Marlin Broadbill 1000

Question: Lying 4000km northeast of Sydney, rising to a peak of just 65m above sea level, and no wider than 300m is which island? Clue: It is mined for phosphate, a holding place for asylum seekers, and fast becoming one of the Pacific's secret gamefishing hotspots.

If you said Nauru, you would be right. What has Nauru got to do with the price of fish, you ask? Well, aside from making the headlines during the Australian immigration debate, Nauru demands a special kind of boat to realise its full gamefishing potential.

On this guano-laden island, boats need to be craned onto dry land during the often vicious cyclone season. While there is a marina, it is a makeshift amenity compared with those in major population centres. Transfers of people and tackle often happen right on the beach.

For these reasons there are few boats - and even fewer seaworthy ones - owned by the island's 10,000 or so inhabitants. Looking to change all that, a local entrepreneur has ordered a custom-made Broadbill Offshore Sports 1000.

Operating as Equatorial Fishing Charters, the bright spark with military background chose the big Broadbill for several reasons, not least of which is that it is a tough boat. Being plate aluminium, it can survive beachings, cyclones, bird droppings and the degenerative effects of a tropical climate.

Second, with twin 4.2lt Yanmar diesel inboards, the big Broadbill offers range without whacking great fuel bills. While you might argue the need for range when you come to realise just how close the fish pass to Nauru, it might come in handy for discovering nearby virgin fisheries.

HULL CHANGE
The Offshore Sports 1000 is the first of the new big Broadbills with asymmetrical hulls. That is, the hulls are shaped as though you took a monohull, sliced it down the middle, and put a tunnel in between the two halves. The bows have wave-breakers for additional lift when running downsea.

Large chines have been added for spray deflection. The deadrise of each sponson is 23°, yet this was the driest Broadbill I have yet set foot on.

Most of the spray is displaced down low where it can't be blown back onboard. Only the very occasional dousing was evident when quartering the seas.

Another distinguishing feature is the way the Broadbill turns. It runs flat and, at high speed, it swivels like the sum of its two parts; that is, a monohull. The other nice thing is that the Offshore Sports 1000 has a flybridge with enough floorspace to carry a party up top.

We launched in Botany Bay and, with trap-shooting gold medallist Michael Diamond at the helm, drove south to Port Hacking; an offshore passage of perhaps 8km.

Though conditions were favourable, several performance traits became apparent during the half-day run. Unlike outboard-powered cats, the Yanmar-powered Broadbill holds a very steady cruise speed.

The engines' torque is such that head seas don't slow you down. In fact, the Broadbill almost felt like it was treading water as it cruised at 2600-2700rpm for around 20kt.

At cruise speeds, the boat's twin 400lt fuel tanks provide a safe operating range of 400nm. The boat doesn't struggle to get out of briny, either.

The twin 300hp engines allow the hull to plane down to 2000rpm and 11.7kt. At the other extreme, it zips along at 3900rpm for a top speed of 35kt.

With the motors set far apart, the Broadbill exhibits excellent manoeuvrability for chasing fish. This is despite having sterndrive legs. Reverse up hard and, while there are big scuppers, not a lot of water comes aboard.

The twin six-cylinder Yanmar diesels are clean running and quiet. A school of salmon didn't spook when we passed them off Kurnell. It was also possible to hold a conversation on the bridge without shouting.

The bridge offers plenty of seating and, being a semi-custom boat, scope to create personal layouts. This one had a centre-console driving station surrounded by simple upholstered bench seating.

You could, for example, create wider and longer lounges so you could catch 40 winks between bites. I would also add thicker-diameter aluminium railing around the bridge and change the location of the switch panel so it was directly under the throttles. Having said that, the central driving station afforded excellent vision.

The cockpit is easily viewed over the rocket launcher running along the aft edge of the bridge and there is a good amount of headroom under the bimini whether standing or seated.

Access to and from the bridge using the ladder on the portside proved easy enough. Trace the grabrail along the cabin sides and you will reach the foredeck. However, you need to step over the bowrail to remain inboard and contained.

FISHING STATIONS
The Offshore Sports is nothing if not generous with its cockpit space. The 3.5m beam delivers a whopping amount of deck for stand-up and heavy-tackle fishing. Naturally, the owner-driver had equipped his boat with the goods for doing day charters under the hot tropical sun.

Fishing features included a Reelax heavy-duty gamechair, a big livebait tank in the starboard corner, tuna tubes in the transom, spigots for the deck winches, a good spread of rodholders, a sink with hot/cold water, and some serious refrigeration.

Underfloor was a 3.5kVa genset, the fuel tanks and twin 100lt water tanks. The transom had a checkerplate boarding platform with a berley pot built in. All the deck gear, including the three lifting lugs that allow the boat to be craned ashore, were extra heavy-duty.

A bridge overhang offers some shade over the fridge unit where anglers may plonk themselves during the midday sun. A nice big saloon door leads inside.

The interior of the Offshore Sports 1000 is unpretentious. To port is a huge lounge set around a long dinette, opposite a simple galley. The head is set down some steps behind a sliding door to starboard as you walk inside.

Up front are two double berths for charterers suffering mal de mer.

Of course, the Offshore Sports 1000 isn't going to win any beauty contests. And women probably won't like the simplistic layout and basic finishes.

Admittedly, the welds and joinery were rough in parts, but this is a working boat made for the rough and tumble of a tropical island often hit by cyclones. The high humidity, salt and down-time would surely turn a pretty glass boat into something tardy in no time. In such places, adornments and window dressing count for nix.

Nauru itself is an interesting place. Lonely Planet describes it as: "the poor little rich kid of the Pacific. Seemingly limitless mining proceeds have made Nauruans the wealthiest people in the Pacific, but its interior could now only be described as an ecological basket case." However, in the abyssal depths lapping the tiny island, locals hook and catch huge tuna and marlin from tiny boats only minutes from shore. The fishing potential is enormous, with billfish swimming just 200m from the beach. Even Lonely Planet says the sportsfishing is incomparable.

With room for charterers to cha-cha and a sweet note courtesy of those Yanmar diesels, this big Broadbill might just be the launch pad for a new tourist industry on Nauru. We wait with baited breath...