Luhrs Tournament 320

"The most common error made in matters of appearance is the belief that one should disdain the superficial and let the true beauty of one's soul shine through. If there are places on one's body where this is a possibility, you are not attractive - you are leaking."

These words of Fran Lebowitz's from Metropolitan Life could apply equally to boats. When it comes to things that float, looks count big time and leaks are bad news. Believe otherwise and you will end up with the kind of boat that only a seagull or, worse, a whole mess of them will love.

Indeed, a good-looking boat is something to be proud of, to parade down the harbour or at the tournament weighstation. It's something which can enhance your social standing like a great tie, a flash gold watch or nicely tailored clothes.

It's a statement of its fine taste that such a boat is the Luhrs Tournament 320. Imported and sold in Sydney about a year back, this compact flybridge gamefisher has the kind of bowl-'em-over, knock-'em-dead good looks which can make classics look like haggard seadogs and fish wives want to head to sea.

And the Luhrs is a boat in which the fish should also be attracted to you when at sea.

A RICH HISTORY
Henry Luhrs opened his boat yard on the shores of New Jersey in 1931. For decades, he made good-looking lapstrake sea skiffs ranging from 20-40ft that were turned by hand.

Luhrs then became one of the first boat builders to use car-like manufacturing processes to pop out his wooden boats faster and better.

By 1960, the Luhrs boat yards were making over 1000 wooden boats a year, including many recreational craft with flybridges and shelter cabins which were way ahead of their time. Things changed when fibreglass came along.

The world of wooden boat building fell by the wayside, but Luhrs took to the new wonder material like the proverbial duck to water. Today, Luhrs' boats reflect this passage of history, blending heritage with high technology - the old with the new.

This can be seen right across Luhr's range of mid-sized fishing boats stretching from 25ft centre-consoles to 38ft flybridge boats - and in a most attractive way. Luhrs' hulls have traditional deep-vees, sprawling Carolina flare and teak highlights. But they also have some of the most modern engineering and trendy touches you can hope to find in a boat intended for fishing.

THE INSIDE STORY
Though only 32ft long, the Tournament 320 carries an extraordinary amount of flare, certainly the most you will find in a gamefisher of its length. The flare is reined in amidships, creating a pretty sheerline which drops to a pleasantly low-to-the-water cockpit where you can easily unhook your fish.

A dedicated single-station boat, the 320 has a jet-fighter black lower windscreen. Above, the flybridge is designed to be left open, and indeed it could be argued that the clears spoil the clean lines of this boat.

Undoubtedly, it's the flare which makes this boat different.

Head inside and you'll find a stateroom in the bow as big as a New York apartment's and more like what you'd find in a 40-footer. There's a longitudinal king-size island bed flanked by enough floor space to practise your dance steps and enough shelves to sleep the pet Rottweilers, plus full headroom.

Furnishings include twin cedar-lined hanging lockers and vanities, lots of scatter cushions, a big mirror, teak retaining lips on the shelving, and a modern, bright and breezy approach to the decorating.

There's a moulded white headliner (with rod racks on the ceiling) and earthy-coloured fabrics that beckon to be ruffled.

At 1.9m, the mattress felt long enough and firm enough to sleep well. Casting natural light inside is a deck-hatch, while there are reading lights beside the bed for bedside story-telling. The cabin door is an oval, ship-like opening with alloy piping and, being wide, it made the passage back outside a breeze.

The bathroom on the starboard side is equally gigantic, with enough headroom for Michael Jordan in his pumped-up Air Nikes. It features a big moulded Corian vanity with wash basin and a flattering strip of recessed lighting, if there is such a thing.

The shower is a separate stand-up number with a ventilator fan, and the loo has a holding tank so you can go out and do your stuff on Sydney Harbour. And being moulded, the bathroom will be easy to keep clean.

THE SALOON LEVEL
The heart of the 320 is no less spacious and, it should be said, no less comfortable.

Like the stateroom, the saloon is air-conditioned (a factory option), fully carpeted and fully lined. It also has big windows to the outside world and curtains to pull across for privacy.

However, headroom in the saloon could be improved and tall guys might find the headliner brushes their noggins. That said, the saloon is flanked by two settees in which you can sit comfortably and peer back to the lures through large twin bi-folding opening saloon doors.

The starboard-side lounge is actually a sofa bed, so up to three crew can sleep in the saloon split between both sofas. Entertainment can be found in the colour TV and VCR perched on the counter top which is panelled in oak on the starboard side. The TV conveniently faces both lounges.

The finish in the saloon is contemporary, with a moulded headliner and lighting strips, designer drapes and fabrics, and a moveable teak coffee table. The carpet folds back, the floor lifts out panel by panel, and there you will find the engines ready for servicing.

In keeping with the way most boats are going these days, the galley is not huge. It's a compact open-plan area to port, with a fridge, two-burner stove, built-in microwave, small stainless sink, just enough counter top to prepare quick meals, teak parquetry floor and storage space complemented by a nearby pantry.

OUTWARD BOUND
Though overshadowed by the surrounding superstructure, the cockpit is deceptively big. There's room for a team of four anglers to fish from the flat, self-draining floor, and a small marlin door and long underfloor fish-well should you get lucky. There's also a plate moulded in for the gamechair and some nice above-deck built-ins.

Port-side, you'll find a moulded insulated icebox for the refreshments, bait, dinner or all three. Opposite is a moulded bait-prep' station with a sink, cutting board and a spray hose. Under it are three tackle drawers. Made from teak, they had swelled and locked tight on the testboat.

Other features include both raw and saltwater wash-downs, overhead lighting in the bridge overhang (which had an aftermarket awning hanging from it), courtesy lights for your next broadbill expedition and an inherently safe passage forward, along the decks, to the bow.

All surfaces are covered in a moulded non-skid, with anodised aluminium grab rails and bow rails to keep your crew in check. Deck fittings are good quality, more like a big gameboat's, with aft hawse pipes, forward, mid and aft cleats, high-density rub rails and a serious anchoring set-up.

The boat engineer who came along for the ride pointed out that he was impressed by the tradesman-like approach in the amidships lazarette. Lift the hatch at the foot of the saloon doors and you'll find the battery switches, glands, seawater cocks, fuel taps and wax-coated connectors ready to service if ever the occasion should arise.

The water tanks were located port and starboard and had a splitter valve, while the fuel tanks were amidships outside the engines.

There was also a genset, a factory-fitted option, tucked into the sound-proofed engine room.

DRIVING FOR COVER
The flybridge offers a good view ahead and down aft into the cockpit - providing you leave the canvas awning behind. Your crew will also gain a pleasant vista from the forward-facing bench seat in the bridge and, for the co-pilot, there's a second pedestal seat.

The console was one big, long, simple moulding, with a spunky anodised-alloy wheel, twin controls instead of the single-levers preferred these days, lovely big switch panels and plenty of room for the engine gauges. There was a chart deck and three separate locking compartments under the console for wet-weather gear, if you choose - as I would - to leave the clears behind.

Electronics can be mounted in the overhead box, while big colour sounders and plotters will hang here on their bracket without blocking your vision. Behind is a rocket-launcher, while above, the flybridge hardtop is higher than usual because it's been designed as a half-tower.

With clears scrolled down, the bridge looks a bit boxy so it's best going for the top-down convertible approach here. Remember the motto - looks count.

THE DOWN AND DIRTY
Fitted with 315 Yanmar diesel engines, the 320 apparently streaked to 32kt when it was nice and new. I could only manage 27.5kt, partly because one engine wasn't pulling full revs.

Its shaft might also have been bent, such was the vibration, and we had a slight problem with the fuel pick-up failing on occasion in the port-side tank.

Aside from these hiccups, the deep-vee hull cruised along merrily at 19kt and 2500rpm and seemed more than willing to jump out of the water and leave the surface behind. It was manoeuvrable at low speeds, though it leaned over in tighter turns.

With a huge flare ahead of you, this must rate as one of the driest 32-footers around. Which means not only the 320 Luhrs, but its crew, are going to look a million dollars when they saunter into the motorboat club at the end of a fishy day at sea.

Box story: SUPER SMOOTH OPERATORS

Yanmar felt the diesel motor could do a lot better on the water than it was. Rather than chug along like a Kenworth truck, it figured diesel boat motors should hum along like, well, the modern Tdi Mercedes dashing down the Autobahn with the Von Trapp family hanging out the window.

In achieving as much on the water, Yanmar has spawned a range of marine diesels that have won the praise of fishermen - and fish - everywhere.

These are lighter, more compact and better performing than the 'truck' engines most gamefishermen have learned to live with.

Typical of this new breed were the twin in-line six-cylinder 6LYA-UTEs Yanmars that were fitted to the Luhrs 320.

The 'A' in the motor's code signifies that it was assembled in America, even though the components come from Japan. In America, you see, Yanmar has given the traditional local marine-diesel brands something of a shake-up.

Intercooled and turbo-charged, the 6LYA is one of Yanmar's most popular. It was first released about six years ago and has a track record of reliability.

The 5.184lt block delivers 315hp. There's also a 350hp version, while a 420 (using a modified block) will hit the market soon.

As with all Yanmars, the 6LYA is a higher-revving motor than the traditional loafer. Dashing to 3300rpm at full noise, it has direct fuel-injection and excellent responsiveness.

The other big plus is its compact size. The 6LYAis just 709mm tall from sump plug to rocker cover, and 716mm wide. It weighs around 612kg, giving it a favourable power-to-weight ratio for midrange gameboat applications.

"Unlike some engine companies which sell the bulk of their motors to the truck market, Yanmar set out to make marine diesel inboards," says Graeme Cole, Yanmar's National Sales and Marketing Manager.

"What also makes us different is the power-to-weight thing weighing in our favour," he adds.

Interestingly, Yanmar has been the biggest supplier of diesel engines in Australia in the last three years.

For more information contact Power Equipment, tel 1800 069 469.