Caribbean Reef Runner

To the experienced boatie the name Reef Runner has always meant one thing - a big trailerable boat, reliable and solid as a rock, yet capable of being towed by the family six. It's a fact not lost on Scoresby (Vic)-based boat-builder Caribbean, where since the mid- '70s the Reef Runner has been one of its flagship trailerboats.

Not surprisingly, the latest version of the Reef Runner is true to the mold. Its new hull is extremely good offshore and while no lightweight at 1020kg (approx, with LOA of 6.3m including a generous bowsprit) still places the boat within the realms of the average Falcodore.

Given this is Mk III, the changes to the latest Reef Runner are not wholesale: deadrise has come back from 24° to 21° to improve stability at rest; strakes have been fined down to guard against slam; and cockpit freeboard has been reduced to 720mm.

On the whole, the new hull is more efficient, carrying its weight better. The new coamings too are better - on the older boat were much too high for comfortable fishing. And yet it's still a very dry boat.

Another change being introduced is an interior non-slip fibreglass cockpit liner covered in a clip-on carpet, replacing a wooden deck with stick-down carpet.

The fueltank will be a little larger and the battery, currently sitting on the floor below the engine well, will be on a 100mm raised platform in the same spot, but nothing else changes.

The testboat was brand new and fitted with an equally tight Honda 130 four-stroke outboard, so the speed tests we did are not indicative of the boat's potential. Let's just say that while many Reefies are fitted with two-stroke outboards up to 200hp, the Honda 130 performed brilliantly, despite the fact it was brand-new.

Top-end torque and speed was surprising and the boat's balance very good indeed. It ran straight and true without leaning into the wind like some of its competitors. The hydraulic steering made pointing the beast an easy task.

The reputation of the Honda outboards seems to grow daily. Indicative of this is the fact that in the two years Boronia Marine has been selling Hondas, not one has come back for anything other than scheduled servicing.

POINTY END
At the pointy end, the Reef Runner's bowsprit incorporates a large bowroller and chain-lock system to store the anchor. And it is brilliantly designed to make raising the large plough anchor easy. To lower it you just flip the chain loose and the anchor drops away. To retrieve, haul away until the anchor comes up and locks in place. If you do have a problem, it's easy to fix through the split bowrail.

The self-draining anchor well in the bow has two compartments, one for the anchor and another for the rope, which means mud coming up on your anchor is easily flushed away and doesn't end up all over your warp.

You can do all this from the very large cuddy hatch while (unfortunately) standing on the V-berth's cushions. At least they're vinyl-covered so damp or dirty footmarks will wipe off easily. If you prefer to walk around the deck to the bow you can, just take care - the footway is very narrow even if it is non-skid. Our test boat was fitted with a hardtop which had handrails on top making that job easier.

I loved the two rubber flip-latches on the cuddy hatch. They were easy to clip and unclip, unlike those infernal stretch loops that you jam your fingers under.

A DASHING FIGURE
The Reefie, to my mind, is a very nice looking boat, with the bow sweeping in an ever-increasing curve up to the windscreen. This has a couple of benefits and one drawback: the height of the windscreen is just about perfect for driver comfort and visibility when seated. It increases headroom in the cuddy entry area and near the bulkhead inside there's plenty of headroom for two adults seated opposite one another.

The drawback is that while there's plenty of seat and foot room for another two adults to sit in the cuddy, there's not enough headroom for them to do so comfortably. How often would four adults get into that situation? Rarely, probably, unless you copped a sudden storm.

The cuddy is certainly big enough for two adults to snooze full-length on the wide, blue-patterned vinyl-covered arms of the V-berth. Overhead are padded parcel shelves which are unusually, cut straight, rather than following the curvature of the bow - probably to increase storage space.

These shelves, and the cuddy roof, are covered in the whitish-grey carpet so loved by boat manufacturers. (It's great stuff for storing lures on, actually, especially those with triple hooks, because they'll stick firmly and yet pull off easily when wanted). Naturally, there are storage boxes under the V-berth.

Small perspex cabin windows let in plenty of light.

THE COCKPIT
More and more boats are moulding their dashboards to fit standard instruments these days and it's a pity the Reefie doesn't follow suit. The only moulding in the dash is for the centrally mounted compass which is perfected placed.

The testboat's dash saw a tacho mounted to the right of the compass with the speedo on the left. These were easy enough to read but smaller gauges (hour meter, fuel, trim) mounted above them were difficult to read without standing up. Also, the marine radio in the testboat was mounted in front of the passenger on the far port side -- a long reach from the skipper. Unfortunately, there's really no closer spot to put it.

The driver's and crew seats are solid, Caribbean-quality. Both swivel and are adjustable, the driver's mounted on an open-sided storage box, while the other is on a combo storage box (with side-opening latched door) and livebait tank/icebox. On top is a padded dicky seat for the third crew to sit back and watch the lures in comfort.

Both driver and passenger have solid, stainless steel footrests, through-bolted on the bulkhead, and there's a grabrail in front of the passenger which also caters for another person standing between the two seats.

There is a large, carpeted side pocket for the passenger and exceptionally long sidepockets in the cockpit, also carpeted inside and vinyl-covered for practicality on the outside.

Headroom under the (optional) hardtop was a little tight. I'm not a big bloke at 177cm but I banged my nut fairly firmly by standing on tiptoe. In a big sea, a genuine six-footer would be hanging on outside. There doesn't appear to be much you can do about it either as the hardtop is fastened very firmly to the top of the windscreen up front and on two solid stainless steel supports down to the gunwales amidships.

Perhaps if you're a bigger bloke you might prefer to go for a soft top with zip panel to poke your head through when you have to stand to drive. In the meantime I suspect that if asked nicely, Caribbean could provide a windscreen a few inches higher for the hardtop model which would solve the problem admirably.

Incidentally, the windscreen is fitted with wipers which may be quite useful in freshwater. In saltwater situations, Rain-X does a better job.

The cockpit itself has plenty of fishing room, is carpeted in a mottled blue and has two large underfloor wet bins ahead of the 205lt petrol tank. With that amount of juice, you're going a long way in a day, especially if your Reefie is fitted with a fuel-miserly Honda.

The gunwales were comfortably wide, covered in anti-skid moulding, and featured a recessed grabrail on both sides. In fact there's anti-skid everywhere. Four rodholders were evenly spaced and recessed cleats screwed into the rear quarters. The fuel filler was mounted high on the port gunwale.

The layout of the stern is a matter of opinion. The self-draining bait tanks either side of the engine well with hinged lids are big enough to be plumbed for livebaits, but the removable seats in the rear quarters really are an anachronism. You'd take out the seats if you were fishing (the padded backrests are great for leaning against while locked into the corner) but then what are you going to do with them? Pitch them into the cabin with all your other stuff? Leave them at home? And yet for a family day cruising, they're very useful indeed.

The testboat had a bait station mounted over the outboard well which was practical, although you'd probably have to throw a bucket of water into the well occasionally to flush berley and bait muck away.

On the dual axle Easytow trailer the boat is quite high so the boarding platform and ladder mounted on the port stern was a welcome extra.

The trailer had mechanical over-ride disc brakes fitted on the front axle. These worked well enough on two trips, the first down to Westernport for the test and the second a 600-km round trip to Lakes Entrance with a sister boat, the Boronia Marine Fishing Team vessel.

The Honda-equipped testboat weighed in at 1780kg all up. Throw in a bit of gear and a belly-full of fuel and two tonnes is not far away. While my Fairmont Six wagon towed both boats without too much fuss, I would suggest a better braking system on the trailer, air or electric, if you plan to do a lot of long-distance towing. I could be accused of being a bit of a fusspot on this point but for peace of mind I'd rather spend the extra "safety money" up-front.

On the water the weight of the hull is, in my view, a distinct advantage, especially in rough water. And when a storm blows up that's when you need the reassurance of a solid, reliable hull beneath you.

Another point on the trailer: I just loved the click-on hose fitting to spray down the brakes after immersion in salt water and the rubber-mounted sidelights slung under the mudguard between the two wheels. They're out of harm's way yet visible in rear view mirrors.

So in summary, value for money is the real equation, and in my view the Reef Runner excels here. It's a very good hull, and a well-balanced boat, with a good-sized cockpit and cabin, a great powerplant and a very good trailer.

In my book, Caribbean should be congratulated on the latest Reef Runner. Sure, there are a few compromises here and there but you could spend a lot more than $42,000 and still not get everything you want.

Without a doubt, the Reef Runner's one of the best in its class and arguably the best in 6.0-6.5m range in the value-for-money stakes.

PRACTICAL WORKHORSE

The Reef Runner, like all Caribbean's trailerable boats, does not have trendy mod-cons like outboard pods or half-pods; the windscreen has no sexy curves or steep angles; the hull is not self-draining; the battery box sits on the floor under the huge outboard well and is hard to get at; and there are removable dicky seats in the stern quarters.

On a quick initial inspection, (ignoring the attractive looks of the boat) it could appear to be a throwback to the '70s.

In fact, it's far from that. Caribbean prides itself on making practical boats that work. And while they don't fix things when they're not broke, they do have a policy of continuous improvement.

For example, Andrew Wagner, General Manager at International Marine (Caribbean brand builders) questions the practicality of a pod. US builders, he says, are moving towards a more swing-down style of stern which Caribbean has incorporated in its new 19-footer.

"A pod makes a boat a foot or two longer, so a 17-footer really becomes a 19- footer. We reckon that if you're going to do that, you might as well fill in around the outboard and make the boat a genuine 19-footer. We're not convinced pods add performance, economy or anything else to a boat. And they are difficult to fish over because the motor is placed so far away from the cockpit. And we believe it's better to have the chines of the boat in the water."

And so the Honda 130 (on our testboat) bolts directly to the stern, which has been changed little except to allow for the new, longer 25-inch leg motors. This means there's a huge outboard well with sizeable moulded bait tanks either side behind those dicky seats.

"Our criteria when we built the boat was to find the right compromise between a big family funboat and an offshore fishing rig... A middle-of-the-range, quality boat offering good value for money," Wagner says.

Likewise, Caribbean couldn't see advantage in changing the hull to incorporate a self-draining cockpit. And what's better to have in front of you than the solidity of a plate glass windscreen? The curvy ones tend to encroach on shoulder room - and they're expensive.

Wouldn't it have been better to design the rear quarter dicky seats so they swung down out of the way when not needed? Perhaps, said Wagner, and they looked at it, but the seats were too big.

Caribbean's conservative philosophy has been much criticised in recent years but things appear to be changing. I'll let you in on a little secret: the word 'Caribbean' comes from the Arawak Indian word 'carib' which means cannibal.

Other manufacturers beware: the rejuvenated Caribbean is out to eat you.