Baysport 640 Fisherman

That’s exactly what we did in this case and found a top-value boat that is extremely well placed in the market for the budget conscious. This boat, the 640 is part of a small line up of models which include the 545, 585 and 620 Offshore. If you check out the Baysport website at www.baysportboats.com.au you will see them referred to as ‘Sports’ models.

The boats that are retailed from Brisbane Yamaha have been optioned up and have been designated ‘Fisherman’. All models feature the same style hull, which in itself is interesting, and the topsides feature similar layouts.

These boats have been in the market place for the past five years and prior to these, earlier models were known to us as ‘Freedom’ boats.

The electronics and hydraulic steering are the stand out features in a list of others that make this boat an excellent value for money fishing platform which has a retail price of $49,990.

Dry stowage areas can be found under the side bunk cushions. Side pockets are large and windows are a fixed slit type offering extra lighting on top of what comes through the clear roof hatch.

There is ample head room for the average person to sit inside without clashing with the cabin roof.
Access in and out of the cabin is relatively easy thanks to a large aperture that runs three quarters of the way across the helm bulkhead and foot rests for those seated there were raised bunk end boards that also retained the cushions.

We found the helm and passenger seats snug against the cabin liner each side which made them tight to swivel on their bases, although it was possible. No doubt this has been done to open up the companionway between the seats for easier passage for those on board. The helm chair featured a modular fibreglass box base in the aft of which was found a neatly recessed two-draw tackle locker while the front featured an aperture leading to a shelf.

The passenger seat was fitted to a tubular stainless-steel frame designed to allow an icebox to be inserted then secured in place. We are starting to see more of this style of seating which is a good thing for a number of reasons. Iceboxes flying around the deck in rough seas are dangerous but also an longer box secured here may be used as another seat.

The helm layout is neat with Garmin’s Echo Map 50 flush mounted into the dash. Although this was a relatively small unit, one with a larger cabinet up to about an eight-inch screen should fit here on the flat fascia of the instrument panel.

The top of the helm bulkhead has a few optional areas for more electronics should they be required and a rebate in front of the passenger will hold goods and chattels while underway.

The windscreen was a one piece acrylic wrap around pane in the front, inside of an aluminium frame with two smaller panes to the side.

As reviewed, the bimini top was supported at its front by two struts down onto the top of the screen and a neat set of clears joined the two.

Full cockpit length pockets service those on the deck and horizontal rod holders are fixed to the hull high enough to allow easy access to them over the top of the pocket openings.

The walk-through transom door is hinged on the port side of the transom bulkhead and being made from king star board it should be impervious to the elements. When being closed, the latch didn’t line up correctly so needed to be helped. Whether this was just a quirk of the test boat we don’t know.

Once opened, it was easy passage to the boarding platform which was fitted with a fold-down telescopic ladder and a hand rail on the aft corner.

A couple of rod holders and pop-up cleats put the finishing touches to the coamings around the cockpit.

At the aft of the cockpit, the three-quarter lounge consisted of a permanent backrest fixed against the transom with a hinged seat base on two fold-up struts. When in the ‘down’ position, the front edge of the seat base swung close to the deck making it difficult to get the toes under to gain good balance when fishing over the back.

Brisbane Yamaha supplied the boat for the test and preferred to use tote tanks for fuel to alleviate having fuel go stale in the 165-litre underfloor aluminium fuel tank pending the boats sale; hence there was loose plumbing under the transom.

This is also the reason the Garmin unit was not wired up for the review; pending a customer’s decision to option up to a unit with a larger screen.

On top of the transom was the standard fit bait board with a couple of rod holders and the high-pressure deck wash.

The hull is something different again. While many fibreglass boat manufacturers mould a planing plank down part of the keel line to give a better hole shot and slower planing speed, Baysport has concaved it to accept an increased water volume which has a positive effect on a number of handling aspects -- but more on that later.

The hull is built with a hollow fibreglass stringer construction which is then foam filled. The only timber present in the hull is a layer of ACQ treated timber that is encapsulated in fibreglass onto the topside of the stringer matrix to ensure a flat and level surface for the deck to be fixed to. This timber is designed for use in the high humidity of underground mining operations so is well suited to marine use.

The topside is fibreglassed to the bottom hull and then a bonding layer adhered between the two on the inside before a rubber buffer is put in place over the lip join externally. The manufacturer has certainly gone to great lengths in getting all the components to be as one and the finish is excellent.

Immediately noticeable though, was the handling of this hull when manoeuvring either fast or slow.

It showed little side slip in hard turns and ‘railed’ around tightly. This could be put down to the fact that each side of the concave Hydro Lift Tunnel is effectively a keel line giving it twice as much ‘grab’ when pushing the envelope.

Hole shot was also smooth and hard to discern obviously due to extra lift and less drag from the deeper parts of the hull. The manufacturer claims to have tested this hull in both V-bottom and Hydro Lift Tunnel Technology (HliftTT) design with the latter realising an extra 2.8mph (2.43 knots).

Any slow speed manoeuvring was also noticeably different from the norm especially when backing down. The propeller in reverse was pushing a lot of water forward under the hull instead of a good part of it against the bottom of the transom; the latter of which becomes ineffectual and just creates turbulence.

With fewer vortexes to deal with and the screw operating in clean water, aeration was minimised and when working the trim across the range at speed the boat showed it was less prone to aeration at the propeller on hard turns than we have come to expect.

Stability at rest when walking around the cockpit was excellent, ticking another box on the ‘fishing platform’ list.

Offshore and trolling for those Spaniards at six knots, the two-stroke Yamaha will be running at 2300rpm. The low speed performance capabilities of this hull showed yet again with a slow planing speed of 12 knots at 3100rpm so coming home long distances in foul weather is going to be that much more economical. The hull also masked any hole-shot, and transition onto the plane was a smooth and effortless exercise.

At a slow cruise speed of 14.8 knots the Yamaha was turning over at 3500rpm and upping the pace to 23 knots to meet a schedule it was running at 4000rpm. For fast cruising, 4500rpm realised 27 knots and WOT of 5900rpm took us to 35.5 knots.

We reviewed a Freedom boat from the same manufacturer a decade ago and having had a name change and no doubt many changes to its build and associated technology we can’t recall them being honed to the calibre of what we reviewed here.

This boat has to be one of the best kept secrets in the fibreglass boat market in this country and at a price that puts it within grasp of many trailer boaters. If the size has got you worried, worry not. We will be bringing to you shortly, the Baysport 545 Fisherman which is yet another surprise package for the budget conscious.