Fairway 41 Off-Shore

But the reverse isn’t true. None of these qualities are necessarily preclusive of a great family cruising boat. I premise this test with that because, while designed and built for tournament fishing, the Fairway 41 Off-Shore struck this reformed fishboat skipper as a great family boat.

Here you can have your fish and eat it, too. Hunker down with the family and live aboard without tripping over each other. Range up the coast and back home again without copping a hiding. And should you want to fish, well, it’s in its element for that.

Of course, this isn’t a complete revelation. The Fairway 41 Off-Shore is based on the Deep-Vee 400, several of which have clocked up some sea miles over the years here.

Of course, the brand Fairway has some history here, with more than 100 of 37-foot single-engine cruisers built on the Gold Coast. Now manufactured in Asia, and retailing locally by United Motor Yachts, Fairway is attracting attention once more.

The operation is backed by Stewart Smith, who helped build Deep Vees from 2000-2007. With Queensland marine identities David Wright and Marc Hall as partners, they are rearing to go.

But while the hull was in existence, the new Fairway 41 Off-Shore gained a few internal changes. And, together with the latest Cummins engines and top-quality proprietary engineering, the Asian-built boat appears well kitted-out for the money during our albeit fleeting visit.

In fact, the test boat we drove had a pair of Springfield seats bolted into the flybridge and three-quarters of a tank of fuel, but that was pretty much it before our shakedown cruise. In light of that, the boat stood up well to our scrutiny of its interior, fit and finish, and engineering. The moulds are nice and fair, too.

With a pair of Reelax outriggers, a shotgun centre rigger, heavy-duty rod holders and rocket launcher, live-bait tank with pump, kill tanks and more, the Fairway 41 Off-Shore is priced keenly at $625,000. Shop around for a 40-footer, let alone one designed to fish, and you’ll be lucky to get change out of $900,000.

Stainless-steel 316-graded hawsepipes and big cleats, small pop-up fender cleats, decent hatch catches and hinges add to the offshore intent, while a huge, oval mid-transom live well with window has rounded crew/angler friendly external edges, and the marlin door is expectedly big and outward opening. Decent deck drains are another feature to help water exit fast.

Sub-floor, you get twin insulated fish and/or bait lockers with direct overboard drains, while the eutectic freezer (come fish-spotting seat) under the bridge ladder is designed to carry plenty of bait. Engine-room access alongside is easy, while anglers will welcome the supplied tackle or (upgraded) icemaker drawer.

Cockpit spotlights and rope lighting will take care of night work, the side lockers provide useful storage including for the shorepower lead, and teak tread steps, wide side decks and a far-reaching bow rail -- albeit in need of an intermediate wire -- plus cabin rails, all assist going forward. The Carolina flair helps keep this boat dry while also providing an enlarged foredeck space for mounting davit and tender.

There are plans to create a family-friendly version of the Fairway 41 Off-Shore, we were told, with aft-facing cockpit seating and extended covers. But as it was, with the latter addition of a Euro awning and mounting poles in the rod holders, the boat has a huge amount of outdoor-entertaining space for a family anyway. Add folding table and chairs.

Storage abounds, too, and everything has a place to reduce clutter in what may well prove a gun fishboat. With 2.5 moulded steps up to the saloon floor, you should be able to go back in a hurry and take on plenty of water without drowning the saloon. Twin Disc gearboxes have a goof reputation. Such is the boat’s agility, a bowthruster for docking isn’t a must-have.

Importantly for anglers kicking back between strikes, the aft saloon windows offer a nice clear view of the wake. An upmarket Hunter Douglas blind package provides privacy at the marina, where the plush taupe upholstery will be coveted after the après-fish clean-up.

Using simple trip switches, the 12/240V main distribution panel, near the saloon-door entrance, with water- and waste-tank levels, appears a snap to operate. We’re told the electrics are Australian certified and there’s a decent Mastervolt charger and Whale freshwater pump. But the air-con units, which are Chinese-made, might be better upgraded to Cruisair or MarineAir units.

Seating is generous. The L-shaped lounge to port can take four and is long enough to double for impromptu sleeping or as a daybed. Facing forward, you can view the television alongside the Fusion AV unit and a CD storage cabinet, all recessed on the forward bulkhead and in the solid American-style ‘windscreen.’

The saloon’s other L-shaped lounge opposite can seat another couple under the television and also double as a daybed. So, for a 40-footer, the seating is great, easily accommodating a tournament crew or a family at holiday time. Headroom is lofty and, with the lounges and dinette table pushed well outboard, a good thoroughfare remains. Storage for tackle and spares exists under the lounges, too.

Traced by a handy servery and frosted-glass splashback, the galley on the mezzanine level remains very much part of the saloon. Its U-shaped design will work underway and at sea. Storage exists in drawers, cupboards, a swing-out condiment rack and, more importantly, in a big sub-floor hold perfect for toting victuals like, err, grog.

On the cooking front, you get a separate bench-height Waeco fridge and freezer under decent counters, a big sink, two-burner electric cooktop with extractor fan, and a microwave oven recessed in the brow near some overhead cupboards. Add a barbecue or a 240V health grill in the cockpit and you’re set.

The accommodation plan is 2+2, that is to say, a stateroom with island berth in the bow -- it gains plenty of space due to the Carolina flare -- and a twin-bunk cabin to starboard, with two bathrooms. Storage in the forward stateroom extends from a hanging locker to drawers and side lockers and there’s abundant storage room in the bunk cabin.

While the bunks are adult sized, the bottom one is bigger. But there is no natural ventilation. So you’ll need to sleep with the door open when the generator and air-con are shut down at night and especially in summer.

The twin bathrooms are a decent size, but they have only handheld showers and, thus, no separate shower stalls. That’s not uncommon of fishboats but fishwives like separate showers. As it was, consider the accommodation good for four.

In respect of the inventory, the boat performed eagerly with the twin upgraded QSC-8.3 550hp Cummins (500hp versions standard), running 2.2:1 Twin Disc gearboxes, spinning 2.5in shafts. The 7kW E-Series Onan runs the ship remotely, including the 16,000 and 12,000 BTUS SeaAir air conditioners.

You get standard wet lead-acid batteries, Hynautic hydraulic steering and a Quick windlass. The freshwater toilets and holding tank are the Vacuflush brand, there’s an alloy fuel tank sans shutoff but with decent Racor filters and a Seafire system, while the cockpit refrigeration uses Isotherm 12V plates.

A glance of the engine room reveals direct access to the Racors, strainers and coolant bottles on the centreline, generator forward for impeller exchange, batteries outboard and PSS shaft seals. The Cummins engines didn’t looked cramped and I heard 12V fans assisting ventilation. The transverse 2000-litre fuel tank is filled via a cockpit deck hatch -- you’ll need a dipstick.

A hatch in the hardtop forward provides ventilation, but without an aft clear you’re not gasping. In the rain, we did experience some pesky drips down the neck (a canvas extension to the hardtop might be added in future).

Storage for safety gear is plentiful, with room under the brow to mount rod racks. You can put a fridge in the bridge and/or strap a portable Waeco unit up front. A moulded cooler is an option where otherwise you get an aft-facing fish-spotting cutout come seat near the dash.

Seating elsewhere revolves around a U-shaped arrangement that surprisingly generous and capable of accommodating four in comfort, plus there are two helm seats before the dash module, itself designed to harbour two 12-15in screens.

The skipper will welcome the solid stainless wheel with crank knob, split Palm Beach-style throttles, the Smartcraft engine display, engine analogue gauges, and great access to all the wiring. Storage for personal effects wouldn’t go astray, but the red night lights, 12V outlet and big grab rails are welcome.

Needless to say, it’s on the water that the Fairway 41 Off-Shore shows its true colours. With the upgraded twin 550s, the boat has terrific acceleration and true grunt. The variable deadrise hull with 19 degree of deep-vee aft and 60 degrees at the forefoot cleaves the waves, while the big Carolina flare throws the displaced water far and wide.

Somewhere out there we clocked 31 knots. We also took flight and got serious air. Tugging on the reins, a fast 23-26 knots cruise was maintained, and at 17-20 knots, it felt unstoppable punching into the head sea. No thumping from what is a really nice hull.

Revving out to 3000rpm, the QSC-8.3s returned 20.5-21 knots at 2320rpm for 128 litres per hour for a safe range of about 300 nautical miles. The importers quote about 100 litres at cruise.

In reverse, the Fairway 41 Off-Shore demonstrated absolutely first-class manoeuvrability, great cockpit views tournament-like performance. Such is the responsiveness, it even made this half-baked fish skipper look good.

The Cummins engines are brilliant, the cockpit and flybridge of generous proportions, and such is the interior finish that families won’t feel hard done by. Meantime, you’ll save a lot of bills over a top-tier imported tournament boat.

I liked the fact you don’t get banged about in ordinary weather. The engineering and execution is really very simple, making this the kind of boat you can run, clean and maintain yourself. Get the Cummins guys for servicing, do the slip and antifoul at the club, and you’re ready to fish again. Fairway, it seems, is a fitting name.

Priced from: As above but standard with twin Cummins 500hp QSC-8.3s.

Length overall: 12.30m
Beam: 4.50m
Draft: 1.0m
Displacement: 12,500kg
Fuel: 2000 litres
Water: 400 litres
Sleeping: 4+2
Engines: 2 x Cummins QSC-8.3 550hp
Generator: Onan 7kW