Boston Whaler 235 Conquest

It's a dreaded moment out on the water: running out of fuel. Drifting on Lake Macquarie, in a brand-spanking-new Boston Whaler 235 Conquest, here was yours truly taking notes on the craft. I was flicking through the diagnostics panel and the fuel icon started blinking a big fat zero. Panic!

A frantic call to base put my mind at rest, and also demonstrated the thought and practicality that goes into the design of a Whaler.

John Sealie from Hirecraft Marine in Toronto, NSW, stated, "It's okay mate. The craft is so new we haven't had a chance to calibrate anything. Have a peek underneath the rear circular access hatch on the deck and you'll see the tank." Sure enough, lifting the lid was all it took to confirm there was nearly half a tank remaining.

That heart-start demonstrated how a little foresight can make a difference when things go awry. In other craft with secured carpet or no underfloor access it would be a real hassle to find out how much gas is left if the gauge was playing up but on the Whaler, a turn of a latch and the question is answered. The 235 Conquest is what we have come to expect from Boston Whaler: one awesome boat.

CONQUEST COCKPIT
As is typical of all Whalers, no feature has been overlooked in this impressively finished craft. The attention to detail begins where the eyes can't see - inside the unsinkable Unibond foam-filled hull, which has a swamp capacity of 4390kg.

There is no stern access door, although there is a two-step fold-away ladder, and a boarding step on the starboard side; these will let you go swimming with ease and help you climb over the wide transom onto the spacious (2.70m x 2.30m) self-draining deck.

On the port side, the transom has a livebait tank with pumps, and an option for another on the other side. The engine pod doesn't take up a lot of area with the massive 250hp Mercury supercharged Verado hanging off it. In front of the pod is a leather-upholstered fold-away seat, and the starboard side features a trick little nook that will provide a perfect platform when hauling in the big fish.

The gunwales are padded all the way around while stainless-steel bars just off the floor provide purchase for your feet when working or leaning over the side. The bars double as a step up to the gunwales, and with nearly 75cm of freeboard, security is well met.

Around the gunwales there are outrigger weight holders and six rodholders. The patterned deck offers plenty of grip with no tendency to become slippery when wet.

 The cockpit deck sports two large catch tanks, and three circular access hatches allow underfloor access, so you can check levels in the 461lt fuel tank. Two doors in the transom allow access for bilge pumps, livewell switches and batteries.

The bow can be accessed through a hatch in the cabin or via the 18cm-wide walkaround decks. My younger crew, Stacie and Scot, thought the moulded step on the deck for heading to the bow was a handy seat for the little 'uns too! The stainless-steel bowrail that runs half the craft's length sits at a good height for bracing when moving fore and aft, and there are two cleats amidships.

The bow is a moulded part of the hull, and sports an anchor well and electric windlass. There are two big stainless steel cleats forward, as well as a handy vinyl seat in front of the hatch, which is great for copping a tan while motoring, or for casting a line when at anchor.

HEROIC HELM
The helm is a treat. It is spacious at 1.50m wide and 1.47m deep, and features fully-adjustable, swivel helm and co-pilot seats. Moulded pedestals at the helm hold large storage lockers, with padded lids that double as aft-facing seats. The lockers could easily store lifejackets or an esky but the seat cushions can separate from the lids, and the lids are awkward could be a finger trap for the unwary. With gas struts on the catch tanks it's puzzling why there is no support on these locker lids.

Sitting on the comfortable helm seat, your hands fall easily on the big tilting stainless-steel wheel. There is plenty of room between the wheel and Digital throttle to get to the trim tab switches.

The sensibly-situated fire extinguisher underneath the throttle is a great idea, as is a moulded foot support for the driver.

Sitting pride of place atop the dash is the compass, but the real feature of the helm is the Mercury engine management system that comes standard with the 250hp Verado engine. A 13-switch panel features horn, wiper, bilge pump, lights, spreaders, raw- and freshwater pumps is on the left-hand side of the wheel above the remote controls for the standard four-speaker Clarion stereo, trim tab and winch switches. There is also a handy drinkholder.

The passenger gets a grabrail on the left and a glovebox in front. Beside each seat is shallow storage area for keys, wallets and more drinkholders.

The superb optional hardtop offers plenty of grab holds, shade and radio storage. The hardtop on the test boat had three rocket launches, clears, outriggers and two rearward-facing spotties for the deck that would freeze a ‘roo in its tracks.

DOWN BELOW
A 52cm-wide lockable access door with a step leads to the roomy cabin with vee-berth and hidden head. While the cabin has only 1.60m of headroom, it is deep and wide, so there is plenty of room to clamber around. There are two port holes with screens for ventilation, and a large access hatch opens to allow access forward and doubles as a skylight. There are four rodholders in the cabin, proving yet again that Boston Whaler has fishos as its focus.

There is only a limited amount of storage underneath the bed, but that's a small price to pay for a foam-filled hull. The cabin wall has a fume detector and pump-out switches for the standard head, plus an access hatch for electrics.

CAREFREE CRUISING
The sensational ride is explained by the specs - the seven-metre hull, 2.59m beam, 38cm draft and 20-degree deadrise equate to a stable craft at rest and a manoeuvrable one at speed.

The massive 250hp Verado pushes the 1587kg hull onto the plane like a dragster, while the patented foam-filled construction makes the ride as smooth as a supermodel's skin. The hull demonstrated impressive wave and swell absorption qualities.

Unfortunately, we couldn't head offshore due to ongoing problems with Swansea Bridge, but that didn't stop a bit of frivolity on the lake.

Steering is a one-handed snap, with no load noise coming from the power-steering unit. Under very extreme turning manoeuvres (of the kind not normally undertaken in everyday cruising), there is no cavitation. The craft drove strongly through a variety of twists and turns.

The four-piece wraparound screen offers awesome protection and there is next to no intrusive wind noise. With the new generation outboards and silent power-steering outfits, the supercharged Verado is sensationally silent; having a conversation at full tilt is not a problem. Well, except for the Clarion sound system belting it out!

Vision is clear from the helm seat. The protection is so complete and the ride so effortless it is easy to forget that you are actually moving at a fair clip - until you stand up and your hat is blown off your head!

The Verado is a remarkable piece of mechanics. Cruising at speed, even a gentle nudge of the throttle delivers a delightfully powerful surge.

As the instruments hadn't been calibrated, it would be unfair to state the speed at various engine revs but at full tilt the Verado was spinning over at roughly 5440rpm while smooth cruising could be maintained from 3500 to 4400 rpm. At idle there is no engine noise - I kept checking the tacho to see if the engine was still spinning.

 You'd be hard pressed to find a better fishing platform in the same class as the Conquest, or above it for that matter. There is plenty of room for up to six people to dangle lines from the cockpit, and if pressed two people could fish from the bow.

There is little price difference between this 235 and the 255 Conquest we tested in March. Hirecraft says that the increased price of oil since the US hurricanes has more than doubled shipping costs in the last few months, and this has filtered through to retail pricing.

No matter what the price, you would cruise many a waterway to find a better craft.

HIGHS

LOWS