Haines Traveller TF185

Then there is the purchase price and logistics of getting it to and from the water; once again, it keeps coming back to how much bang you get for your buck. Keep it light and tow it economically.

The Haines Group seem to have these issues sorted with their TF185 which ticks most of the boxes when looking for an all-round cruising and fishing boat that is within the realms of many people’s budgets.

A bait-rigging station on the back has more than meets the eye when it comes to a design features for serious fishers. It stands at a good leaning height for stability of anglers working the aft quarters and a cutting board is ideally positioned for those standing in the starboard corner of the cockpit.

A heavy rebate in the middle has a fold-up cutting board hinged to the back section which has two large slots to allow juice and rubbish to run into the engine well to end up being jettisoned overboard.

Another cutting board in the form of a hinged lid services the portside and when lifted, a cavity underneath will provide secure stowage for knives, hook rigs and the like which tend to get left about and lost overboard when forgotten.

A couple of rod holders further compliment this work station which is removable from the transom bulkhead should you need to open the cockpit up for quality family time.

The rear lounge folds into a rebate under a permanent back rest fixed to the inside edge of the folding transom bulkhead -- more on that in a moment.

There is plenty of room underneath here and the side pockets have room for feet to tuck under for better balance when rocking and rolling. A net pocket across the face of the underside of the lounge when tucked away allows for stowage of traces, hand cleaning towels and the like.

A large livebait well in the starboard corner of the transom bulkhead is well placed for those working the deck and a half-height transom door leads out onto the boarding platform on the portside. A fold-down telescopic boarding ladder is also installed this side.

The helm features three angled fascias in the one moulding, the lower one hosting the switch gear and the hydraulic steering. The next up is a flat area which is capable of flush-mounting an electronic cabinet with a screen of up to 10-inches. A Garmin 750S combination chart plotter/depth sounder was installed here seemingly lonely amongst the left over available mounting space.

The brow above hosted the instrumentation for the 140hp Suzuki along with a standard compass which completed this layout.

The dashboard top has a moulded fence creating a long pocket for goods and chattels to be stowed and the all Perspex windscreen wraps around all of this with only a central joiner supported by a post and another on each side out on the peripherals of the skipper’s forward view.

Overhead, a canvas bimini was fitted and came standard with a zip ready for installation of an aftermarket set of clears. The framework of the bimini is tubular aluminium with plastic clamps and fittings and provided a sturdy enough base to get the job done without too much flexing when pushing the hull over chop.

Double bracing on the aft supports of this bimini frame featured half a dozen fishing rod butt holders across the top and they parked in there securely.

The TF185 could sleep two adults on the berths in the cabin which offer the usual storage space under the cushions. An optional infill will expand the bed base and as tested, a fold-up lid with swinging front door hid a portable toilet at the forward end of the leg well.

A large tinted hatch in the cabin roof would keep the cabin aired while two elongated fixed windows in the side walls of the superstructure allowed in some natural light.

The anchor hatch is easily accessible from the cabin roof hatch and in fact the height one stands when atop the portable toilet covering hatch, offers good leverage on the anchor ropes when hauling manually.

This hatch is nicely moulded into the contour of the cabin roof and is complimented by a cleat forward of it and a fixed roller assembly on the bowsprit.

Rebated cabin wall superstructure will allow a reasonable clutter free ‘foot over foot’ access to the bow should you need to traverse to that part of the boat for any reason. With the windscreen being the hand hold initially, the bow rails provide safety handles once half way along this path.

The hull is designed with a standard 20-degree deadrise rather than with Haines Group’s trade-marked variable deadrise. Matched in with this is a planing plank to assist in hole-shot.

The top and bottom sides are full moulds joined together with the voids then foam filled for buoyancy and quietness.

The transom bulkhead is designed with its centre section capable of partially folding inwards into the cockpit space to allow larger than average outboard motor power heads to intrude without coming to grief against a normally solid structure. The fitted 140hp Suzuki did not need to avail itself of this feature but it is there just in case. Keeping the bulkhead on this high level all the way across the beam keeps some spray out of the cockpit as well as reducing ambient noise levels of the engine coming into the cockpit.

Manoeuvrability as mentioned earlier was fantastic and there were no bad habits exhibited when pushing the hull over or around self induced chop and wake.

Once on the plane, the boat produced a good amount of torque throughout the throttle range and it had a fast comfortable cruise speed of 50km/h at 4250rpm. Wringing the last out of it we could get 69km/h according to the GPS at 5800rpm.

Water noise was minimal thanks to the voids being foam filled and dead in the water this boat displayed the stability one looks for when fishing on the anchor or drift.

A good all-rounder is the TF185 and one that is definitely on the 'must look at before I buy' list when it comes to a family cruising and or fishing boat.