Marlin Broadbill 660 Offshore Sports

Have you noticed how the Yanks have recently invented the trailerable powercat? How, out of nowhere this style of craft has appeared, developed and ready to take on the world and rid international waters of those pesky monohulls.

If you believe what you read in various US-based publications, you could be forgiven for thinking this was exactly the case. Of course, us educated Aussies know differently. After all, if anybody invented, developed and perfected the modern powercat, it was the crew from Down Under (cue sounds of rampant chest beating!).

The lineage is well documented, going back to the mid-'70s when Bruce Harris' Shark Cats roared onto the scene - powered by the biggest outboards money could buy - and became the darlings of the offshore fishing and ab-diving set.

These were hairy-chested, hefty craft that bulldozed their way across broken water. They were all about brute force, plenty of spray and no-compromise performance. They were far from the all-round performers that have evolved today, yet for all their faults, they cemented powercats into Australian trailerboat folklore.

Since the early days, interest in the powercat concept has waxed and waned in Australia. True believers joined the fray, a number of brand names came and, in some cases, went. As well as the fibreglass cats like Harris', several manufacturers adopted aluminium as the material of choice. Such makers were somewhat hamstrung, due to the often complex hull forms cats demand. However, as the years passed so their designs progressed.

Come the late 1990s and interest in both powercats and aluminium as a hull material has arguably never been higher.

In the case of the hull type, as mentioned above, even the Yanks have cottoned onto the benefits in terms of stability, fishing room and potential economy of operation that powercats offer. In terms of material, thanks to improved fabrication methods, and better knowledge of the alloys themselves, plate and pressed alloy boats have never been better executed or more popular.

The fact that both the concept and the material are very tough and there-fore fishing-friendly, means the general upsurge in interest in angling, both fresh and saltwater, hasn't hurt alloy cats'cause either.

This rather long-winded intro is aimed to set the scene, and I guess, rationalise why we should feature two very different cats side by side. For, at least in the trailerboat arena, there's few cats that could be further apart than Marlin Broadbill's Offshore Sports 660 Hardtop and Webster Twinfisher's new 4.3m Bassmaster. Nontheless, both are Aussie alloy wondercats of the first order.

RON'S ROCKET
The story behind Ron Webster's Twinfisher brand is a typically Aussie tale at its best.

The very first Twinfisher was a craft built by Ron, for Ron. However, after taking the craft from his Orange (NSW) base to South West Rocks in the state's north on his family's annual holiday, he found himself in the boat-building business. How so? That holiday generated no less than 30 orders for the craft from eager fishermen! Since then the business has developed to the point that Webster's Twinfisher Enterprises will build over 600 boats in 1999.

The Bassmaster is a development of Webster's successful single-engined 4.3m cat, a middle-of-the-road craft in a product range that starts at under 4.0m and moves right on through to the biggest Websters, the 5.0m models.

A centre console, the Bassmaster is, as the name suggests, aimed at the burgeoning impoundment fisheries in Southeast Queensland. Ron's keen to point out however, that it's not just a bass boat but also aimed at those who fish bigger impoundments down South for trout and native species as well as estuaries and inshore on the saltwater.

As is the custom in this growing marketplace (consider the likes of Quintrex's Wild Fish, Sea Hunter's Magnum and Stessl's Bass Boss) the Bassmaster gets some extra attention at fit-out stage. While the 'run of the mill' 4.3 Websters come standard with a flat floor, the Bassmaster scores a customised layout that includes an elevated casting platform forward (with storage under). There's a simple but well laid-out centre console amidships and to port, full-length lockable rod storage.

As is also common practice, there's a standard livebait tank (in the stern quarter) which is large enough to do duty as a livewell, where live release is specified.

Up front, on the short foredeck there's provision for the ubiquitous electric trolling motor.

In keeping with its fishy nature, standard seating is a perfectly adequate padded storage/icebox for the helmsman. There's also an additional seat up front from where it's easy to cast or operate the electric. Keen fishermen may choose to replace this seat with a leaning post or similar. While they're at it, they may well delve into Twinfisher's options 'catalogue' - it reads like a lure fisherman's wishlist.

As with all of Ron's craft (Manta Ray barra punt excluded), below the waterline the Bassmaster features an asymmetric sponson design. In simple terms, this means the deadrise of the sponson is not constant across its inside and outside edges. The actual measurements are probably a closely guarded secret, but essentially the inside surface is flatter than the outside. The theory is that such a sponson adds lift and yet retains ride and directional stability.

(Un)fortunately our test day aboard the Bassmaster was close to perfect, with just a little wind and virtually no chop. We had to resort to chasing boat wakes to sample the little cat's 'rough' water abilities - but were not disappointed with the result. In such conditions, and powered by a single 50hp four-stroke Yamaha, the Bassmaster was a joy to drive, surprisingly spritely out of the hole and plenty fast enough to cover the distances required in this style of fishing.

The single cable steering was fingertip light and the little cat could quite literally be thrown around with abandon. Characteristics are such that there is only a modicum of lean out and cavitation in even tight turns. And with two burly testers onboard (Ron and yours truly) and sitting on one side of the boat stability at rest was excellent. In the true tradition of a cat, with a beam of 1.8m the Bassmaster offers plenty of room to move.

Webster's builds its craft from the bottom up. That is, the sponsons are airtight, with the floor (and the rest of the craft) grafted on to them. Such a configuration means they provide substantial flotation - around 2.4 cubic metres, says Ron. In addition to the inherent self-draining nature of a cat, this means that as well as the capabilities of the hull at rest or underway, Webster's cats have an in-built safety advantage over conventional open dinghies and barra punts. It's an advantage that has swayed many of his customers says Ron...

THE BIG FISH
Inherent safety is an issue that attracts many people to cats - big and small. Least that's the experience of the crew at Marlin Broadbill.

In fact, since the Ingleburn (NSW)-based company's establishment in the late '70s and rebirth under current ownership in the mid-'90s, many of the its customers have been family fishos. People that want to head offshore and are attracted by the stability that cats can offer, as well as the security of twin engines, a true self-draining cockpit et al.

The Marlin Broadbill Offshore Sports 660 Hardtop is an example of the sort of craft many of these customers choose. A substantial half-cabin aimed four-square at the bluewater fishing market, this is a serious trailerboat in more ways than one.

Since introduced in 1997 the 660 has proven one of the company's most popular models. It is available in centre console and cuddy versions and like all of Broadbill's cats, it can be built to survey and features foam-filled sponsons and floor.

Clearly, this craft's most eye-catching feature is its hull. Pioneered by the company in 1989, Marlin Broadbill dubs the design, The Pelagian. Built on a 2.35m beam, the design services the maker's range of trailerable craft from 5.8-7.8m and features chined sponsons that extend forward to form of a bulb-shaped wave-piercer.

Rather ungainly to look at, the major characteristics of the design are threefold: increased buoyancy at the bow, added lift and reduced spray. The result, the company says, is a craft that is drier, better downsea and less likely to porpoise than conventional cats. The added lift and buoyancy (and careful attention to weight during construction) also means that, according to Broadbill, its craft require substantially less horsepower than comparable designs to perform. Indeed, with a relatively modest 180hp (twin Mercury 90s), the testboat jumped out of the hole and easily topped 60kmh, cruising at about 40kmh at just 4000rpm.

In flat water we were unable to test the claims of Marlin Broadbill regarding the Pelagian design's sea-keeping and efficiency. Nonetheless a loyal owner base seems to indicate the company's beliefs are well-founded.

We can report that while driving the boat takes some re-education (trim is important when quartering or running beam on to the wind), the boat just eats up boat wakes and the like. There's a little spray drawn back into the cabin at high speed but at low speed the wide-set engines make manoeuvring a snap. Fishermen note, this is a craft that can easily be made to turn on its own length.

As mentioned above our test craft was a hardtop model and featured an open wheelhouse and small lock-up cabin area forward. The photos do not do justice to the sense of space this set-up offers. Sure, the cabin is small and better suited to use as a dry storage area, but in the gunwale-to-gunwale wheelhouse there's space aplenty. Room, in fact, for up to six big guys to hide out of the weather - four seated on the combination Reelax helmchairs and storage boxes and another two standing. The space extends to the dash area as well, where there's acres of room for all the instrumentation and electronics even the keenest techno-nut could want.

Take a step or two aft and your in the middle of one of the largest deck areas your likely to come across on a trailerboat... Sheer unadulterated space - space that's multiplied by the fact that thanks to this craft's prodigious freeboard the tops of the twin outboards are about level with the big cat's gunwale line. That you can walk right to the aft end of the engines via the centreline walk-through transom just adds to the impression.

It goes without saying that this room awards the 660 the potential of being a fishing or diveboat par excellence. In fact a measure of the space is that the testboat's light tackle Reelax gamechair hardly intruded on the area. How many trailerboats can you say that about?

While there is no underfloor storage, large full-length side pockets are provided as well as storage in the transom.

Like Webster, Marlin Broadbill gets its clients involved in the construction of their boat and consequently offers a substantial options list. Having said this, the 660 Offshore Sports is already well-equipped with only the gamechair, outriggers and electronics optional on the testboat. Standard features include: hydraulic steering; twin 150lt underfloor fuel tanks; six rodholders and six-rod rocket launcher; handrails, bowrails and heavy-duty deck hardware; livebait tank; berley board; inbuilt tackle hatches; cockpit carpet and safety-related features such as twin bilge pumps.

Listed on the option list are items such as marine toilet and cabin bunks. While common requests from customers include extended hardtops and even full lock-up wheelhouses - both of which Marlin Broadbill is happy to accommodate.

The good news is that according to Marlin Broadbill, all-up on a custom trailer of its own design and construction, the 660 is still under 2000kg and therefore theoretically, within the towing limits of conventional vehicles. In reality most owners will tow this sort of boat with a light truck or 4WD but the weight advantage over conventional cats is still substantial.