1999 Markham Bonito 6.2 Calais review

When I first tested the Honda BF130 in June last year it seemed to be a motor in search of the right hull. To be frank, it was simply not suited to the 6.0m Seafarer test hull.

But Markham Manufacturing's Bonito 6.2 Calais changes all of that. Its constant deadrise hull with cleverly-designed planing strakes provides plenty of lift to support the 234kg BF130 out of the hole and on the plane.

Mark Hookham, long known for his outstanding Markham Whalers, wanted a monohull to supplement his Dominator cruiser and power catamaran range. He decided to turn to the proven Kiwi-built range of Bonito hulls, acquiring the moulds of the superseded range. He believes that they're far prettier than the current models featuring Portofino transoms, which tend to date faster than the conventional transom models and serve no real purpose other than to incorporate the stern platforms with the topsides.

Hell of a hull

When I first saw the Calais on its tandem axle trailer, what immediately struck me was the clever arrangement of planing strakes. There are three forward on each side, with two chines starting from about amidships. The lower has a 'gullwing' design by the time it reaches the transom.

When coming out of the hole, the lower chines trap air and create enormous lift, dissipating as the hull rides up on its massive bottom deadrise. The upper chine provides additional stability when the hull is running beam on to a sea or at rest when two hefty passengers walk to one side of the boat.

Thus, the Calais has the soft ride of a deep-vee hull with none of the rock and roll of one at rest.

Upwind the fine entry cuts through chop while the planing strakes throw spray down and out. In bigger seas and at low speeds, the absence of exaggerated topsides flare prevents the Calais slamming should it nose into a sea, while the fine well-raked stem provides plenty of reserve buoyancy to help lift the hull over waves. Downwind the cut-away forefoot reduces the possibility of broaching and the planing strakes forward provide enormous reserve lift to prevent burying the bow.

In April I tested two versions of the Bonito hull on the Hawkesbury River (NSW), my favourite testing ground for larger trailerable boats because it offers both sheltered reaches for performance testing and the open ocean for checking seakeeping qualities. Conditions ranged from dead calm to a blustery sou'easter and rain squalls whipped by the tail end of La Nina.

The 6.2 Calais was set up for family entertaining and powered by a Honda BF130, while the 622 Profish was designed for serious amateur fishos and carried a Mercury EFI 175. The Profish will be reviewed in an upcoming issue of Trailer Boat (along with detailed facts on this innovative hull), but why I mention it is that I actually preferred the hull with the Honda!

The BF130 had all the four-stroke benefits, such as low rev, quiet and smokefree trolling and excellent manoeuvring capability, but also above 4000 revs a level of throttle responsiveness approaching that of a two-stroke outboard. The secret to good performance with this motor is to prop it so it revs freely, and on the Bonito hull run it at maximum out-trim above 4000 revs, only trimming in a little upwind or through hard-over turns. Like all deep-vee hulls the Bonito prefers to run at a fair amount of trim angle.

Pushing an estimated 1400kg (including two adults) and spinning a 16-inch pitch stainless steel prop, the Honda-powered Calais planed us cleanly at 29km/h on 3300 revs and cruised very quietly at 39km/h on 4000. Once the Honda had reached these revs the Calais threw hard-over figure of eights with no prop ventilation and very little loss of speed. As with most deep vees, the hull banked steeply in these turns but was completely reassuring in its handling, unlike some better-known deep-vee hulls I've tested in recent years.

At Wide Open Throttle over a 20-30cm chop we averaged an impressive 69km/h on 5800 revs with reasonably low noise levels at the helm. At this speed the hull is completely controllable with the positive steering giving excellent feedback on what the hull is doing. The helm area is well laid out with clear, comprehensive instrumentation. When planing there's never any need to stand to see over the bow, while at low speeds the strong windscreen grabrail provided plenty of support. Like all good quality fibreglass boats the windscreen was clear.

All the equipment

The 6.2 Calais is available in three equipment levels and the one I tested was middle of the range. It had two vee-berths in the open-ended cabin with soft fabric cushions and provision between these for an infill. Open storage shelves flank these cushions, which have shallow storage bins under them concealed by flush lids. There is good sitting headroom with a carpeted deckhead and footwell which extends out into the cockpit.

Moulded into the port sub-bulkhead was a glassholder, open storage bin and footrest with one opposite for the helm seat. The cockpit seating comprised two back-to-backs and fixed wraparound quarter seats, though upholstered buckets at the helm area are an option and the way I'd go.

The 'Over Nite' version is fully equipped with cockpit cover and has a cockpit galley unit comprising gas stove, stainless steel sink and a 70lt Esky with tap and pump. There's even a cockpit shower and deckwash facility, although the cockpit itself is not self-draining. All that seems to be missing is a chemical toilet. This model retails for a few thousand dollars more than the testboat.

Open storage shelves flank the cockpit and are mounted off the carpeted floor (at first chine level), under which is the 200lt fuel tank with a 10lt reserve and filled via the port quarterdeck. Also standard is a 63lt/min bilge pump with float switch.

With the large aft-hinged forehatch there's no need to use the sidedecks for ground tackle access.

Forward is a side-hinged hatch accessing a reasonably deep anchor locker, complemented by a chromed bronze staghorn cleat and bowroller with retaining pin. The stainless steel bowrails are separated by a filler piece to allow easy laying and retrieval of the anchor.

Compared to other family sports boats I've tested in this size range, such as the Seafarer 5.9 Vermont, the 6.2 Calais stacks up very well. The attention to detail is superb and I couldn't fault the standard of mouldings or gelcoat finish, the quality of which is supported by a five-year structural hull warranty. And the hull is completely at home with a relatively heavy engine such as the Honda BF130, which is more than I can say for some others.