Hammer 33 Bowryder

The Hammer 33 Bowryder is the first creation from Coracle Marine, a division of JJ Richards - the third-generation family business better known for waste management.

Coracle Marine is headed up by Joshua Richards, who is a self-confessed boating nut and keen fisherman. Coracle specialises in producing custom-built plate-alloy boats of all shapes, sizes and styles from its factory at Gold Coast City Marina in Queensland.

The hull design for the Hammer stems from offshore powerboat racing circles. A split-vee asymmetrical catamaran, it's designed to lean in when cornering rather than lean out like most traditional powered catamaran hulls. It maintains all the usual cat benefits, however, such as stability, space and excellent seakeeping qualities.

There's no better way to test a new sportsfishing boat than to go marlin fishing for the day, so I was quite pleased when Joshua made that suggestion. He had just fished the Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Classic the weekend before our test, so the boat was already in Mooloolaba - an ideal opportunity for me to run the boat out of my home port.

After getting all the photography out of the way we headed offshore in search of a billfish or two. The first thing I noticed about the Hammer was how effortlessly it jumped onto the plane. The twin 250hp Suzuki four-strokes were quiet and smooth, and we found ourselves sitting on a comfortable 26kt cruise heading directly into a metre of groundswell.

First stop was to jig up some livebait. I marked a bait school as we were running along at 26kt so turned around and we filled the underfloor livewell with slimies and yakkas in no time. I'm not a real big fan of underfloor livewells - they are an accident waiting to happen. I'd much rather see them located in the transom.

We continued our run north-east and the wind chop that was now on the water made no difference to our ride. It didn't take long to reach our destination, about 18nm from port, where we set up a pattern of lures with a livie ready to pitch.

All the rodholders on the Hammer were perfectly located and angled - something that is surprisingly rare on most boats. And the Reelax outriggers mounted off the targa arch worked okay also.

STRIKE A LIGHT
It didn't take long before we had our first strike. As I turned towards the fish, Paul made his way up the side of the boat towards the bow.

That's the beauty of a walkaround. Boats go much better in forward than they do in reverse - particularly outboard-powered boats - so sending the angler to the bow is the smartest way to fight a fish in this style of boat.

 The Hammer features a flush deck right around the boat, so there are no steps to access the bow. Nice high freeboard is maintained all the way to the bow as well. A low-profile bowrail also means you can fight, tag or gaff a fish from the bow without the bowrail getting in the way.

That first strike turned out to be a wahoo, so it was quickly bled then placed on ice ready for dinner that night. There is ample fish storage on the Hammer. Josh had some removable iceboxes in the huge storage compartments under the bow seating. Alternatively, there are two removable bins under the cockpit sole that could be used as killtanks, but these also are a handy place to store other gear so the choice is yours.

A lot of thought has gone into the layout of the Hammer's cockpit. The teak deck and covering boards really gives it that gameboat feel, and all sidepockets have been raised to allow you to get your feet underneath. A Reelax light tackle station takes centre stage, and the padded cockpit coamings are a nice touch also.

I particularly liked the seat at the forward end of the cockpit on the port side that featured a reversible backrest. This way passengers can face forward while running, and aft while trolling. We've all seen this style of seat before, but never of this quality.

TROLLING STONES
We continued our troll north-east and were all enjoying the day when two rods loaded up and a couple of lively mahi mahi took to the air. I love catching mahi mahi on light tackle: they are great fun and even better eating.

As the first mahi mahi came to the boat we discovered it had a few mates swimming with it, so we pitched a livebait and it got nailed instantly. There was a real nice-sized one swimming around the boat also, so Josh decided to send out another livebait and try and catch the big one. His bait didn't last long, and a solid mahi mahi was soon jumping around the boat.

Once we got the mahi mahi onboard we took a few photos and I slid the fish under the transom recess while we cleaned up the cockpit. Only problem was I forgot about the Hammer's huge open scuppers, and our beautiful mahi mahi went sliding straight out of the boat! That wasn't the funniest part, though: Joshua went straight in after it! I couldn't believe it - he obviously really wanted that fish. Anyhow, he wasn't quick enough... but at least I got to see how the transom dive ladder works.

During the afternoon, the north-easter sprung up to about 15kt. On the troll the Hammer showed amazing stability - it really is a great fishing platform.

I was surprised by the amount of light spray that gets thrown up off the bow even at troll speed. We didn't have the clears on for the test day, so with that afternoon breeze a fair amount of that annoying misty spray ended up on your sunnies.

FINAL SHOT
At about 3pm we decided to blast out to another mark where there had been some marlin caught recently in a final dash at a bill. At 28kt, the Hammer ate the metre of headsea and the ride at this speed was superb. Not your average tinnie, that's for sure.

A bite on the left rigger gave us a final glimmer of hope, but it was just a tuna. So with that we pulled in the gear and started the 25nm run back to port. I was keen to see how the Hammer handled the following sea, so I sat it up on 28kt right off the bat.

Not too may boats can handle a 28kt cruise, but the Hammer seemed to do it with ease - no banging, no slamming, no jarring. What we did discover, though, is that it's a pretty wet boat in a following sea. A couple of the bigger holes we dropped into sent a huge shower of spray into the air.

Fortunately most of it landed back in the water, but a considerable amount was making it into the boat. Clears aren't necessarily the best solution in this scenario either. You still need to be able to see, so I reckon this hull would be better with a hardtop and full windscreen with wipers and washers, because it would be a shame to wreck such a sweet-riding hull by trying to make it dryer.

 I slowed down to about 24kt to see if that would make the boat dryer, but it didn't seem to make much difference. The only other thing to try was go faster, so I planted the throttles and we started hurtling from wave to wave at 36kt. And guess what? Heaps dryer!

The extra speed lifted the bow a bit and we managed to leave most of the spray behind. I don't know whether I'd have the energy to drive everywhere at 36kt, because you do have to ‘drive' the boat at this speed, especially in rough conditions.

Perhaps the team at Coracle just need to experiment with a little more buoyancy in the bow, because that little bit of bow lift that the extra speed provided seem to make all the difference.

DRIVING STATION
The helm setup on the Hammer is excellent. Everything is within easy reach and seems to work well either standing or seated.

During the day I got to know the Lowrance plotter, JRC sounder and TMQ autopilot well, and found them all a pleasure to use.

Behind the console is a small cabin with an electric toilet to port, and on the opposite side there is a storage area for things you don't want to get wet. The CD player is mounted in this area, and you can also access wiring and so on behind the dash.

The walkarounds are nice and wide, which makes accessing the bow a breeze. This is ideal for running down a fish and mooring the boat, or you could also line your mates up along one side for a spot of deepwater jigging.

The dinette arrangement in the bow has merit for entertaining and socialising in protected waterways, but to be honest I don't think it has a place on a serious sportsfishing boat. The seats provide plenty of storage, but I'd prefer to see that whole area incorporated into a centre-cab arrangement. That way you still have your full walkaround but much more useable and lockable storage space.

I guess the real standout with the Hammer is the quality of the fittings. Everywhere you look it's evident that Coracle hasn't tried to cut any corners. The company has sourced the best accessories, if there weren't any good enough, Coracle made its own.

Besides being quite the headturner with its shark livery, the paintjob on the Hammer is superyacht quality. Of course you can have whatever colours and designs you want - it's only the quality that won't change.

Built to USL standards, Coracle has backed the Hammer with a five-year structural guarantee, which includes hull and superstructure, interior fitout, fuel tanks, paint and timber work.

Being a custom boatbuilder, Coracle is happy to listen to any ideas you have on personalising the boat. Both inboard and outboard power options are available. From a fishing point of view, I'd love to see one with a pair of diesel shaftdrives.

Considering this is Coracle's first boat to hit the water, the company has done a fantastic job. No doubt some minor improvements will come as each model is released, but all in all Coracle is on a winner already.

With several designs on the drawing board, this is certainly not going to be the last time you hear the name Coracle Marine.