Century 1701

At the beginning of WW11 it was contracted by the government of the day to build 3600 vessels and subsequently received the Army-Navy E Award for production excellence.

By the time the calendar flipped over to 1950, Century boasted authorised dealerships numbering 343 and was using the slogan ‘The Thoroughbred of Boats’.

At sometime in this golden history, the emblem we see on Century Boats today was attached to the brand and if you think it looks like that displayed on Ferrari sports cars, you thought correctly. Also during this time Ferrari took Century to task in the hope of retaining this logo exclusively for their own use but alas they ran second in the ‘We Had It First’ stakes.

From there, Century Boats had highs and lows and was eventually purchased by Yamaha in 1995 and this iconic company held the reins till the GFC started to bite. In March 2012 Yamaha divested itself of Century Boats, passing it to Allcraft who now ride in the saddle producing boats like the one we review here.

 The 1701 arrived on our shores with a day or so to spare before the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show where it made its debut. Its similarity in appearance to the Yamaha Long Boats of old is no coincidence considering the big engine company owned this brand for some years and there has been an obvious penchant toward this style of design.

This ‘narrow beam to length overall’ ratio has its advantages and its disadvantages. Stability at rest is sacrificed somewhat, but with this boat design in particular there is more than enough on the plus side to make up for any shortfall. Manoeuvrability, comfort of ride and low horsepower requirements for good performance is just a few of them.

This boat as reviewed is a standard import, including the engine. Whether they continue to arrive on our shores powered up remains to be seen but at the moment what you see is what you get and for the price that is a lot of bang for the buck!

The fore deck, casting deck and cockpit deck are ripple finished providing a non-slip surface, and the cockpit liner runs sheer to the deck so you will not find any ‘toe under’ access when standing at the gunwales.

The anchor well has an aperture through which the ground tackle passes but that opening is so small perhaps a small Danforth anchor might find passage but standard grappling anchors would not. The collapsible four pronged anchor that many small yachtsmen carry, would suit.

Hatches on underdeck stowage areas on the 1701 are heavy-duty and hinged with rubber seals and due to the fact that the hull voids are all foam filled, they effectively become potential ice boxes and as such they are bunged for drainage.

The centre console has a seat with a permanent back rest and a seat base that folds forward to access the storage underneath.

The port side of the module has a flush-mounted hatch with a clear acrylic door that would be 10 mm thick! On the opposing side an aluminium holder is bolted to keep rods away from the gunwales when underway. Further dry stowage is found behind the doors in the aft of the console.

Standard fit is a neat Edson stainless steel helm wheel featuring a power knob and a pair of drink bottle holders mounted in the flat dash top. Here there is enough room to mount a ten inch electronic cabinet with ease behind the wrap-around acrylic screen that is protected by a stainless steel grab rail.

The helm seat is a mammoth removable ice box with a two-person seat cushion held down by press studs to its lid. It sits in a stainless steel rack that is bolted to the deck on which a swinging back rest with multiple positioning is attached.

In the aft corners of the cockpit are two hatched boxes which form part of the inner liner.

That on the portside is a live-bait tank while the opposing number houses the battery, fuel filter and isolation switch. The box tops are ample enough in side to be used as casting decks.

The transom is pod-less; the 90hp Yamaha fitted directly to the stern. Starboard side there is a boarding platform with a fold down single rung ladder.

The hull is injected moulded which accounts for its blemish-free finish. With all voids pumped with foam, the resulting buoyancy is an advantage and then there is the added bonus of having all hatches as potential ice boxes.

Externally there is one longitudinal strake running full length each side of the keel line and wide reverse chines; the latter running from the stern and diminishing at the bow.

Out of sight, the manufacturer is using what they refer to as their exclusive RIB (Rigid Integrated Beams) to make up the fibreglass stringer system for hull strength without an increase in overall weight.

Bronze through-hull fittings are used below the waterline while those above are stainless steel.

Hard turns at speed showed up some aeration at the propeller but without doubt this will be remedied when the motor is lowered one bolt hole further, on the transom. The 90hp four stroke offered up plenty of power with GPS speed at WOT of 6100 rpm being 35.6 knots.

Those who have experienced travel in long boats in chop will know what we are talking about when commenting on the smooth ride of this hull. There is minimal ‘banging’ experienced when travelling over short sharp chop and manoeuvring over such a surface failed to phase this level of performance. And the foam filled hull does a good job of dampening ambient noise from the hull.

The impression we came away with of the 1701 is one of a boat offering exemplary finish at an amazingly low price. If these attributes can be maintained in our retail environment, this boat will raise hell with opposition boat suppliers, be they manufacturers or importers, around the country.