AMM 7000 Walkaround

AMM has been operating for close to twenty years and specialises in the manufacture of heavy-duty plate boats from 6.1m-10m in length. AMM is primarily a custom boat manufacturer, but the company does have a series of semi-production models that are popular with recreational anglers.

The Weekender series is AMM’s standard or entry range, though the level of fit-out is anything but basic. Available from 6.1m, the Weekenders generally have a cuddy or centre-cabin layout, a 6mm plate alloy hull and transom, 4mm topsides and a 3mm welded cockpit floor.

The more up-market Tournament models are equally well constructed, but have additional standard features.

In between the Weekender and the Tournament series is a new Walkaround that is the subject of this test.

Like the Tournament models, the 7000 Walkaround has a full hard-top, toughened-glass windscreen, self-draining floor, plumbed live-bait tank, and deluxe Reelax helm chairs.

Standard features (in addition to those already mentioned) include a 240-litre fuel tank (upgradeable), dual batteries with master switch, LED navigation lights, compass, six-gang switch panel, bilge pump with float switch, cockpit carpet, boarding ladder and platform, fish cleaning tray, deck wash, six built-in welded rod holders, hydraulic steering, water separating fuel filter, multiple transducer brackets, bow and side rails and more.

Like the Weekender and Tournament models, the 7000 Walkaround is built like the proverbial outhouse -- with a 6mm bottom, 4mm sides and with full height, fully welded 4mm girders and frames underfloor. It also has a full length internal keel bar, external keel cap and a purpose-built fuel cell (or tank within its own compartment) as a standard safety feature.

And the price? Packaged with a single 200hp Suzuki or Yamaha four-stroke motor, and a dual-axle, galvanised steel trailer with electric hydraulic break-away brakes, the AMM 7000 Walkaround will cost you $96,355.

The boat we tested was loaded with optional extras, the most obvious being the twin Suzuki DF140 (counter rotating) four-stroke motors in place of a single larger engine.

Some of the other options/upgrades included two 300-litre fuel tanks, freshwater deck wash, coloured hull sides, helm seat slider, underfloor foam flotation, port side insulated ice box, starboard side storage box, overhead, in-ceiling radio box, transom door, trim tabs, bunk infill cushion, and cabin ceiling hatch.

Electronics fitted included a Garmin 750S flush-mounted plotter/sounder, Lowrance HDS10, Icom VHF radio, and a Fusion Ipod Dock.

The above options lift the package price of the 7000 Walkaround up to $131,735. This is a substantial sum for this size of boat, but for the money you get a fully rigged, premium quality sport fishing boat that is built in Australia to suit local conditions.

The walkway is also quite shallow with just 220mm of freeboard at the point when you step up onto it from the cockpit. The narrow width and low freeboard here prohibits you from fishing from the side walkway, but there is a forward deck area that makes for a good fishing perch and provides easy access to the large anchor well.

The forward cabin is separated from the cockpit by a half bulkhead. The berths inside are 2.2m long with a maximum width of 760mm. The berths taper in toward the forepeak, but they are still big enough for two single people. Optional infill cushions convert the individual berths into a sizeable double.

Storage lockers are located under each side berth, and there is a shelf under the optional ventilation hatch.

Beneath the centre berth cushion there is provision for a chemical toilet.

Back above decks, the layout of the helm area is straight forward but practical. The fascia is not large but there is space for engine gauges and a flush-fitted sounder/plotter or two. You could also fit a radio in the helm bulkhead, but in the test boat the radios were fitted in an overhead box (optional) under the hard-top.

At the helm, vision through the reinforced glass windscreen is excellent, and the steering wheel and throttles fall easily to hand whether you are standing or seated.

The helm was fitted with a fore-and-aft seat slider, but this is an option. I believe it should be standard in a boat that costs more than $100k and is at odds given the many other standard inclusions. Another minor omission is a shelf or glove box around the helm area in which to stow your car keys, sun glasses, etc.

The helm and passenger chairs come standard mounted on pedestals, but were box mounted on the test boat. The starboard side box was allocated to storage, while the port side box contained an insulated ice box.

Moving aft, anglers will be impressed with the size and open layout of the rear cockpit. From the back of the helm seat boxes, the cockpit is 2.15m long x 2.33m wide.

Like the cabin-side walkway, dash platform and foredeck, the cockpit is carpeted, glued down over the alloy deck. The carpet looks to be hard wearing and was well secured but I was disappointed by the amount of excess glue that had dried up and was visible along the edges of the carpet.

General cockpit features include full length, above-floor side pockets, 235mm wide coamings, coaming rails, optional transom door, a decent-sized live bait tank (with rounded corners), cutting board with storage tray, a self-flooding underfloor kill tank, a large underfloor storage locker (forward between the helm chairs) and transom corner scuppers for the self-draining system.

Freeboard in the cockpit averages around 680mm so you can stand and fish very comfortably in the transom corners and up against the cockpit sides.

The dual batteries (standard) are stowed on trays in a sheltered compartment in the centre of the transom, under the live bait tank.
 

The test boat was fitted with a pair of Suzuki DF140 (25" extra long-shaft) four-stroke engines which proved to be perfect for this craft. We recorded a top speed of 38 knots at 6000rpm and a comfortable 18.4 knots cruising at 3500rpm.

The speed runs were performed offshore (on a very calm day) so I would expect the boat to crack 40 knots in perfectly still conditions.

The twin Suzuki motors performed faultlessly and provided more than enough power for the 7000 Walkaround. You could easily down-size to a pair of 115s, or a single 200hp motor.

Feeding the two Suzuki four-strokes were two underfloor fuel tanks with a combined capacity of 600 litres – giving the boat a huge operating range. Standard hulls come with a single 240-litre underfloor tank.

AMM’s current series of deep vee hulls (introduced around 2007), with their massive 150mm wide reverse chines, 20 degree transom vee, smooth, strake-free hulls, provide a remarkably smooth, comfortable, rattle and vibration free ride.

I have stepped directly from a well regarded competitor brand boat into an AMM and the improvement in ride and handling was substantial. I can’t quite put my finger on why the AMM boats work so well, but I suspect it is a combination of the hull shape, and heavy-duty construction. These boats are no lightweights, and I expect this added weight is helping them to achieve a level of ride quality that is virtually on par with a very good deep vee fibreglass rig.

And so I was not surprised by the excellent performance of the 7000 Walkaround during our test. We had very calm seas outside the Gold Coast Seaway, but there was enough wave action for me to determine that the hull is every bit as good as I remember -- soft, quiet, stable, and dry.

The Suzuki outboards were also expertly set-up and perfectly propped so we could take hard corners at a half trim level without cavitation and the hydraulic steering was almost finger-tip light and easy.
 

And so it is. Aside from a few cosmetic issues (which are not going to bother most anglers), the 7000 Walkaround is a first class offshore fishing boat, and one of the best plate alloy boats of its size in the country.

That’s high praise I know, but the boat scores top marks in all the areas that really matter -- build quality, safety, seaworthiness, handling and performance.