Powercat 248 Sportsman

It'll come as no surprise to many that the Powercat 248 Sportsman was originally christened the 248 Profish. However, it didn't take Powercat proprietors Steve and Linda Shaw long to realise they had much more than a fishing boat on their hands with this big centre-console.

Indeed, while the 248 Sportsman has all the bells and whistles required to keep the keenest of anglers happy, there are a few nice touches around the boat to ensure the rest of the family is also satisfied.

I was actually out fishing, err... I mean working, reel testing for BlueWater, when Steve rang me and said the boat was ready. I told him I couldn't possibly break my busy schedule and I'd give him a ring to arrange a test when I wasn't so, err... busy. The next day I was out off Mooloolaba working again when the wind came up and forced me to head BlueWater II for home early.

As I prefer to do my boat tests when conditions are a little on the rough side, and as the day was still young, I gave Steve a call and said, lets go! Two hours later I was back on the water, but this time heading out of Bribie passage and into Moreton Bay. By this time it was blowing 25kt from the nor'east, and with a runout tide the northern end of Moreton Bay was for want of a better word ugly! I reckon Steve thought we were a stubby short of a six-pack when I said we wanted to go to Tangalooma on Moreton Island for the photoshoot!

SPORTY CAT
I knew the run from Bribie to Moreton, across the shallow banks with a couple of metres of sea side-on, would be a good test for the sporty cat. I never doubted the boat could handle it, you see I used to own one. When Powercat were being built by Fastlane, this particular hull was called a 268 and it was one of the best boats my family has ever owned. I used to hightail through the northern end of Moreton Bay quite regularly in our big centre-console which was aptly named Awesome.

It was like a trip down memory lane as I stepped aboard and took control of the wheel. Steve and Linda grabbed a 268 model as a camera boat and we were off to Tangalooma. One thing I noticed immediately was the additional power. We had twin 135hp Mercs on our old boat, which at the time I thought was ample The twin 200hp Yamahas on the back of the testboat turned the Sportsman into a proverbial rocketship.

I shouldn't have stepped aboard the Powercat after just hopping off a monohull as it was like chalk and cheese. Of course, length and weight accounts for a lot however the ride of the Powercat can only be described as superb. I sat on around 3600-3800rpm the whole way to Moreton Island. At those revs we were sitting on around 30kt. At no stage did I back off, even in the middle of the bay when I was dropping into some serious troughs. The only complaint I have from the trip was that I copped a little windblown spray, although the big console screen kept the sunnies salt-free.

Indeed, I reckon the boat wanted to go faster it was when I backed the revs off a little that I was more likely to cop a bit of spray.

Once over at the island, Linda drove the boat for the obligatory photoshoot then Steve and I jumped aboard for a few speed runs. It was still a bit sloppy, even in the lee of the island, however we managed to pull a top speed of 48kt at 5400rpm. See what I mean about rocketship!

As mentioned above cruise revs were in the 3600-4000 range, while the boat would comfortably plane as low as 2700rpm.

QUICK RESPONSE
As you would expect from a cat this size, stability at rest was outstanding. No cat can be turned as hard as a good monohull, but the Powercat is quite responsive with no evidence of cavitation.

The outboards are mounted quite low, so I wouldn't recommend backing up into a sea too hard. Being a centre-console, fighting a fish from the bow would be a smarter option.

The boat we tested was absolutely loaded with options, however the standard boat with twin 135hp Mercurys is competitively priced at $83,500. Even though Shaw has re-tagged this model the 248, with a moulded length of 8.08m it is a true 26-footer.

The beam of 2.74m means a wide load permit is required for towing, however it is still a readily trailerable craft.

The layout of the Sportsman is excellent.

A walk-through from the transom reveals a stainless steel boarding ladder and moulded boarding platform between each engine well. This platform allows you to get your line clear of the props if a fish decides to dive around the outboards.

Incorporated into the boarding platform is a livebait well as well as battery and oil reservoir storage. Stainless rails run around each engine well to aid access and provide security. Some padded bolsters on these rails would make a nice addition in order to aid angler comfort.

Shaw has mounted two optional baitboards to these rails. Clever recessed fender storage is provided in port and starboard bulkheads adjacent to each engine well.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT
A central workstation is just the thing for fishing and/or entertaining. The workstation features a sink with freshwater tap, both fresh and saltwater washdowns, large icebox and huge storage area On the forward face of the workstation is deeply padded helm and passenger seating. The split fold seats are quite comfortable when seated and provide great support for the standing helmsman when in the stowed position.

The centre-console itself is well laid out with wheel offset to port, with throttles centrally located on the dash. Other features included Yamaha digital speed and tacho gauges as well as fuel, hour meters, switch panel and livewell control.

Atop the dash was a flush-mounted compass and chartplotter, with plenty of room for more electronics. Overhead was a radio box housing VHF and 27MHz radios as well as a marine CD player. Also incorporated in the overhead console is a handy storage compartment; just the spot for wallets, mobile phones, keys, etc.

The rest of the console is made up of a giant storage compartment and recessed tackle drawers.

Forward of the console is another insulated storage compartment, with padded seating above.

A removable table takes centre stage of the foredeck, with a large padded benchseat across the bow. Below the benchseat is heaps of storage space. Kneeling on the benchseat allows access to the large anchor well and ground tackle.

ROCK OF GIBRALTAR
The hardtop is rock solid, and the stainless supports are some of the sturdiest I've seen in this size craft. The hardtop sports an eight-pot rocket launcher, radio and GPS aerials, and a remote controlled multi-directional spotlight. On the underside are stainless grabrails, overhead lighting and rod storage. The hardtop would provide a great base to mount a pair of outriggers.

The gunwales sport no less than 10 flush-mounted stainless rodholders as well as aft, midship and forward cleats. I thought these cleats could be beefed-up a bit if you were planning on using some serious mooring lines. Other stainless hardware includes heavy-duty bowrail, cross bollard and bowroller.

Driving the Powercat 248 Sportsman was an absolute pleasure and brought back some great memories of a boat I wish we'd never sold.

Whether for gamefishing, diving or just fun in the sun, this boat will get you to your favourite destination and back again quickly and comfortably.