Assegai Marine 57 Custom

If you know the smell of a scaly mackerel, can tie a haywire twist in fencing wire on a bucking boat, can find your way back from Linden Bank to a safe anchorage in the dead of night, you'll know Bill 'The Eagle' Edwards. The sage gameboat skipper from the heyday of heavy-tackle marlin fishing in Cairns needs no introduction.

Ah, what the heck. A former chemist, Edwards first came to Cairns in the early '70s. He left Brisbane with an 18ft trailerboat, stayed at Green Island, and did it the hard way. The next year he returned with a Savage 26 behind a tow truck. Following that he got serious...

His ticket to ride on a gameboat was aboard a Pleysier called Pannawonica, which was owned by Sir Garrick Agnew. From 1972-74, he caught a lot of big black marlin with Agnew. "The granders were thick up until 1981," Bill says, looking wistfully out the saloon window in Cairns Harbour.

As it is now, before long he was known as Capt Edwards. The eager skipper was driving a boat called Cervantes. This was his first boat, designed by Pleysier, built in Perth. He delivered it around the top of Australia.

"In one season, I think it was '78, I tagged 105 and weighed seven over a thousand in 80 days of fishing," he recalls. Yep, they were the days. Naturally, such unmitigated seasoning might have you thinking Capt Edwards has seen it all before. Not so.

His latest boat, Amokura, is a custom-built 57-footer from Assegai Marine that sets new standards in performance, creature comfort, and reasoning. It also raises the bar for Australian boatbuilders. Though you may have heard it before, Amokura really is a world-class boat.

You can tell, just talking to Bill over a cold drink, that Capt Edwards is kind of excited again. His new gig is to skipper Amokura for a successful businessman. Amokura - Polynesian for frigatebird - is a thoroughly modern boat with many time-honoured tricks from seasons of heavy-tackle marlin fishing.

Derived from Pannawonica, Cervantes, Aquila (now called Mauna Kea) and other Pleysier hulls, it takes the best from the past and blends it with the latest technology. The hull has a time-proven Raymond Hunt-style deep-vee, and the craft is equipped with the cutting-edge electrics, and all the good gear inside for luxury fishing.

Thirty years ago, Capt Edwards would have never of dreamed of such things.

"All this stuff wasn't available back then," he says from the dock in Cairns. His wife, Suzanne, adds: "I used to heat the water for a bath by hanging a plastic bag off the gamechair in the midday sun."

When Capt Edwards delivered Cervantes from Perth all those years ago he had a HF radio and a paper echo sounder, 50 gallons of water, and 200 gallons of diesel. He had to organise fuel stops along the West Australian coast with the pearl farmers.

Like most boats in Cairns, Cervantes offered daytrips to The Reef. They were all that went on back then. The motherships didn't start coming till the mid-'70s.

In 1975, Lizard Island opened and the top end of The Reef was the place to be.

"There were only four boats working the area and a lot of fish around. It was fantastic," he recalls. Yet, even then, the boats and their crew were still doing it tough by today's standards. No, compared with Amokura, they were downright roughing it.

FAST & FRUGAL
Amokura has water on call thanks to a desalinator, 5300lt of fuel, big fridges and freezers, ice-makers, airconditioning, the latest whizzbang entertainment systems, a personal computer, and extra polish thanks to an interior decorator. The labels of every bit of equipment have been removed to create a feeling of seamlessness and simplicity.

Capt Edwards says Amokura is a very economical boat. Fast, frugal and eminently fishable, it could well be the best gameboat in Australia today. It is certainly one of the fastest.

Fitted with twin V-10 MAN engines producing 1050hp aside, Amokura strides to 36.5kt very gracefully.

This season, it used 3800lt of fuel for an extended fishing trip. Capt Edwards opened with a run from Cairns to Lizard Island in under five hours, followed it up with seven days of fishing in the Lizard Island Tournament, running in and out to the grounds, added another three days of fishing on The Reef, and left with a run back to Cooktown.

He has since taken the boat back to Brisbane. The trip through some typical Queensland southeasterlies reaffirmed his initial findings. Flat out, Amokura is fast. But with the top speed that he has got, he is running at 1800rpm at 26-27kt and using a total of 200lt/hr - they just aren't working hard.

At low speeds, and while towing baits, the MANs switch into a go-slow mode where just five cylinders (or one bank) fire on each motor. In other words, instead of running 20 cylinders, the boat is only running on 10.

Admittedly, the motors are a bit rattly down low, but it's not a problem. Solace comes from the fact that they use very little fuel. The other bank kicks in over 1000rpm and from here on in the motors are silky.

"If I'm fishing from an anchorage on The Reef - just out and back again - I'm using 130lt a day. The generator, which we use at night and morning, probably uses another 10lt. But that's it," Capt Edwards says.

Once you reach 1400rpm - whoosh - the turbos kick in. That's when Amokura takes off like a rocket. Actually, the sound is more like the jet engines on a 747 during take-off. There's a powerful and potent roar. The wake is absolutely clean. No rooster tails, no drag. Like a quicksilver running across a plate.

During the start of the Lizard Island Tournament, Amokura was beaten out of the blocks by another new beauty, Reel Chase, the custom 55-footer with big V-12 Detroits featured in the last issue of BlueWater.

"When they said go, Reel Chase took off. Amokura, on the other hand, winds up. By the time we got going Reel Chase had five or six boat lengths on us. But by the end of the 'straight' we had three or four boat lengths on them," he quips.

More importantly, the big deep-vee hull runs beautifully flat, with a natural trim angle that is helped by a touch of trim tab only when the 2300lt aft fueltank is full. The house batteries are also back aft in the lazarette, yet the weight was accounted for back in the design stages.

"I've had these deep-vees ever since the first one, Cervantes, and they are the best boat ever bar none. Some say deep-vees take too much power to drive, but I've always had the fastest boats without the biggest engines. We could do 27kt into any sea," Capt Edwards says matter of factly.

DEEP-VEE & DEEP POCKETS
Amokura has 21° of deadrise - that's sharp - plus big chines and very pronounced proactive lift strakes. Capt Edwards did some field work in the US. He talked with the builders of Merritt and Garlington, checked out Rybovich, American Custom Yachts and more. He spent at least two hours with each of them.

He came away with a trick exhaust system, which was very compact and easy to fit, and other bits and pieces. He also learned a thing or two about the latest construction techniques and the hottest new materials. And in a motor magazine, he saw a Ferrari on the front cover with the air vents that he had to have.

Built by Barry Martin from Assegai Marine and co-designed by Bill Edwards and gameboat wizard David Pleysier, Amokura is a capsule of wisdom. Martin did a beautiful job of tying all the pieces together. The hull is built using a male mould, with strip plank cedar above the waterline, and CoreCell (which Merritt and Garlington rave about) on the bottom. The foam is glassed over with quadaxial glass; the cedar has triaxial.

There are four big longitudinals made from laminated mahogany beams that form the engine bearers and provide most of the strength lengthwise. These are, of course, fully encapsulated, with engine mounts, etc, built-in.

Four bulkheads and lots of intercostals tie the boat together. The building team was aiming at 17,000kg - it came out around 17,600kg. Not bad at all.

Martin, whose other efforts include Assegai and most recently The Force, reckons Amokura is his best boat yet. He takes great pride in his work, a fact reflected in the finish. Capt Edwards says that Amokura is better than anything he saw overseas. Once the boat is experienced in the 'flesh', it's hard to argue with the statement.

The boat's low-profile lines, clean, uncluttered, almost minimalist finish, and practicality is a stark contrast to the glitz built into some battlewagons. Yet no expense has been spared. The Plasma television cost $10,000 and you wouldn't get change out of $40,000 for the trick sound system.

But, to my eye, the mouldings are what set this boat apart. Amokura has wonderful curved ceiling liners and cornices which disguise things such as airconditioning vents - a la Merritt and Garlington - and harbour the downlights. The curves on the bridge overhang, the folding saloon doors, and the sheerline all look sexy.

An interior decorator worked with the owner to create a fresh feeling inside. It's a bit like a modern up-market beach-house, the sort that graces Malibu, or indeed Palm Beach. Classic American Oak, white Italian canvas headliners, cream-coloured Alcantara walls, and blue-grey carpet is used to good effect.

Naturally, the nuts and bolts side of things got as much or more attention. For survey, the engineroom is fitted with a pyrogen fire system, engine vent shut-offs, and temperature and smoke alarms. There is a collision bulkhead and four watertight bulkheads.

The exhausts are in the quarters, with air-out vents alongside the motors to encourage the turnover of fresh air.

LAYER UPON LAYER
The degree of comfort aboard couldn't contrast more abruptly with the way things used to be. Amokura is self-reliant, capable of running extraordinary distances, and very homelike. It's layout might appear unconventional to some, but it is built on layer upon layer of experience.

The outdoor engine boxes, subfloor engineering space, aft galley, and so on, are not the product of someone who thinks they can do it better. Rather, they are the result of someone who knows how to do it better.

These developments are something which you can't pull out of thin air, but which come from years of fishing in boats.

Take the outdoor engine boxes, for example. Designed to provide unfettered access to all parts of the motors so a salty with a crook back can perform easy oil changes, the external engine boxes hark back to the system used on the old Cervantes and other Pleysiers. Capt Edwards knows they work.

The idea is that you have a nice, big, open cockpit, excellent engine access, and day to day you can spread out on the boxes. Covered with upholstered mattresses and big roll cushions, you can kick back as though on a lounge in an Italian express cruiser while still being part of the fishing action.

Protection from sun is afforded by the overhang and side panels, fresh air swirls inside, while the clean-running MANs don't blow a cloud till you smoke them up in reverse. In which case you want to be wide awake!

"What surprised me was when I had a couple of American friends fishing with me. Everyone says Americans have to be inside with the A/C going, but they just couldn't believe how much better it [being outside] is. To be out there, to be part of it - they can lay down on cushions and be in the shade and not be locked away in a cabin," he explains.

Should the need arise, there are three airconditioning units pumping out 34,000BTUs in the saloon and three cabins. But Capt Edwards likes fresh air. For this reason, the saloon is flanked by opening windows and the hatches in all the cabins and saloon are oversized.

"You really only need airconditioning when you are back in port," he proclaims, "when you are at sea or anchored and you can open your windows and get cross-flow ventilation you're comfortable."

These saloon windows are built to Assegai Marine's specs so they do not leak. In any case, there is a hidden channel to remove water in case someone leaves a window open. Such are things you don't see.

OCEAN SALOON
Next up is the aft galley and day servery area. Located immediately to port and starboard as you walk inside, and with big benchtops upon which you can prop yourself up, the galley and day servery have teak-stripped flooring mirroring that in the cockpit.

Located close to the cockpit, the food-prep areas serve two purposes. First, crew and clients can access food and drinks without trouncing through a formal, carpeted part of the boat. Second, it allows whoever is fetching the lunch to keep in touch with the fishing.

"The original plan had the galley forward. The owner's last boat, a Southern Cross 44, had the galley down. It was the owner's partner's idea to have the galley up so if she was preparing a meal or whatever she could see what was going on," Capt Edwards says.

"Having now fished it, I must say it is the only way to go. We have the teak deck coming in from the cockpit, so the formal part of the boat starts forward of the areas which you use all the time."

The galley to port and the refrigeration area opposite have American oak benchtops. You can grab a drink from the bar-style fridges on the starboard side, where there is a 12kg per day U-Line icemaker and a control panel that looks smart with a brushed-stainless facia.

Among the galley features are dedicated cutlery and (Bodum) crockery drawers on runners, a Pavoni cappuccino machine, two two-burner Miele gas stoves (7kg gas bottles rest in the bridge) with extractor fan, convection microwave, stainless sink, pantry space, knife sets, and more. A neat touch is the above-counter condiment holders where you will find everything from Wasabi to Worcestershire sauce.

If you want proof that the aft galley works, just ask the owner's wife. She was preparing lunch while they were trolling a remote outer reef when she caught a huge sailfish,which Capt Edwards says must have been nudging 70kg.

Forward of the galley is a dinette with a navy-blue U-shaped lounge that can comfortably seat seven for dinner. Opposite is a settee which converts to an extra-wide sea berth. The blanked-out forward windscreen harbours the entertainment system with Plasma TV. Beside the sea berth is an 8GB PC with remote keypad and software that's linked to the ship's plotting system. Satcoms will be fitted soon.

The skipper doesn't need to sleep in the bridge to keep abreast of the boat's position at night. From that sea berth, he can lean across to the PC and access all the vital monitoring equipment. There are chart drawers nearby and phones to keep in contact with earth.

As with his former boat, the Pleysier called Aquila, Amokura has a subfloor engineering space. Under the companionway leading down to the accommodation is a giant hold with a washing machine and dryer, wine cellar, rod storage, watermakers, airconditioning units, fridge and freezer units, water pumps and hot-water system, and a magnetic fuel tank sight gauge sourced while in the US.

The water pumps are linked to high-pressure cleaners on the fore and aft decks. Crew can wash the boat down with a minimum of effort.

The wiring looks like a work of art. It represents 12 months' crimping... There's not a cable out of whack.

SLEEPING BEAUTY
Accommodation begins with a bow cabin with three single bunks. It had storage in five oak cupboards, four overhead lockers, plus hanging lockers. There is a guests' cabin to starboard with two 1.95m long bunks dressed in smart navy-blue bedspreads, crisp white sheets, and with fluffy towels with logos. Hanging lockers and storage space is plentiful.

The dayhead shared by these two cabins features moulded walls that were assembled inside the boat. The big bathroom looks the part with Grohe fittings, a shower over teak slats, salt-and-pepper Corian tops, a white sink, electric loo and extractor fan.

I'm shown a vanity which harbours three big lockers, each with two spaces so six people can keep their personals aboard. There is also a 240V outlet for the electric razor and a dunny-roll holder designed in such a way that the paper won't unravel at sea... Don't laugh, it's a common problem.

You don't have to look far to find the owner's cabin amidships. It has an inviting island double berth and its own ensuite. Natural light streams through the big overhead hatch. There is plenty of room to dress and access the bed from all sides, while the designer downlights shine like stars at night.

Oval, ship-style doors lead to all cabins. With airconditioning, oversized bunks, and plenty of lockers, Amokura is a comfortable abode. The boat's low centre of gravity affords a sound night's sleep. There is little bucking, a surprising degree of headroom and personal space.

OUTDOOR SAVVY
Of course, liveaboard comforts aren't enough to keep a gung-ho crew and captain happy. The cockpit is the workplace and the bridge an office at sea. Both areas on Amokura were designed with tagging or taking big marlin in mind, while still providing maximum comfort at sea.

At the aft end of the twin engine boxes are big bait or drinks fridges or freezers. I'm told the bait freezers can hold 300 scad and at least 30 big baits. The crewmen, Steve Hall and Glen Crawford, have devised a detachable bait-rigging board that allows them to rig baits while sitting on the boxes.

The cockpit coamings are set at the perfect height for locking yourself in when on the wire. The covering boards are made from one big piece of teak. Side lockers hold the gaffs, bilge taps, fire shut-offs and so on. There's a heavy-duty Reelax chair with custom back that takes pride of place and a marlin door welcoming granders aboard.

More time-learned tricks can be found in the cockpit. The teak floor gently slopes to the corners to allow a quick passage of water. Small drain holes feed into the scupper outlets so you don't end up with a cesspool sitting in the corner.

The scuppers are an in-house design that work beautifully. Very little water comes aboard, yet they have the ability to empty a wet cockpit quickly. The scuppers sit flush with the hull - in fact, there is nothing standing proud but the shafts, props and rudders and even these have been faired to the hull... Hence that clean wash.

Deck fittings include groovy fairleads and cleats, a stainless rubbing rail, mahogany toerail, huge bowsprit with Maxwell windlass, Davco trifold davit with Aquapro RIB and 15hp outboard, and a bowrail that needed refixing.

The chain and rope lockers are oversized. Raised mouldings around the hatches stop water trickling down the deck and inside.

The anodised alloy tower from Black Marlin Towers is a pretty bit of work, though it is a different kind of design to most. The so-called pogo sticks might be old fashioned, but they work well for accessing the bridge. The single strut is fitted with ergonomically-designed teak tread steps that allow you to launch up top with ease.

THE DRIVER'S DRIVE
Varnished mahogany and gleaming stainless welcome you into the skipper's and copilot's seats on the flybridge level. There is a comfortable settee/berth to port under which you can store game rods, an icebox with cooling unit for drinks, two-person lounge ahead of the console, and an uncluttered feeling brought about deleting the ubiquitous overhead radio box.

The upholstery was firm, well stitched, using the best grade marine vinyl and piping. The wheel - "always a wooden 19in three-spoke model" - is wonderful in the hands. It gives you plenty of purchase without creating finger cramps. And it's a useful bumrest when backing up.

Capt Edwards works with a JRC 32nm radar, Interphase forward-scanning sonar, JRC 50/200 V100Z sounder (good for 60 fathoms), Sony PC screen with joystick and keypad, TMQ Seaplot system, TMQ autopilot, and Icom HF and VHF radios.

The MAN engines have their own electronic gauges and there were fuel flow meters fitted. The user-friendly tower, which is lower than most gameboat towers, has repeater gauges. The offset ladders work at sea. It is planned to fit a seat and footrest in the tower so the skipper can lock himself in.

There is a second delay in the Glendinning electronic controls, which have a useful amount of detent between gears, a synchro function, and trolling valves as well as the aforementioned MANs half-bank go-slow mode.

No monkey at the helm, Capt Edwards displayed his deft driving in the green water just off Trinity Inlet.

Amokura is an exceedingly nimble boat. The shafts are 2.15m apart, the wheels are five-bladers with lots of bite, and the deep-vee hull doesn't dig in too deep when going astern. You can turn Amokura on its own length as easy as that.

The second bank of cylinders kick in around 12kt and the MANs sound smoother at 1380rpm and 15.7kt. What you think would be a comfortable low-speed cruise of 20.6kt at 1520rpm is transcended as you advance the throttle.

The ocean didn't challenge Amokura during my test off Cairns, but Capt Edwards has been through some heavy stuff. He says the boat is drier, smoother and plainly more exhilarating travelling at 26-27kt across the short stuff than any other speed.

On the flat, even that sort of speed felt slow. That is, after leaning on the throttles and jetting it along at 35kt- plus.

As Capt Edwards has discovered, much to his delectation, you can get hooked on speed. Yet even while tied to the dock, I found a lot to appreciate.

Amokura is the by-product of someone who goes to sea for a living. Yep, Bill did it tough back in the pioneering days in Cairns. Unquestionably, 'The Eagle' and all those who soar aboard Amokura have a much easier passage.