Australian Master Marine 6400 Master Series

Most boat tests I conduct for Trailer Boat, Trade-A-Boat and BlueWater are well-planned affairs. Normally I contact the manufacturer to arrange a date, time and place for the test, organise a camera boat and so on. Usually the whole thing goes off without a hitch weather permitting, of course.

Testing Australian Master Marine's latest the 6400 Master Series was certainly a test with a difference. We didn't actually have the plate alloy centre-cab scheduled for a test, but AMM's Barton Thomas was keen to show off his new toy while fishing at the same time. I never have to be asked twice to go fishing, so we came to an agreement. Thomas could espouse the virtues of his new boat and I would divulge a couple of sailfish hotspots.

The forecast was good (10-15kt, SE/NE), with a bit of groundswell coming from a low off the coast Sounded okay to me. But I should have realised something wasn't quite right when there were very few trailers at the ramp. As we backed the big tinnie down the ramp, a shout came from a retired couple fishing off the boat-ramp pontoon: "You're not going out there, are you!" At first I thought, look out, they've left the gates open at the nursing home again. But my polite nature got the better of me and I went over for a chat. The elderly couple went on to tell me that the seas were huge and they could not fish the surf beach, hence their river locale. I still didn't believe them, as the trees were hardly moving at the ramp.

MUM'S THE WORD
As we boarded the 6400 filled with anticipation, the lady said: "Hope you've told someone where you're going." Yes mum, I said under my breath.

As we headed towards the mouth of the Mooloolah River, I could see some reasonable-sized rollers pushing across the river mouth. This is very rare as the entrance is well protected from prevailing wind and sea.

"Looks like a bit of swell out there guys," was my comment. We put the 6400 on the plane and headed to sea. By the time we were two miles off Point Cartright, it was blowing 25kt from the southeast, there was a two to three-metre groundswell and a metre-plus chop on top of that. My thoughts (expletives deleted) slipped back to the not-so-senile couple at the pontoon... You just gotta love those weather forecasters. Anyway, there was no chance I was heading 20 miles offshore in these conditions, so our fishing day suddenly turned into a boat testing day. With that, I took the wheel and started to see what Thomas' little baby was made of 6mm plate bottom and 4mm plate sides actually.

Considering the conditions, the 6400 handled exceptionally well. Head-on into the sea you still know you're in a tinnie, but I must say the landings were considerably softer than most plate alloy boats I've driven. Side-on and downsea the ride just got better. We dropped into some pretty big swells and I thought the big centre-cab might want to pull to one side and try and broach. But to its credit, it tracked straight and also displayed quite good spray deflection.

After enough playing in the rough stuff, we headed back to the bay at Mooloolaba for a few speed runs. Top speed was 70kmh with the 200hp two-stroke Yamaha peaking at 5500rpm, while comfortable cruise speed was around 45kmh at 3800rpm.

FANTASTIC FINISH!
The first thing you notice about the 6400 is the quality of the finish. The welds are outstanding and the two-pack epoxy paint job is the best I've seen on an aluminium boat. Thomas has loaded the boat with enough features to keep even the keenest offshore angler happy.

The 6400 has a fully-integrated outboard pod and swim platform. A ladder on the port side of the pod provides access to the boat from the water or while on the trailer. Handrails and non-skid surfaces ensure sure footing and integrated steps on either side of the pod aid access to the cockpit over the transom bulkhead.

The transom houses a good-size livewell with Sopac hatch, heavy-duty cleaning table with Teflon insert and two rodholders as well as battery and oil bottle storage with vinyl covers.

The self-draining cockpit is fully-carpeted and features an underfloor killtank big enough to hold half-a-dozen spotty mackerel. Taking centre stage of the cockpit is an optional workstation that features a sink with freshwater washdown, bait trays, recessed EPIRB and fire extinguisher storage as well as a huge removable icebox and grabrail.

Nice, long sidepockets big enough to hold tagpoles, gaffs, etc, run the full length of the cockpit. Gunwale height is good, with sidedecks featuring six flush-mounted rodholders, short siderails and heavy-duty cleats.

TOP THAT!
The centre-cab has a good-size hardtop and a perspex windscreen. Removable clears are positioned between the windscreen and the hardtop. The hardtop features an eight-pot rocket launcher, aerial mounts and a small observation tower. Outriggers are mounted just below the hardtop and there seems to be an endless amount of handrails.

Inside the centre-cab are helm and passenger pedestal seating mounted atop storage boxes. I thought the seats were a little on the small side, however, these aid access to the cabin. The helmstation features a hydraulically-operated sports steering wheel and woodgrain dash with flush-mounted speedo, tacho and switch panel. VHF and 27MHz radios were mounted below the dash, with sounder, GPS, stereo and compass above the dash. Vision from the helmseat was quite good both seated and standing, and the throttle on the starboard bulkhead is well-positioned.

The cabin features two six-foot bunks with storage below, however, it's a little tight to access. With no windows or ventilation hatches in the cabin, I couldn't see myself spending a lot of time in there.

The access to the foredeck around the centre-cab is also a little tight. You have to turn side-on to make your way forward. This is always going to be a problem with a trailerable beam centre-cab you either sacrifice cabin or walkaround space. Still, any walkaround is better than none and certainly makes life easier when tending the anchor or fighting multiple hook-ups.

The bow area features a low profile bowrail, raised casting deck, sidepockets, huge split anchor well to keep your sand and reef picks apart as well as a heavy-duty bowroller and cross bollard.

Although we didn't get to go fishing, the day certainly wasn't wasted. Thomas was able to convince me that all plate alloy boats aren't the same, and as the 6400 proved pride of workmanship and attention to detail goes a long way with alloy, just as any other medium.