Edencraft 6.0m Offshore

Back in the '80s, owners of a Haines Hunter 19R had social standing. It was a benchmark boat, from the family fun scene to gamefishing. In fact, the boat formed the core of the Victorian Game Fishing Club's so-called 'mosquito fleet' during this era.

These beautifully set-up 'little' boats also brought in plenty of very big fish off Bermagui - the most notable was probably Bob Ellis' Warringa. In Queensland they used them for every manner of fishing, often equipped with those huge boat-length sunshades endemic to the northern state. The 19R was one of the best hulls going around. And now you see preloved 19Rs advertised in Trailer Boat almost every month.

Strangely, in the upheaval which saw Haines Hunter pass through a number of hands in the past decade, this most successful hull mould was sold off (along with a number of other top-rating HH moulds) and finished up in the hands of a builder at Eden on the New South Wales south coast.

The 19R became an Edencraft and after another change of ownership was built in Bairnsdale (Vic), more or less as a specialist abalone diveboat. It has dominated that market for a number of years, especially since smaller quotas of abs made dinosaurs of the gas-guzzling Shark Cats.

During the Edencraft era the old 19R gained a few inches in length to take it to a true six-metre boat, the deck was raised all the way around (about six inches), the floor raised to make it self-draining and an engine pod moulded into the hull... And it was built like a brick outhouse.

POINT OF REFERENCE
Now, Edencraft is in new hands again, and judging by the test Trailer Boat did on one of the first boats from the mould by the new owner-builders, the success story has every chance of continuing. This is still a benchmark trailerboat.

New owners are Chris Twikler and Andrew Rennie of Central Marine at Hastings on Victoria's Western Port Bay and the boats are being built at Corowa on the Murray by Twikler's brother, Harry, who has had 40 years experience building fibreglass boats through his company, HT Fibreglass.

As well as the six-metre boat, the Central Marine team acquired moulds to the famous seven-metre Formula 233, Haines 565 and eight-metre Haines Cat.

But back to the 6.0 Offshore, which is Edencraft's biggest seller.

I just love the feeling of weight and strength beneath me, particularly in a blow. Those attributes are missing in some large trailerboats these days as manufacturers try to build big but within towing laws. The result is often a boat which is great to tow, but one which is simply too light to perform adequately in rough water. Classic case of putting the cart before the horse.

The weight/strength-first philosophy will be retained by the new owners of the Edencraft 6.0 Offshore. In fact, Chris Twikler says the last thing they want to do is change a winning formula.

Bareboat weight comes in at around 1150kg which, to my knowledge, is the heaviest six-metre boat around. On-road weight (depending on gear, fuel, etc) will be around 2000kg-plus. That's pretty much out of the Holden and Falcon territory, but well within the ambit of the midrange 4WDs.

MINIMUM OF FUSS
The testboat was set up for an abalone diver, so it was very much all-function and no frills - but it isn't difficult to imagine this craft fitted out as a sportsfisher. Each boat is built to a basic 3C survey level, and then it's up to the customer as to the level of fitout and equipment he/she wants.

Hull thickness at the keel is 25mm graduating to 18mm at the chines. It's solid biaxial cloth and woven rovings. There is no timber used in the lay-up. Stringers are solid glass, which in turn are glassed into the hull to give exceptional strength and durability. Foam, in accordance with USL building codes and 3C survey, fills all cavities. In fact, so confident are the makers in the durability of the boat that they offer a 10-year structural warranty.

The only timber in the boat is the floor, which is top quality marine ply and even that is fully-encapsulated in glass. The aluminium fueltank (250lt) is also encapsulated in glass for longevity and protection from corrosion.

It's not just the bottom of the boat that's solid. Coamings and deck all pass the 'fist-knock' test. It's like headbutting concrete, even on the dashboard. The forward deck, bulkhead and gunwales are solid glass. Nothing moves, nothing bends. It's as tough as a D11 bulldozer.

The deck, which is almost totally non-skid, features an oversize split bowrail leading to a stainless steel bowroller and bowpost. The hatch opens only to the anchor well, not the cuddy, so access to the bow is around the deck, but that's wide and very non-slip. It's not really an issue for abalone divers because they usually anchor from a very large cleat positioned on the gunwale near the dive door.

The safety glass windscreen is mounted on a raised dashboard and is reinforced with an oversize bowrail and aluminium wind deflector mounted on top. The navigation lights are mounted centrally on top of the screen grabrail. A large lidded glovebox and an additional 250mm grabrail are situated in front of the deckie and to the left, in the port coaming, a short gear tray is deep and commodious.

SECURITY OF MIND
The testboat was equipped with an elaborate removable cuddy door secured with a stainless rail padlocked into position very securely indeed. Obviously the owner has had a problem in the past with 'light fingers'. And, of course, a substantial amount of diving gear is stored up front. A more normal door arrangement is available.

The cuddy has a flat floor so that bins of abalone can be stored there for the trip home after a day's diving, but it can be reconfigured in the more conventional V-berth style for a recreational fishing application. It's not a particularly large cuddy because most of the available floor space has been incorporated into the cockpit where the real work's done.

The driver's position is good, as long as you like standing up. There were no seats in the testboat but, of course, they're available if you so desire. Three digital instruments to service the twin Yamaha Saltwater Series 130hp engines directly in front, indicated everything on performance. The twin control box was easy to use and light. The Seastar heavy-duty commercial hydraulic steering through a Momar helm was an absolute delight to use - light but not loose, and very responsive.

As you would expect without seats, the cockpit is huge and uncluttered. A deep and strong sidepocket (fully-glassed and flow-coated) is built into the port coaming, but the starboard side features a side door that's well above waterline. The coaming is reinforced to accommodate the door which slides up and out rather than being hinged. It works well and this side door will be standard on all models.

There are no compartments underfloor, except that holding the 250lt fueltank and a bilge in the stern which houses an oversize bilge pump. The boat is not self-draining and that's how the company prefers to build them. But that feature is available on request.

Batteries and oil bottles are stored in enclosed compartments high under the transom and are easily accessible. The gunwales and transom are wide and flat and totally non-skid. A compressor was mounted centrally on the transom, which adds to the considerable weight already at the back of the boat (such as the pod, twin 130hp Yammies, twin batteries and oil bottles).

A REAL HUMDINGER
Despite all that, the boat quickly got up onto the plane as long as the engines were tucked right in. Once up, the best-running attitude was quite surprising, with the engines trimmed almost right out. The boat really hummed along beautifully in a 15kt northerly out from St Kilda Marina and direction made no difference. Across the wind, the Edencraft had no real discernible lean at all (with just a little wind spray) and into the slop it just pushed straight through. Downwind it simply flew.

Trim made a big difference to the boat's running. With the Yammies trimmed right in and nose down, the Offshore got bogged a little and slapped into the headsea. Throwing the boat around a bit, as we tend to do in these tests, produced some spray but nothing at all annoying. A bimini and a set of clears would eliminate any slight discomfort.

The Offshore cruised at around 49kmh at 3000rpm and topped out at 81kmh at 5200rpm. A boat recently built for the NSW Police and fitted with twin 90hp Yammies topped 73kmh, according to Chris Twikler.

Driving this thing at 80kmh in a sloppy sea is exhilarating! And there are not many craft around which can do that comfortably. I should add, though, that 130hp engines would be considerable overkill for a recreational boat.

The hull is interesting in that, for a start, it's 22° of deadrise at the stern. Three strakes begin at the bow, the outer one coming right from the forepeak all the way through where it flattens to form a second chine at the stern. The chines, too, begin right at the forepeak. This gives the boat incredible grip and it will trip if whacked by a wave at the wrong spot in a tight turn at the wrong moment. But, as I said earlier, we do some dumb things at time testing boats, just to see what will happen.

In keeping with the quality of the boat is the trailer it sits on, a dual axle (override brakes on both axles) Easytow - one of the best in the business.

HARD YAKKA
In summary, you'd never bring a bottle of chardonnay aboard the Edencraft 6.0 Offshore... It's not that sort of boat. It's built for hard yakka - whether clothed as a pro boat or a very serious recreational fishing machine. No, this is Vitamin B territory... and then only in cans.

At $54,000 (plus GST) as tested, but without all the dive gear, the Edencraft Offshore is certainly not cheap because there are no frills. But, in my opinion, it will represent terrific value for years on end. If you've got that sort of 'bread', put it on your must-test list.