Assassin 650 Hardtop

West Australian boat designers share a common trait - building boats with large cockpits. And the Assassin 650 Hardtop epitomises this characteristic. It's big and beamy, with enough space to satisfy any fisherman - amateur or pro.

Hence this boat is specifically designed for the serious fisherman requiring a large, rugged, trailerable craft.

The Assassin 650 also lives up to its brand name. It's an exceptionally strong tinnie, built to withstand a hammering from Indian Ocean rollers and softened in looks by an excellent two-pack paint job.

Constructed of 4mm plate aluminium from top to bottom, the Assassin 650 is available in several configurations including cuddy-cabin, hardtop or runabout. With an overall length of 6.8m, and maximum beam of 2.4m, it's a fair lump of metal. Our testboat was the hardtop version.

The hull has a moderate-vee at the stern and typical chine rails. A widish, prominent keel (similar to a thin planing plank) ends about a metre short of the stern, but there are no strakes. The hull also comes standard with a five-year warranty.

ROCK SOLID
Underway the first thing you notice is its feeling of solidity and lack of vibration.

Unfortunately a smooth Port Phillip Bay on test day didn't exactly push the Assassin to the limits.

The Assassin, however, seemed exceptionally well-balanced and should be capable of handling the odd surprise miles from home. In tight turns the boat hung on well, although there was some substantial cavitation. When backed down hard the boat sat flat with no wash coming onboard, even through the scuppers.

The testboat featured a cutaway stern design with boarding platforms either side of a 115hp Johnson Ocean Pro which pushed the Assassin to a top speed of 75kmh at 5400rpm, while comfortable cruising speed was 55kmh at 4000rpm. The portside featured a transom door which provided easy access to the cockpit. A basic one-step ladder on the port-side boarding platform leads to the transom door.

The aluminium bowrails are substantial and covered in the same two-pack white paint as the hull. You find non-skid wherever you put a foot.

Capped scuppers drain astern, beneath the swim platforms, are manually operated by two foot-levers. The fueltank is mounted transverse towards the transom, with the filler on top of the starboard gunnel.

A self-draining aluminium baitboard is welded onto the transom centre and sits at a great height for bait-preparation or chopping berley, but it could do with a teflon or timber insert to complete the job. Its height may create problems when you're on a big fish though, because you would have to raise the rod high enough to get over the top of it. But if removable, it would greatly alleviate the problem.

Four built-in aluminium rodholders are somewhat on the rough side. They could do with rubber sleeves to protect rod butts.

Oil bottle and batteries are mounted centrally in the transom and well clear of the deck in a special-purpose cupboard with metal door. Sidepockets are good-sized and mounted high on the thigh-height gunnels, which means there's nothing to lock your feet under. However, the non-skid deck generally provides satisfactory grip.

There is no forward hatch from the cuddy-cabin to the bow, but the side decks are quite wide and access is easy enough around the hardtop. The anchor well in the bow has no hatch.

CALL OF DUTY
Skipper and passenger seats are aluminium framed with padded armrests and mounted on aluminium storage boxes through ball bearing swivel attachments. The cuddy-cabin is not built for comfort, but functionality. There's good entry under a high bulkhead, and floor level is consistent with that in the cockpit. A very solid luggage restraint (metal rod and strong mesh) is welded to the floor and also acts as a footrest.

Adjacent to the back of the skipper's chair, where the hardtop joins the gunnels, the hull sweeps up 10cm or so and this obviously gives more cabin headroom and higher sides in the bow.

The cabin has three glass screens, two large screens to port and starboard and a smaller one in the centre. As these are built into the superstructure, vision is restricted a little at 45? and, in particular, to left of centre by the pillars. I found myself stretching forwards, backwards and sideways to see around corners. Side windows are sliding acrylic.

A heavy grabrail is in front of the passenger and there are further rails on the screen. Basic instrumentation is mounted in front of the skipper, with controls nicely placed to the right. The testboat fitout was incomplete, but there was plenty of dash space to fit electronics.

The Assassin is a basic workboat, albeit very good and solidly built. Like many plate alloy boats, however, the Assassin was noisy, which probably wasn't helped by the 'soundshell' effect of the hardtop. But if you're in the market for a plate boat, it's well worth a look.

The boat rides on a Mackay 2000 hydraulic-braked, dual-axle trailer with full side rollers.

Hull-only weight of the hardtop model is around 1000kg. Gales Marine has packages priced from $41,335.