Nelson 76 Sportfish

This ain't no middle-of-the-road, run-of-the-mill, mundane fishing boat. Not that the man in the street couldn't pick it. With a tower beyond the reach of a Tiger Woods sand iron, hull lines that trace the very word sportsfisher, and the power and vigour to range throughout the Pacific, Nelson One is all-conquering like its namesake.

Not long ago, I couldn't have imagined an Australian boatbuilder could fashion a boat like Nelson One. Not in the looks department, and certainly not in terms of what you find inside...

Before I so much as set foot aboard, I was enamoured by the boat. Up to this point, my views remained superficial. Then the show began...

I found myself appraising Nelson One as the curtains closed around the saloon, a giant flat screen television rose up through a cabinet like a phoenix and a $70,000 sound system and DVD kicked in. It sent shudders through my spine like a massage belt. I yielded and noted the words: this ain't no everyday fishing boat.

AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT
A collaboration between a family with a keen interest in boats, a consortium with tickets on exporting to America, and one of Australia's finest maritime craftsmen, Nelson One is very much a team effort.

Fishing experts were lured to the boat yard like a marlin to a teaser. Researchers were sent out to find groundbreaking materials, and engineers worked on dandy touches like the pop-up cappuccino machine.

Based on a patrol-boat hull intended for surveillance work along the wild west coast of Australia, but with a keel added and aft tunnels for lift, Nelson One is the handiwork of Dave Warren Yachts. These are the same people who made Greg Norman's internationally-acclaimed sportsfisher, Aussie Rules, a boat I had the chance to drive some years ago.

Elements of Aussie Rules are evident in Nelson One. Moreover, you can see Warren's dexterity. If you're not familiar with his work, he has, among other craft, built those wonderful SuperNova motoryachts for the Mediterranean clique. Currently, his Kincumber (NSW) yard is playing host to, and crafting a massive superyacht.

Warren doesn't deal in pennies, cut corners, or make pop-out boats. Nelson One has a custom-boat feel about it. But it's no show pony. On the fishing side of things, they borrowed the brains of two professionals from Sydney. Brett Thomas and Mark Stephenson from Broken Bay GFC work on charter-fishing boats and know how things happen at sea.

The pair decided where the chair would go, where best to locate the tuna tubes, how to set-up the rodholders, and so on.

The mixing of minds has produced an opulent luxury cruiser with serious fishability. Nelson One is a strong boat with splendid amenities, a craft with high-tech wizardry and traditional values, and above all a boat which showcases the depth of boatbuilding talent in Australia.

Worldly and brash, it has the goods to cut it in Cancoon, Cairns and California or embark on that Pacific fishing odyssey of a lifetime. In the same breath, Nelson One is a boat in which the company's directors can gather for a powwow or a family can spend Christmas aboard.And it is - yes, most definitely - a boat which brings new meaning to the term 'comfortable fishing'.

DESIGNS BY DAVE WARREN
Master-craftsman Warren is no stranger to building top-shelf boats for private clients. Six figures are par for the course. He made Norman's 76-footer, for example, and has had his hand in numerous superyachts and high-speed motoryachts.

The success of the custom boatbuilder rests with knowing how to apply - as well as where to source - the very best materials. Of course, manpower is no less important.

In the case of Nelson One, the skipper hails from the charterboat industry in Sydney and along the east coast. He saw the boat through from start to finish. His diligence is one reason for the impressive attention to detail. I found nigh a headliner nor screw-head out of kilter. Several months of continuous water testing preceded the boat's official launch.

With a built time for numero uno of two years, a Nelson Two could be put together in 18 months.

The cost of the boat is $5.5 million. While that would buy a lot of fish and chips, this is more than just a fishing boat. As much as the tower trumpets a purpose, it is every bit a luxury motoryacht on the inside.

At its heart is the construction. Like most great seaboats, Nelson One has a solid-glass bottom (up to 40mm thick). The sides consist of separate panels of balsa-cored material. If you smacked into a whale, you might only need to repair a damaged panel and not the whole boat.

The bulkheads and stringers are foam cored, while the engine bearers are solid glass.

The selection of headliners, fabrics and furnishings represents the cream of world suppliers.

In the work areas you will find a closed-cell material made from recycled milk cartons! The flooring is Antico, which looks for all the world like parquetry but is in fact long-life vinyl, laid with the assistance of computer mapping.

Inside, luxury is reflected in the marble benchtops, timber inlay on the dining table, suedette and wool linings, quilted bedspreads, designer lampshades, boutique bathrooms, burl walnut doors, and various fabrics.

Back outside, the boat's lines have been carefully contrived to impart a sense of purpose.

Building a luxury sportsfisher is a balancing act. The hull has an intentionally clean-look about it, the bowrail has been kept low to the deck, and the foredeck itself conceals a pop-up davit for launching the RIB. Without the cradle in place, you'd never know the boat carried a tender.

There is a twist of reverse sheer and a good nip of aesthetic sheerline. There are three panels of glass recessed into the hull for effective waterproofing. The curved sections of glass on the flybridge came from New Zealand. The tower is from Pacific Towers.

The ladders are angled for ease of access and up top you'll find a sounder and radios, engine controls and joystick steering for both motors. There are buttons for the bow thruster and seating. The tower can take two to three people, but one person can wedge in just fine.

BLUEPRINT FOR THE BLUEWATER
Nelson One consists of five different zones. There is a cockpit designed for serious fishing, an aft amenities centre from which you can access the engines, a smart saloon and living space, enormous accommodation beneath the destroyer-like bow, and a bridge and a tower in which the skipper can watch over the boat.

The colossus cockpit is big enough to entertain a fight for not only the gladiator in the chair but for those who like to watch. Nelson One is a boat in which you could carry a whole team out fishing. Fifteen people spread between high and low vantage points wouldn't be too many. Imagine the fun (and fury!) of that during a hot bite.

The teak-lined cockpit boasts some neat features - a Murray Brothers chair mounted on a custom stanchion (so the rod tip clears the coamings) is a good example - but nothing is quite as impressive as the underfloor fish well. No boat I have been on has better fish storage. The oval-shaped coffin can hold a dressed 80kg yellowfin in Tokyo fish-market condition.

The fish well, whose lid lifts on hydraulic struts, is linked to an American-made Eskimo shaved-ice maker. From one end of the well, the ice flows like a slurpy machine. At the other end, the residue runs overboard. A sensor shuts down the ice-maker when the flakes reach a certain height. But you could also fill the well with saltwater from the deckwash and make a slurry.

The starboard side contains gaff and tagpole storage under the coamings, while on the portside is an underfloor livebait tank and two tuna tubes with separate Jabsco pumps. The overflow leads take the waste water to an internal plumbing pipe which, along with the airconditioning water, makes a trickling sound before it tumbles overboard. (Warren plans to stop the trickling sound on future Nelsons, though I kind of liked it.)

The plumbing pipes have low-pressure valves to stop water coming aboard when backing up. The marlin door is offset to starboard. While not linked to a winch - after all, most people tag-and-release these days - the door is big enough to drag a grander aboard.

There are saltwater and freshwater deckhose reels, shore power lead hidden neatly away, underwater transom lights which attract prawns and squid, and two lockers which lead back to the lazarette.

A day-service centre runs along the aft end of the cockpit, in effect forming a division between it and the area of raised deck outside the saloon.

In keeping with the comfortable fishing theme, outdoor amenities include a Jenn-air electric barbecue, a cutting board and sink which could be used by crew for rigging baits, a tackle locker, and a eutectic fridge/freezer big enough to store drinks or baits.

The fish well with ice-maker can also be used to hold big baits such as scalies and mackerel tuna.

On the side decks you will find 43ft triple-spreader Rupp riggers.

Good access leads forward to the custom Davco davit lifts, the ProJet 350 tender on a detachable cradle, past custom fairleads and pop-up cleats to a stainless Bruce anchor recessed into the destroyer-like bow.

SERVICE CENTRE & ENGINEROOM
Needless to say, Nelson One isn't a boat in which you'd welcome slimy fishermen or wetsuit-clad divers inside. The interior deserves respect, so the builder has added an underfloor utility room with everything from storage for four Ian Miller-made 80 and two 130lb outfits in a special timber locker to a place to spruce-up after fishing.

Down a companionway leading back aft from the cockpit, you'll find a chamber with 185cm of headroom, a fold-down workbench and rigging station, a pullman berth, satellite/digital/and land phone, toolshed, engine spares, an air pump for the lifts which are used for various gadgets, plus intercom with long-range speaker/mike.

You can access the airconditioning units, heating unit and an incredible distribution board with a brushed-stainless facia. Dive bottle racks and a dayhead with shower, Raritan loo and Electrolux washer/dryer are nearby. The hard-wearing Antico floor leads back to the lazarette or forward into the engineroom.

Fuel comes in a 4800lt day tank located amidships plus two for'ard tanks with a switch-over system. The extra tanks collectively hold another 2450lt.

As far as the engineroom is concerned, Nelson One is both a model of sound engineering and an example of how to keep things simple and serviceable.

With closed-circuit television, the skipper can keep a weather-eye on the motors despite the fact he is far removed. Among other interesting details are the custom underwater exhausts with low-pressure valves which exit the hull amidships.

Though they leave some soot on the hull sides, the exhausts cut down on noise and smoke. Above 1800rpm (22kt), the butterfly valves open to allow the exhaust to dump through the underside of the cockpit and further reduce noise.

While the exhaust also helps ventilate the aft section to provide a flat transition to planing speed, the props retain bite because they sit in elliptical tunnels.

In tight turns there is some buffeting of water under the hull. It's a big boat which you must ease into the turns. Having said that, it seems to shift gears exceedingly smoothly and almost like a sportscruiser.

In the engineroom, you'll find a Racor fuel system with vacuum gauge, separate engine and house battery bank with twin remote starting system, custom water intakes, stainless handrails that double as conduits to carry the fire-retardant, and lots of sound insulation.

The air intakes in the cabin top have big filters, while a blower ensures rotation of fresh air.

There is plenty of servicing room around the twin 1350hp MTU M90s.

Obviously, the essentials of liveaboard life aren't in short supply. There is plenty of power, water and air courtesy of twin 20kVa Onan generators, a 6000lt per day desalinator, 10 Crusair airconditioning units, and two compressors that can fill dive bottles.

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
The fully-enclosed bridge, accessed through an internal stairwell, is an amazing place from which to drive. Airconditioning fans your face, wipers clear the spray, while the helm seat is a leather Recaro number with gas lift struts and air-lumbar support. The matt finish on all surfaces reduces glare - African rosewood adds a sense of class - while there is a red light for navigating at night.

An L-shaped lounge to port, finished in what looked like a blue gaberdine material, converts to a full-sized captain or crew berth in a matter of minutes.

Amenities include a chart-table and navigation centre, a fridge, and an incredible spread of go-anywhere electronics led by a Leica 480 computer system with custom chartplotting, C-Map, and night-vision screen.

A Sanyo closed-circuit television switches from the engineroom to cockpit.

There are plug-ins for a laptop, plus weatherfax, normal fax, B&G autopilot and Tridata gauge, and Raytheon 48nm radar and V850 sounder. Communications come via VHF and HF radio and Inmarsat Mini-M satellite link. There is a second electrical control board in the bridge so the skipper can shut the boat down before sleeping aboard.

An auto-flap system linked to inclinators and a lightweight composite superstructure helps to keep Nelson One on an even keel offshore. The MTU engines pretty much look after themselves, for they are computer-controlled with ECMs linked to LCD screens. These display everything from turbo boost levels to instantaneous fuel consumption.

In fishing and docking mode, the outdoor aft bridge station offers a commanding view of the cockpit. A Murray Brothers chair and custom alloy wheel remind you that you are in the hunt. There is a three-person bench seat nearby and a life raft.

The skipper needs to be familiar with the single-action throttles and a very handy 20hp bow thruster.

DRINKS IN THE SALOON
Nelson One is a great host thanks to a contemporary interior with a traditional touch. You get all the mod cons, some funky furniture, but at no stage are you left wondering whether you are on a boat or in just another boring boardroom. Dark charcoal carpet and white lounges impart a clean and sexy feel, while rosewood joinery is both nautical and nice.

The saloon can seat seven people around a coffee table alongside a beguiling entertainment centre. A press of a button on a remote and the automatic blinds unfurl. Another button sees a massive 42-inch NEC Plasma television rise from in front of the bookcase. The surround sound can be registered in your bone marrow.

Valued at $70,000 or more, the sound system is a mix of Sony and Yamaha equipment. There's five-stacker and 25-stacker CDs accessible through audio pads in each cabin. This way, everyone can listen to whatever they choose. Elsewhere I found a wine rack, drawers for storing glasses, a high-tech alarm system, and a stylish bookcase with some good reads for those long passages at sea.

A dining setting situated behind the blanked-out for'ard screen is convenient to the galley to port. The table has room for six and possibly two more dinner settings on loose chairs. The table has a chic timber inlay, overhead 240V and 12V mood lighting, plus an emergency 24V backup much like a jumbo.

The U-shaped black-granite galley benchtops will help contain the chef in a seaway and provide plenty of food-preparation space for entertaining VIPs.

Amenities include a big fridge/freezer with stainless facia and ice-maker, pop-up cappuccino machine, microwave, Miele four-burner stove and stainless oven, split two-drawer dishwasher, twin sinks, countersunk receptacle, and lots of cupboards and drawers.

DECKED OUT FOR LIVING
Like all serious liveaboard boats designed to mollycoddle their owners, Nelson One has its master suite located amidships and running full-beam. The bedroom has a huge island berth with stylish bedhead and quilted spread. Twin three-drawer lowboys finished in rosewood, a TV/VCR, satellite phone and intercom, burl walnut inlaid doors and designer lampshades complete the picture.

The walk-in wardrobe can be set-up as an office and there is a linen press just outside the cabin.

But perhaps strangely I found the bathrooms on Nelson One were the highlight. They are the best I have visited - not over-the-top glitzy but classy suites with fully-moulded inserts, huge showers, solid-rosewood sinks, drawers, and recessed potholes for a ship-like feel. And, yum-yum, heated towel rails.

The guests' cabins are done to a European theme in terms of layout and finish. The port-side cabin has two single berths with bedheads, illuminated hanging lockers, drawers, and lowboys. The cabin to starboard has bunks with twin hanging lockers plus a storage recess behind. Both guests' rooms share a bathroom to port, opposite a full-length mirror.

If not the owner's suite, then the pick of the cabins is most definitely the VIP guest's cabin in the bow. It has a huge island double berth, blue quilted bedspread, designer scatter cushions, and American and European fabrics. There are twin hanging lockers, anti-rattle door latches, a full-length mirror and, back in the companionway, a big overhead hatch through which natural light streamed inside.

ALL-CONQUERING NELSON
I emerged from my tour to the sight of spring in Sydney. Light winds, a low swell, a plumb horizon, and the smell of salt air offered the chance of snagging an early-season striped marlin or a school yellowfin or two.

Fishing in this boat would be like shopping by limo. Skippering it is a dream job come true.

We had 75% fuel and half water for the seatrials. At 1000rpm, the big MTUs pushed the boat to 10.6kt. Another 500rpm and we shifted a gear from displacement to planing speed.

The boat retains a very level attitude, so much so that transition is almost imperceptible. The lift generated by the underwater exhausts aerating the hull is evident.

Like its namesake, Nelson One infuses its crew with ardour. It assuages its guests with comforts. And it is a force at sea.

This boat has been built by a team of artisans who have great knowledge of the forces ranged against them. Like Nelson's flagship at Portsmouth and his tomb in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, this boat is very much a place of pilgrimage. Those who step aboard should be prepared to venture far and wide to do battle with big fish on happy hunting grounds.