Black Watch 40

Train the bow seawards, advance the throttles, and next thing you know you've hit your mark on your satellite navigator... Such was the ease with which we cannoned across the lazy rollers off the Gold Coast. But while conditions may have scored a near perfect 10 for going fishing, Black Watch has its sights set on conquering other things.

The new Black Watch 40 has been designed with world markets in mind. This means everything right down to the tuna tubes in the cockpit, crockery and cutlery in the galley, and the towels with raised motifs in the heads, is part of the turnkey package.

Prior to last October's Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, Black Watch special projects and customer relations manager, John Bennetts, forecast there'd be a lot of interest in the Aussie boats because, well, there's not TOO much interest in them.

"This boat isn't going to be on every second marina, it's more a production boat with custom-boat integrity. That's what gameboat buyers want these days," said Bennetts.

Having worked for gameboat aficionado Buddy Davis in the US and in Australia, Bennetts says that, compared with production gameboats such as Ocean, Hatteras, Tiara, Bertram and Cabo in America, the Black Watch stands out. It gets back to that "custom-boat integrity", he says.

Graeme McCloy, the international marketing director for Black Watch, is even more upbeat about the 40's prospects. With the capacity to turn out as many as two a month, he says the target for Y2K is 15-20 boats.

"The American fishing fraternity absolutely loved the boat displayed at Fort Lauderdale. It obviously fitted a market niche and the feedback was extremely positive. This gives us great confidence to forge ahead with our plans to pursue the American market further," McCloy says.

"The reason they warmed to the 40 is because it's dedicated more to serious fishing. It fills a gap between the pleasure fishing boats and the top-end custom-built fishing craft," he explains.

A COOL CHANGE
For this admirer, the likeness between the old and new Black Watch 40 is evident only from afar. Inside, the new boat has a fully-moulded interior with smoother finishes. There are also miles more standard inclusions, with everything including cockpit lights, spotlight, genset, CD player, icemaker, hardtop... You name it.

Naturally, the finish is in keeping with world expectations. The choice of fabrics and furnishings is diverse, with the review boat boasting a semi-gloss teak (beech is an option) finish turned out by hand.

The wood panelling gave a timeless quality, while the choice of quality fabrics instilled a sense of class. On top of this, the two-cabin boat has a lot of room to move. In the owner's cabin in the bow, the depth of the destroyer hull is almost overwhelming.

Suffice it to say, there's full headroom and more storage space than an inner-city apartment here. In keeping with owners' demands, the new 40 also has an island berth. This comes without changing the hull and widening the entry, so you can have your comfort when running and at rest.

The island berth, finished with a gunmetal grey and gold swirl bedspread, has wings for extra elbow room. Storage for personals exists in overhead cabinets running around the berth and in sliding drawers below. There are also two fully-lined teak hanging lockers.

While there is an overhead hatch for fresh air, one of the few options on this boat was split-level airconditioning.

The starboard-side guest's cabin is just as roomy. The upper bunk is big enough for an adult to sleep comfortably, while the under bunk is bigger again. Privacy is gained by a bifold teak door.

Details include storage overhead, under the lower berth and in a big lined hanging locker with three drawers. As you may have gathered, the Black Watch 40 is big on storage space.

Even the space beneath the companionway stairs isn't wasted. The stairs lift to reveal the airconditioning unit and hotwater, with room left over for storing provisions, creating a workshop or tackle locker.

On the lower accommodation level is the boat's one and only head. It's fully-moulded and really, really roomy. Easy to clean, the moulded surface includes a separate shower stall with sit-down seat, full headroom, and niceties such as stylish gold and chrome taps.

The bathroom benchtops were finished in a sandy-coloured granicoat, while the sink had a storage locker beneath it, a big lined locker above it, and a pair of lovely gold taps reflecting in a big mirror behind.

GALLEYING GOURMET
The benefits of boat builders who fish can be seen in the layout of the galley and bar area. Like many purpose-built fishing boats and unlike the old 40 the galley is L-shaped on the starboard side and mirrored by an L-shaped bar and lunch servery area to port.

This way, you can keep the preparation of lunch and drinks at sea quite separate from more serious cooking duties. Importantly, both areas integrate perfectly with the saloon since they are on the same level.

The galley benchtops are moulded from an ivory-sand-coloured granicoat, with twin sinks with gold/chrome taps, a two-burner hotplate, convection microwave and plenty of storage lockers. Teak and holly floors add a sense of class.

Opposite, the bar has a big fridge, three cupboards and plenty of bench space for attending to cockpit service. Built into the blanked-out screen behind the bar is cupboard space, a TV/video combo, and a mounting for the radio and CD player.

Nice rounded curves to all benchtops and edges and a wonderful view out the saloon windows, make the saloon on the 40 a great place to park yourself at sea or in port.

Thankfully, those sexy, tinted-black saloon windows have been retained. There are pelmets above which can take curtains or, if your prefer, retractable blinds. Blinds up, the saloon looks bigger than the old 40, even though it has the galley up.

Furnishings include a long sofa lounge which converts to a pullman berth on the starboard side and a U-shaped lounge built around a dinette. There's room for four at the table, which isn't so big that it blocks traffic.

Behind the lounges hide storage hatches.

There is a big control panel nearby, and a great view extending back into the wash. The saloon door is a bifolding number located centrally. The aft saloon windows can also be opened. Under the cockpit step is engine access.

LOADED COCKPIT
As comfortable as it is inside, it's in the cockpit that the 40 means business. The way Black Watch sees it, a gameboat must have external fridges, bait-preparation areas, a proper gamechair, and tuna tubes. All this and more can be found in the 40.

On the starboard side are two stainless tuna tubes with small-bait inserts, a deck wash, and a huge bait fridge/freezer whose lid forms one of two steps leading up to the flybridge. To port is the bait-preparation area with stainless sink and hot and cold water, three tackle drawers and an icemaker.

Other features include padded coamings, storage bins under the gunwales, hawse pipes and big cleats, stainless fittings on the self-draining flaps, heavy-duty rodholders and outriggers fitted to Tailored Marine bases.

Stainless gaff racks, the gaffs and tagpole, even the outriggers come standard. Future 40s will be fitted with a cockpit-cam for viewing the action from the bridge. Along with the gamechair, these are, you guessed it, standard.

The marlin door is offset to starboard, while underfloor is a lazarette with a huge amount of storage and access to the running gear. There's also a central 80lt livebait tank. The chair was also the handiwork of Tailored Marine.

The top of the bait fridge or bait-prep area is shaded under the bridge overhang and provides handy informal seats. I also noted the walkaround side decks backed by handrails and a stylish, low-profile bowrail made for safe access to the bow.

BRIDGE JUST FAR ENOUGH
I quite liked the access to the bridge using the bait fridge lid rather than those toy ladders that some boat builders seem to prefer. However, Black Watch intends to fit a one-piece bridge ladder on future models that, I'm told, will be even better.

Up top, the bridge sparkles with anodised alloy. The rocket launcher and support rail are silver, while the five rodholder tubes are finished in gold. These match the silver Black Watch wheel with anodised gold pilot knob.

The skipper's console was graced with waterproof switch panels, Raytheon electronics (pilot, chartplotter, sounder and radar), engine gauges mounted behind a spray-proof window, and a big fat view of all quarters of the boat.

While a hardtop with overhead radio box will, yep, come standard on future 40s, the seating arrangement as it stands is hard to beat. The pilot and co-pilot are offered wonderfully comfortable pedestal chairs with armrests.

There's a fish-spotter's seat to port ahead of the console and a two to three-person lounge, standard with foam-backed icebox or optional with a fridge, to starboard.

UP, UP AND AWAY
Ask any serious gamefisher and they'll tell you all the luxuries in the world don't matter if the hull can't cut it at sea. And it is at sea that the Black Watch 40 will leave most other production hulls falling down its wake.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, feet on the dash, a helicopter filled with photographers humming overhead, the boat felt exciting without even a hook trailing behind.

For some skippers, the 40 might seem as much fun on the trot as it is tied up to a fish.

Standard with twin 430hp Cummins, the Black Watch 40 seen here has an engine upgrade and sported a pair of Volvo's new TAMD 74P EDC 480hp sixes. The latest in Volvo's electronically-managed diesel range, the 74P comes with all the good gear including electronic controls, low-idle facility, twin-engine synchronisation, etc. It has two cylinder-heads, replaceable wet cylinder liners and features such as an oil dipstick either side of the engine, and an engine-mounted control unit for easier installation.

The 7.28lt newcomer develops its maximum horsepower at 2600rpm and 1432Nm of torque at just 1600rpm. Even at 1000rpm it still develops 730Nm!

While there was still some work to be done in the propeller department, the electronically-managed Swedes powered the 40 to a respectable 25.5kt fast cruise, turning at around 2300rpm.

Top speed with the twin 480hp Volvos came in at 28.7kt at 2650rpm. But by the time you read this, the standard boat with 430hp Cummins engines was pulling 30kt. According to Black Watch, properly tweaked, we can expect over 31kt from a Volvo-equipped 40.

Without sounding too corny, a boat like the Black Watch 40 makes you proud to be Australian. Behind the glamour of the new interior is a hull that will leave its mark on foreign seas. And it's all thanks to the hard work and dedication of gamefishers from Down Under.

Normally weighing just under 10,500kg, the first new 40 out of the moulds came in about 1000kg more than usual. Given a few weeks towing lures over the target grounds off Cairns, I'm sure we'd come home weighing a grand(er) or two more again...