Haines Signature 600BR

Not another bowrider, I hear you mumble. Well, it's like this: the "BR" theme has been with us quite a few years now and many manufacturers working in fibreglass and aluminium have climbed aboard the bandwagon to grab a slice of the market.

It's near impossible to come up with a totally new concept. You just can't reinvent the wheel, but you can modify it to improve the overall product. A lounge in the bow remains a lounge in the bow. As a teenager I recall seeing a Quintrex bowrider at an Adelaide boat show. I can't quite remember its model name; maybe it was "Sunseeker" or something similar. I didn't see too many BRs in the ensuing years but the last five has seen an upsurge in this style of craft from small trailerboats right through to large cruisers.

At the recent AMIF Boat of the Year awards, a number of bowriders were presented to vie for the title. Haines Marine Industries entered its Signature 600BR as one of its entries and it obviously impressed the majority of judges who called it Dayboat of the Year. TB editor Phil Kaberry and I had a spin in it and we were also impressed, so when a chance came to give it an extended run, I grabbed it.

BUILT FOR SPEED
The Gold Coast Broadwater was flat with a forecast of storms to come in the afternoon of our test day, which didn't eventuate but they did keep a lot of other boat traffic at home on the trailer or moorings. This type of boat was designed for this very type of waterway: kilometre after kilometre of relatively calm water with plenty of swimming and skiing to be had along its length but with potential to get rough when wind sweeps along its length.

It would certainly be capable of handling more than its fair share of rough conditions with a hull that is very deep from the gunwales down. It also features the trademark registered Signature Variable Deadrise Hull which incorporates an aft planing board and a deadrise that gives superlative stability at rest and a soft ride though choppy water. The aft planing board is very effective in getting the boat on the plane without flattening the throttle and when tested, it was very hard to detect a specific time when the hull gets out of the hole and onto the plane. At full noise the 600BR sits up on the planing plank with barely any hull in the water. Despite this, it feels steady and safe at high speeds, but more on that later.

Just how deep the hull is isn't realised until you climb aboard and find the coamings come well up to your thighs. When seated in the bowpit, the coamings come up to the armpits of an average adult. There is a feeling of comfort and security without being hemmed in and for a family with roaming youngsters this is a vital factor for safe boating. Well-positioned handgrips low down for maximum leverage serve those hangin' on up front.

While the footwell in the bowpit seems small, the lounge area is sumptuous and more than ample for three adults to relax and enjoy music pumped into the footwell through speakers connected to the CD player in the passenger-side dash. An anchor locker behind the moulded bowsprit and storage under the port and starboard bowrider cushions helps to clear the decks.

SOUND OF MUSIC
The wraparound safety glass windscreen opens at its centre and leads into the helm area. Extra plush swivel lounges serve the skipper and passenger behind well laid-out dashes. The flattop section of the passenger dash opens to a bunged ice chest and above this a Clarion CD/radio unit is flush-mounted on a fascia. It has remote control switches located on the skipper's dash as well as astern on the outer hull above the marlin board to make it easier to change the tune. The helm has Seastar five-position hydraulic steering and Faria instrumentation is fitted to a smick-looking wraparound carbon dash. The skipper and passenger footrest forms the rear wall of a lipped, flat area, each sporting an optional sub-woofer adding oomph to the sound system. A speaker in each inner liner and one on each end of the wall for the rear lounge brings the total amount of speakers to eight. Music to my ears!

Upholstered infills in the inner liner have apertures so you can safely store your personal items in the sidepockets. A long wet cell in the floor is big enough to hold wakeboards and full-length skis. It has a double hatch that is hinged centrally and is removable.

BLADERUNNER
Smart, racy, sexy lines is the theme for this boat and external air intakes for the engine compartment furthers this impression and look to be a hybrid from a Corvette/Ferrari relationship. The rear wraparound lounge follows this theme and is plush, providing maximum comfort for three passengers. Its base lifts up to reveal a full beam width wet cell for ski ropes and other damp gear. It is bunged to the bilge and stainless steel bar crossmembers that support the seat may be removed so you can get at your skis.

The top of the lockable engine hatch is also thickly upholstered providing a great sunlounge area and also allows access to the powerplant, which is a Volvo Penta Aquamatic 5.7lt DP, an eight-cylinder port-injected petrol engine pumping out 320 horsepower through duo props. It sits above its own bilge liner that retains any spilt oil or soot.

There is room at the front of the engine and the bulkhead to get a hand in to replace belts. A large plastic tub in this area would be handy for fenders and other gear. On the opposite side of the compartment, two batteries are set up with their own isolator switch located on the forward bulkhead. It's easily accessible through a hatch that lifts on a gas strut. Rolling over the back onto the full-length marlin board you'll find a telescopic ladder secreted away under a flush-mounted hatch.

This boat liked a lot of positive trim and when the binnacle throttle could go forward no more the similarities between a Corvette and the 600BR snapped into focus - 93kmh on water is pretty quick in anyone's books and it did it oh so smoothly. Hole-shot was non-existent, rather it was a glide onto the plane at 16kmh and 1600rpm. The also 600BR carved a nice chunky wake for keen boarders.

With leg tucked in the boat was easy on the helm in tight turns at high speed and hung on with minimal sideslip. The engine was particularly torquey from 3500rpm up to full throttle or 5000rpm, feeling like it was at its most comfortable at a cruising speed of 43kmh at an economical 2400rpm.

Topped with a contoured wakeboarding tower that matched the lines of the boat, this unit was a real head-turner and the external exhaust means they'll hear you coming too. While the burbling exhaust note rises to a pretty noisy roar at high revs, at cruising speeds it'll bring a smile to the dial of any red-blooded Aussie bloke. Pushing this boat around the Broadwater was an adrenalin rush and our passenger Louise likened it to being in a James Bond movie! That says it all!