Haines Hunter 500 Carnival

What characteristics do you look for in a family runabout? Eye watering top speed and catapult acceleration? A comfortable, flexible and social interior design? Sexy looks? How about a smooth ride when the wind picks up on a summer afternoon?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then maybe Haines Hunter's 500 Carnival bowrider is the boat for you.

It was blowing its guts out on the morning Trailer Boat lined up for its turn to test this sporty little boat, a 20kt nor' easter whipping the tops off an ugly green chop. Boaties who live around Jacob's Well and the river entrance at Jumpinpin on the Gold Coast would know firsthand what a treacherous stretch of water this can be. A handful of metres deep at best, this sandy river sculpts steep, curling waves when wind opposes tide.

It was an ideal day to test the mettle of the latest bowrider to emerge from the Haines Hunter stable. If it can handle conditions like that, it'll handle just about anything.

SWEET DESIGN
The 5m hull is found on a number of models in the Haines Hunter lineup, but it seems very well suited to bowrider format.

With its fine entry point, prominent chines, twin strakes and aggressive vee, the 500 Carnival slices through stiff chop smoothly, quietly and without any fuss.

Quite beamy at 2.1m, the Carnival was stable at rest and didn't feel the least bit tippy on the plane.

As well as being incredibly soft riding and dry, its performance with a 90hp Johnson two-stroke was sparkling.

The boat planed at 2800rpm at 19kmh, cruised comfortably at 4500rpm for 59.5kmh and flew to a top speed of 76.5kmh with the Johnson redlined at about 5600rpm. All that looks well and good on paper, but what was really impressive was its slingshot acceleration and excellent manoevrability. You'd want to hang on with a 115hp donk bolted to the back - the maximum allowed on this model.

With the motor trimmed right out and the throttle jammed down, the Carnival sat back on its hindquarters and sprinted over the nasty chop like it wasn't even there.

Great fun.

In terms of handling, this little hull did not put a foot wrong. It refused to stumble when chine riding along steep boat wakes, instead tracking straight and true. The boat didn't misbehave when chucked into tight turns; instead it felt balanced and predictable.

Overall, a nine out of 10 for performance - a safe, fun ride for first time boat buyers.

OUTSIDE IN
The open sunlounge area was well padded and upholstered in easy to clean vinyl with snazzy blue trim, and proved a comfortable place to catch some rays while underway or at rest.

Passengers will appreciate the stainless grabrails that flank the forward seating area. There's plenty of dry storage under each lounge as well.

As this isn't the most enormous boat on the market, two people can spread out like a contented sloths, but it would be pretty intimate with any more adults up front.

A large anchor compartment is found under the bow seat with a stainless bowroller and recessed cleat for the rope and chain. An optional drop-in casting platform insert, which slips in over the footwell between the lounges is also available as an optional extra.

Separating the sunlounge area from the helm is a raked windscreen with an outward opening central hatch.

It's well braced and is neatly fitted to the hull.

DRIVE TIME
I was really impressed with the helm set-up. The driver and passenger sit low in comfortable, supportive swivel chairs, the skipper's adjustable forward/aft and up/down.

No need to stretch for the sports wheel or throttle, both felt just right. Both seating positions are mounted quite close to the sides of the boat to increase the width of the passageway forward, while the screen wraps around past the occupant's shoulders. This gives a really snug, secure feeling when driving the boat. Let's face it, nobody wants to feel like they're about to be thrown out of their seats the moment they hit some rough water.

Both sides of the helm area have upholstered padded walls with storage pockets behind which further added to this feeling of comfort and security.

The dash layout is neatly finished with speedo, tacho, hour meter and electrical switches for the nav and cockpit lights and bilge pump.

The swooped nose of the boat offers excellent forward vision, but there isn't a great deal of room to mount electronics on the dash. I'd argue that the average family boater wouldn't be interested in fitting a 10in chartplotter there anyway, so it shouldn't prove too much of a problem.

The passenger side has a neat stainless grabrail fitted below a spacious but unlined glovebox for the car keys and wallet.

Both moulded consoles either side of the central companionway are smooth and well finished.

STERN LOOKING
Haines Hunter has fitted upholstered cockpit coamings all the way around and deep sidepockets ? also upholstered. Nope, not optional extras, but standard fittings. They really look smart.

It's not a massive cockpit, but you won't be treading on each other's toes.

The cockpit sole is carpeted with a dry storage compartment sitting under a flush-mounted hatch. A 100lt fuel tank is also found underneath the floor.

Here comes the interesting part of the internal fit-up. The rear wraparound lounge sits on a removable moulded fibreglass esky-cum-fishbox that fits the full width of the stern. The lounge on top was comfy, and it was just a matter of flipping open the padded lid to grab a beverage out of the esky. If you want better access to the transom, it's just a matter of lifting the whole thing out and leaving it in the shed.

The only glitch in the system is the way the esky-lounge is secured to the floor via two holes in the bottom of the storage bin. You don't want the melted ice trickling into the bilge. Haines Hunter says it's fixing it.

A small fold-down table was also fitted centrally for picnics.

The transom configuration is pretty standard. The motor is bolted directly on the back in a shallow well. Two big boarding platforms sit either side of the outboard complete with stainless grabrails and a boarding ladder. A practical set-up.

In each rear quarter are storage bins that can be filled with drinks and ice, plumbed as livebait tanks or simply used for extra storage.

Ski tow eyes are fitted standard but the buyer may wish to add a ski pole from the options list.

The Carnival bowrider hull weighs 450kg and is able to be towed by a smaller family car. If you've got bank, there's a bunch of options to stick on the boat including CD player and speakers, bimini and a full set of clears - even a horn to lean on for when you're stuck in traffic.

This is a versatile, comfortable, easily handled and sporty little boat. With its flexible interior set-up and excellent seakeeping abilities, there'd be no problems taking mum and the kids on a skiing picnic Saturday and backing up for a fish on Sunday. If they aren't exactly jumping into the boat, you've got that whole front lounge area to lay back on, relax and watch the world go by.