass base is fixed. Tilting it into the cockpit it pivoted on its front edge, giving access to the hidden shelf.

Aft of the transom bulkhead, a full floating half pod with boarding platforms either side finished the hull. It held a boarding ladder on the port side, and engine control cables occupied the space above that on the starboard side.

IT JUST WILL WASH!
The test was conducted on the Gold Coast Broadwater; however there was only a gentle breeze blowing and very little swell running into the Seaway, so performance over chop was determined only by running over boat wash.

The big 150hp two-stroke was remarkably quiet, so too the hull compared to other aluminium boats of this size. There was no telltale rattling and slapping associated with vibration.

And the reason became patently obvious when I inspected a 560 hull prior to its floor installation. The hull on these boats consist of 4mm bottom with 2mm sides. The plate bottom is 'stitched' to the cross members for its entire length, thus offering greatly reduced vibration and associated noise.

The rig's performance was fast to say the least. Getting out of the hole with 150 neddies on the back took only a second and in a few more, top speed of 100kmh (60mph on the dash gauge) was attained. The 560's maximum rating of 140hp would see it meet expectations with a full capacity of six people onboard.

Running across chop from all directions was comfortable and dry. And although spray could be seen rising in front of the bow when punching through chop at speed, it was not high enough to spill over the bow.

With no big swells to run with, the boat was driven close to the beach where the surf was forming. It could be spun around on the tops of these steep waves and hold its balance nicely. There was no evidence of cavitation when running through this type of water.

The 560 would suit serious anglers who appreciate room to move and extended stays out on the water. Its stability, wide beam, and high freeboard make it a safe proposition in heavy seas. And on the beach it will be the centre of attention with the family.