Australia's greatest game boat: Assegai Marine

That boat I set eyes on was Assegai, the first of 11 purpose-built game-fishing boats that Barry "Baz" Martin has built. She splashed 25 years ago but, after the usual cosmetic birthday that hard-working commercial boats need with many engine hours and sea miles, Assegai looked as good or better than the day she was launched.

Barry Martin or "Baz" or "Baza", as he is known to his friends, is not only incredibly talented, he’s one of Australia’s great characters. Once you get a boat built or refurbed by him, you become one of what he calls: "the Assegai family." 

I was lucky enough to become part of that family, when in 2010 I had the chance to run Megumi, a 44 footer, which I did until early 2014. 

Megumi had gone to Fiji after launching and sea trialling in 2006 and was there for about four years. When we got her back to Australia, we got Baz to give her a 'birthday.'

An important part of the development and evolution of Assegai boats is that Baz keeps in touch with the owners and crews who run them and is always keen for feedback on how he can make every boat he builds better than the previous one. 

Baz often jokes that his boats will outlive most of their owners and crews and, although you might go through a few sets of engines, they’ll still be going strong 40-50 years from now. 

To keep them looking good, all you need to do is replace carpets, upholstery and clears and upgrade to the latest electronics when they need it. If you keep the polish on them, you’ll get at least 10 years before they need repainting with two pack.

The reason why Assegai boats have this longevity is the way they are built. 

LOVINGLY HANDCRAFTED
Assegai hulls are built using a female mould, with strip-planked western red cedar, glassed inside and out with epoxy resin. Each layer of glass is hand placed and rolled out to give maximum lamination strength. The hulls are then hand sanded between cured layups to prevent any possible voids or un-laminated areas.

Bulkheads are solid plywood and deck and cabin are constructed of end-grain balsa core, with solid plywood where there are deck fittings, and that is also fibreglassed inside and out with epoxy resin.

There are four main engine girders, which run from the transom to where they run out up forward. These are fibreglassed into place with epoxy resin and give the boats incredible longitudinal strength and rigidity.

To add to strength and stiffness, fuel and water tanks, which are built of plywood glassed either side, are structural and also glassed into position. Great attention to detail and perfect fit is used in the whole build process.

This strength of build extends to the interior fit-out as well. All bulkheads and cupboards fit perfectly and are glassed in to be an integral part of the boat.

This means you never have rattling cupboards, hatches or drawers — and they don't detach in rough seas from where they are attached — as does happen in some production boats.

The interiors of the cupboards and storage spaces are finished with the same meticulous attention to detail and quality as the rest of the boat.

Here's testament to the strength and stiffness of Assegai boats...

When we first got Megumi back from Fiji, and were giving her the refurb, I arrived one day to find Greg Watson, a very experienced marine engineer, doing a shaft alignment. I have known Greg since we went to school together and said to him:

"Mate what are you doing? You should know better than to do a shaft alignment with the boat racked up on the hard?"

"Brownie, these boats are so well built they don’t move one millimetre when they are lifted and racked and, to prove it to you, I’ll come back when she’s back in the water and show you how the alignment will be perfect," he said.

He did and he was right. Try doing that with some of the production boats on the market and you’d be in for a rude surprise.

Check out this video of the build process behind Zulu, a stunning 54-footer now operating out of Port Douglas and, at the time of writing, the latest Assegai in the fleet.

ENGINEERING MARVEL
Assegai engine and pump rooms are amazing, with glossy two-pack finish, making them so easy to keep clean, and the wiring and plumbing are of the highest standard. 

One of my clients, who is a cardiac surgeon, was fishing on Megumi with me and I showed him the engine room when we were doing our prestart checks. 

"My god, that is so clean I could do open heart surgery down there," he quipped.

Another important factor in the engine room design is that Baz is very aware that good access for servicing and repairs is important, as is the ability to remove an engine or both if required without having to cut the boat.

All the engine enclosures can be disassembled via removable saloon lounges and floors and, within 20 minutes, the whole engine space is wide open. 

If engines or gearboxes have to removed, a crane jib easily fits in the wide saloon doors to the cockpit. After shafts, cooling system, oil and fuel lines and electronics are disconnected, it’s easy to lift them out.

And access for maintenance, back in port or on The Reef, is easy 24/7.

MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
So as you can see the beauty of an Assegai is much more than skin deep and when all this functionality and craftsmanship is combined with a beautiful deep-vee hull, with a fine entry and flared bow, you have the ultimate fishing machine and the softest ride you’ll ever experience.

But while you might imagine that a man with this kind of creativity, knowledge and craftsmanship — and an eye for beauty as you see in his wonderful boats — might be some kind of crazy, ego-driven eccentric, well, nothing could further from the truth.

Baz is a fair dinkum Aussie bloke. He loves his wife Jo and his kids and grandkids, his mates, Rugby League footy, and just building beautiful boats.

THE FORMATIVE YEARS
He started in the boatbuilding industry in 1969 with an apprenticeship with Striker Boats in Brisbane, which were built out of aluminium, but Baz specialised in the wood fit-outs. He was at Striker for 10 years and then went out on his own, once again specialising in quality wood work, fit-outs and refurbs.  

In 1991, he built the first Assegai and has never stopped building them. These are game boats of the highest order, revered around the world, working the heavy-tackle seasons, built by hand by an unassuming man on the Gold Coast. Incredible.

Baz sure is gifted. Those who get to own and ride aboard his boats are blessed. And no fish is safe.

If Baz has one fault, it’s that he’s more artist than businessman and is too honest. He puts so much of himself into the builds and makes sure the client is getting the best boat possible, sometimes to the point where he has made very little profit out of the boats he has built.

So why does he keep building them? The simple answer is that he loves what he does and, without having any ego about it, is aware he is creating something special. 

WHAT FLOATS BAZ'S BOAT?
What lights up Baz most is the love for his boats and the fact that the owners and crews who run his boats keep them in pristine condition.

But then why wouldn’t you? An Assegai is piece of very functional art and, if you’ve waited 18 months to have one created, you wouldn’t neglect it.

During the Global Financial Crisis, things were pretty quiet for Baz, but the orders are now coming back in and he currently has a 40ft express nearing completion and a 50 just starting. 

Sure, Assegai boats aren’t cheap, nothing of quality is, especially handcrafted custom boats. But when you compare the quality, design, longevity and finish of an Assegai to similar production boats, which aren’t cheap either, well, for me, it’s just a no-brainer.

The downside on ordering one is the wait to have it built, but that wait is well worth it. Apart from the sheer pleasure of watching something of functional beauty being created from nothing, you get to spend time with Baz and his crew. That in itself is a great experience.

At the end of the day, I see Barry Martin as an artist.

In times gone by, people commissioned work from the great artists of their time to support them and keep them productive. I don’t know how many more boats Baz has got left in him, but one day he will put down the tools, hook up his caravan and head off with his wife Jo to explore Australia and kick back and relax.

When that day comes, there will be a void in quality custom sportfishing boatbuilding in Australia and the global gameboat scene. So if you’ve got the money to play the game, get in now and order an Assegai. They rarely come on the market otherwise.

THE ASSEGAI FLEET
1991: Assegai, 46ft
1994: Aquila, now Mauna Kea, 46ft
1996: Azura, 54ft
1998: The Force, 40ft
2001: Amokura, 57ft
2003: Levante, 44ft
2005: Shaka, 60ft
2006: Megumi, 44ft
2007: Gorilla, 47ft
2009: Askari, 55ft
2014: Zulu, 54ft