From the classifieds: Huntsman 23 Custom

When well-known and respected Gold Coast shipwright Troy Dibben decided to build a boat for himself he chose the Huntsman 23. Good choice Troy. For this classic has a Raymond C Hunt deep-vee hull carrying a sharp 22 degrees of deadrise. It’s the same hull shared by the Bertram 23s.

From that impressive solid foundation, and the promise of true offshore performance, Troy went to work. The end result is a stunning outboard-powered centre console that, but for the hull, is otherwise indistinguishable from the original Huntsman.

Troy found the dilapidated boat in a driveway in Gymea in southern Sydney. The boat was just a hull, and the stringers and bearers were rotten, but he picked it up for a good price. Troy believes it was a 1978-80 model.

Certainly, the Huntsman 23 was a popular boat in the 80s. In fact, we have five Huntsman 23s listed for sale in our classifieds at the time of writing. They date from the 70s through the 80s, with a few later models that have undergone full rebuilds.

But we’d hazard to guess none is as professionally built and beautiful as Troy’s boat now for sale. Troy say the rebuild took him three years, a divorce, a waterfront house and a Bertram.

“I rebuilt the boat from the hull up. All new floors stringers, deck, everything is brand new. It’s a solid-as boat. The rebuild, it’s all done in epoxy, to my standards. I’m a shipwright I know what I’m doing.

“I’ve fished a lot of tournaments out of the Gold Coast in all kinds of conditions. I’ve caught black marlin, spotted and Spanish mackerel, dolphin fish, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, all the pelagics, and some good snapper.”

Originally, this Huntsman 23 was a Sedan Cruiser model. Troy ripped it all off and created a centre console. He kept all the weight amidships, adjusted the fuel tank so there’s just a little of bow up, and created his own centre console unit that is fully glassed to the floor.

Up front, under the foredeck, is a vee berth and toilet for sleeping aboard on the weekend. The kids sleep up there and relax and muck around on family weekends, he says. Troy’s slept up here, too, but he is 195cm tall.

Back at the transom, Troy added a pod. It’s made from aluminium from Paul Selby from Black Marlin Towers, who also did all the aluminium work around the console that holds up the composite hardtop. Clears run down from here for weather protection.

In respect of game and sport fishing, the boat has outriggers, a full spread of rod holders, an underfloor insulated fish box, 500 litres of fuel, twin batteries, fridge-freezer, all A-grade wiring of course, and there is a 12in Simrad touchscreen MFD sounder and GPS chartplotter. LEDs deck lights and a searchlight add to the package.

With the 250hp Suzuki outboard, troy gets 37 knots, a really nice cruise at 24-25 knots, and says he can fish a three-day tournament on one tank. The boat has featured at the Gold Coast Marine Expo twice before, where it caught our eye in its Fighting Lady Yellow Awlgrip paint with stunning teak decks.

Troy’s selling his Hunstman 23 Centre Console so he can buy a bigger boat. He’s got his eye on a Caribbean 35. The custom Hunstman 23 Centre Console is listed on our sites for $89k. It’s right on the trailerable limit with a 2.50m beam, Troy adds.

Here's the listing with more details for Troy's Huntsman 23 Centre Console.