Golden Seal Powercraft 6.3

A switch from the traditional propeller-driven boat to jet power is a learning experience, and I suspect it takes more than a day or two to achieve competence and confidence.

Admittedly, I was all at sea with the 6.3m Powercraft Jet Boat controls and my proficiency level had not increased by test's end... They are just so different to prop-driven craft.

For a start, the jet provides thrust as well as direction - same as an outboard. But there's no 'keel' on the drive unit below water to give you positive direction, particularly at slow speed, and you wallow all over the place. The trick is to move the boat in power spurts, so there's sufficient volume of water thrust through the jet to give you control.

THRUST-BUSTER!
At speed, it's a different matter. The boat is more precise - once you get the hang of it. The steering is very light and your initial reaction is to over-turn the helm. When you realise that's not the way to go, that you must 'wait' for the directional thrust, Bob's your uncle.

Peter Buckingham, from Golden Seal Marine, in Mordialloc (Vic), accompanied me on Trailer Boat's test and gave a masterful display on how the boat should be operated. In his hands, it was quite brilliant... Ducking and weaving along and through mangroves on the edge of Westernport Bay. Jolly good fun in very shallow water.

Shallow water operation is one of a jetboat's great advantages. There's nothing hanging down beneath the hull of the boat to get snagged in the sand, hit logs or rip up weedbeds.

Peter has been a jetboat fan for years and one of his favourite spots is Wonboyn, just over the Victorian border, heading for Eden. It has a shallow inlet, mudflats and a very shallow bar entrance to the sea. Down the coast a bit there's other little inlets which can't be accessed by prop-driven craft, but the jetboat can slide in without any trouble.

Sounds like paradise... A paradise Peter is now able to explore now the right boat has turned up.

WORKAHOLIC
Let's look at the whole package. The Tasmanian-manufactured Powercraft 6.3m is essentially a 5.2m aluminium boat (hull bottom, foredeck and transom are 3mm, and topsides 2.5mm) powered by a 175hp/140kg Mercury Sportsjet mounted in a metre-long 'pod' welded to the back of the boat. Either side of the engine box are two foam-filled and sealed flotation boxes to counteract the weight of the motor so far outboard.

Available in three versions, workboat; sportsboat/cuddy cab (which we tested); and runabout -- all in survey if so desired -- it is not a pretty combination to look at, but one suspects the market at which it's aimed won't be too concerned. It is built for work rather than family fun, although it could double for both in a rugged sort of way.

The short cuddy is surrounded by an aluminium bowrail from stem-to-cuddy end. The foredeck features a rather unique anchoring system where the anchor is held in a normal stainless pulpit bracket. But the chain/rope disappears into a tube at the foot of the foredeck, which runs centrally under the deck to a 'hole' in the dash where it re-emerges to be tied off on a centrally and vertically mounted cleat on the bulkhead in front of the driver.

The system is designed to make anchoring easy and a one-man operation, but we found that the D-shackle and eyelet between the chain and the rope was too large to fit into and up the tube. And that meant a very short length of chain between the bow-mounted anchor and the rope. A bit of downsizing in chain, D-shackle and eyelet might fix the problem, so the appropriate length of chain would fit into the tube.

The position of the wheel is low and quite comfortable for the skipper sitting on polypropylene moulded seats mounted on open-fronted alloy storage boxes. Instrument layout is good, with speedo and fuel gauges on the left, revs and temp gauges on the right.

The throttle on the right hand is well-positioned and operates similarly to an inboard. The boat has no screen as such, just a forward-angled clear acrylic spray deflector attached to a very solid aluminium grabrail which continues down to the deck. The bimini was a good height, and a clear front window and tonneau cover (not fitted for the test) are part of the package. The foredeck features six wide strips of stick-on anti-skid tape. The passenger seat has a grabrail in front and a small, open goodies box on the left elbow.

CUDDY BUDDY
Entry to the cuddy is left of centre. There's an open storage box on the right, ahead of the helm, which is big enough for odds and sods including anchor rope. The cuddy is quite easy to get into on your knees, although there's not a lot of headroom because the nose slopes down sharply. Forward of the cuddy, where one would normally expect an anchor rope locker, is positive foam buoyancy to ensure that if you get swamped the boat will float right way up. There is also foam buoyancy under the cockpit floor.

The cockpit is quite large and open, with a stern cross-seat mounted on a transverse 90lt fuel tank (with so much weight centred on the stern, the need for those oversize foam-filled outboard boxes is very evident).

Along each coaming were spacious, open storage bins which intruded into the boat beyond the line of the gunwales. They were real shin-bangers because there was no way you could lean against the gunwales in an upright position without your legs making contact with the edges of the boxes. In a sea, be prepared for some bruises. The ends also were squared off, which does nothing for the lower-leg comfort zone. Being so open, they would also be spray collectors unless covered.

Two built-in rodholders and very solid cleats are in the stern quarters, along with the fuel filler. The battery is mounted high off the deck on the starboard side of the stern, while oil bottles are on the port sides. Both are covered and easily accessible. The deck is covered in marine carpet.

The engine box itself is quite spacious with automatic bilge pumps to keep everything dry in the hull and engine pod.

FUEL FRIENDLY
Economy runs performed by Peter Buckingham and his team revealed fuel use of around 24.5lt/hr at 4000rpm, averaging 30mph with two adults onboard. With a 90lt tank this makes for a reasonable range which this boat is more about than high top speed.

But the Powercraft Jet Boat's major selling point is its working draft of less than 250mm. The hull is Australia's first purpose-built production aluminium jetboat and Peter believes there is a strong commercial market for it in shallow waters... Already, the Army and Navy have expressed interest. In addition, the boat can be inboard or jet-outboard powered.

It's an interesting boat to drive, particularly in high winds at low speeds. I found myself standing up fairly quickly at speed in roughish water because the boat tended to bounce and jar a bit, and the vibrations from the motor really rattled everything betwixt my stern and snoz. A bit 'harrrrrsh', as cricket commentator Tony Greig might say. And noise levels were a few decibels above comfortable.

Drive it a bit hard over slop, and the suction plate loses contact with solid water and sucks air - giving the same effect as a cavitating prop. It's a bit disconcerting, but familiarity would probably solve that.

The boat comes on an unbraked, single axle Mackay trailer (brakes are an optional extra at $950) and is priced from $33,200 (unpainted and excluding tax) to $39,300 (painted and including tax) which is a decent sized cheque for a fairly basic boat. Then again, it's a good option if you're thoroughly convinced that a jet is the way to go.