Refitting a Caribbean 35

The Caribbean 35 is a great all-round, value-for-money, no-frills production boat. They are a classic, harking back to the early 1970s, and the most popular of all flybridge cruisers in Australia. And they do raise fish.

With such a long history, the Caribbean 35 is also a great project boat. We have 20 Caribbean 35s for sale on our sites from an old 1980 model with MerCruisers for $59,990 to a 2017 with twin Cummins for $542k. There are virtually 35 years of models priced accordingly in between. You can read more on the Caribbean 35 background in this classic story from our sites

But there is only one Caribbean 35 called Tsukiji. This is a story about that special boat and the brilliant refit that I was instrumental in pulling off.

Of course, before we got started, the usual debate about upgrading to a bigger boat versus customising this current boat preceded the refit.

But my mate Jim has become fond of his Caribbean 35 — he knows her inside and out, she provides a great ride, and her faithful Cummins never miss a beat!

A BOAT FOR ‘THE REEF’
Seven-years ago, Jim purchased his Caribbean 35 in Melbourne and we trucked her to Brisbane, her new homeport. With my marlin fishing background, it wasn’t long before I had convinced Jim that fishing Cairns is the Holy Grail and we needed to get the boat up north for a season.

During that first season, back in 2012, we caught a few nice mid-range ones (400lb-700lb marlin) and pulled the hooks after 30 minutes on a giant black around 1000lbs. Now if that doesn’t lead to an addiction nothing will!

Since then, this mighty little 35 footer has completed her fifth consecutive Cairns season and our most successful ever. That is a story in itself. First, let me tell you all about refitting a Caribbean (or older Bertram) 35 for serious game fishing, coastal cruising and liveaboard boating. Yep, the 35 will do it all!

THE CLASSIC 35
Of course, it’s no secret that the Caribbean 35 has the foundations for a serious game fishing boat — a decent cockpit and a great hull — which also lends itself to long-range coastal cruising.

With a good amount of internal space and twin cabins, plus convertible saloon lounges or Pullman berths in the saloon, this is a boat aboard which your crew can spend weeks at a time.

The refit of Tsukiji took the best part of five months. Once it was completed, the boat would head straight up north again for its annual giant-marlin fishing odyssey on the Great Barrier Reef. This is the ultimate proving ground of any boat and everything we set out to achieve.

No-one can complete a refit like this alone. I lined up my  ‘A’ team of contractors to get started. Jim and I knew exactly what we wanted to do here. Following is a brief overview of what may well be the best 35 afloat today and, just maybe, it will inspire you to refurb a classic Caribbean 35 one day too…

NUMBER 1: TUNA TOWER
Fishing off Cairns can give you a serious case of ‘tower envy’ and, without any doubt, the tuna tower is my favourite addition. It really has transformed this 35!

However, a tower is far from just an ornament. The advantages they give you as a Captain are nothing short of mind blowing when it comes to spotting fish in the spread and other activity that is often missed from the flybridge.

Equally important is the advantage it gives in spotting the coral bommies as you weave your way into the anchorages behind The Reef on dusk.

Adding a tower to a 35-foot boat isn’t to be taken lightly, and so I engaged the best in the business, Paul Selby from Black Marlin Towers, on the Gold Coast. It would be fair to say he has built more towers than anyone else in the country and is a true artisan mindful of the look as much as the strength and function.

Of course, both Jim and I had concerns as to what adding a tower might do to the boat’s stability and performance. Thankfully, much to our surprise and delight, we can honestly say we haven’t noticed any difference. Nothing off the speed, and no noticeable exaggeration to her roll – even when I am in the tower!

I did not venture up there on the 25-knot days, more out of fear of being thrown out than rolling the boat over. But you could hardly keep me out of the tower it was that good — and from all the feedback we get it’s definitely a crowd pleaser on the docks.

NUMBER 2: BAIT FREEZER/RIGGING STATION
Cairns is traditionally a bait fishery and the more big baits — scaly mackerel, mackerel tuna and the smaller scad — that you have in reserve the better. You can easily get through four or five big baits and over a dozen scad on a good afternoon. Therefore, bait freezer capacity is very important.

Without a bait freezer you will spend every morning trying to catch bait, which isn’t that bad except that it eats into your snorkelling time!

We removed the cockpit sink cabinet which was under the ladder and custom built a freezer, with the lid doubling as the new bait rigging station.

As always, when space is limited there is compromise. In this case we lost a sink which we rarely used, and we also had to find a new home for the tender outboard which was mounted behind the ladder.

I think you’ll agree though, the new freezer looks like it’s always been there. (If not for bait then cruising folk might gain a lot from this addition too: ED).

NUMBER THREE: AIR CONDITIONING
Adding the air-conditioning changed our world. Any of you who have spent a still night in the Cairns Marlin Marina or Cooktown Wharf during the marlin season will know what I mean when I say it’s a new level of humidity and heat up there.

Due to limited space, the icemaker in the salon had to be sacrificed to allow room for the compressor. Yes, some might say it’s a hefty compromise, a little noisy, and the guy sleeping in the salon needs a blanket, but the cold air does spill down the stairs and cool the two cabins enough.

We think it’s worth its weight in gold!

OTHER COOL EQUIPMENT
There was quite a lot of other equipment included in the ‘mini’ refit, including a serious spread of new electronics. This involved fitting new Raymarine Hybrid Touch Navigation Screens with upgraded transducer and a new Fusion MS-UD750 stereo with Bluetooth and new speakers in cockpit and bridge.

Fishing-wise, there was a new Reelax 130lb chair with backrest that replaced the Reelax rocket launcher, and a new pair of Reelax heavy tackle outriggers. We also replaced all gunwale mounted cockpit rod holders with Reelax heavy duty ones.

Two new house battery banks with water top up hose arrangements were added, with a new mount for tender outboard in space behind fuel tank, and a modified forward seat on the flybridge to a full-length bunk to accommodate one of our crew (generally the worst snorer!).

All the lighting was changed over to LED including a couple of super powerful floodlights off the flybridge hardtop. There were lots of smaller items not worth detailing such as the bottom getting soda blasted and re-antifouled, new tender and outboard, carpets, covers, etc

LIFESTYLE INVESTMENT
Of course, you can over capitalise on a boat, and we were very conscious of this, but if you’re letting your head rule your heart then you probably shouldn’t own a boat in the first place.

This could not be more true for Jim and countless other owners, I’m sure, but this boat and the joy it brings Jim far outweighs any concerns about over capitalising.

The end result is hat a great little sportfisher has been taken to a whole new level, and the amount of positive comment and praise we receive wherever we roam is heartening, especially when it’s from the professional crews and captains.

Have we made her into the best Caribbean 35 in the country? I think we probably have!