Resort 35

Herrings and cod mightn't travel too well, but the trawlers built to catch them are one of Europe's more successful exports. Designed for the rugged stretch of water between Great Britain and the European mainland, the North Sea trawler is the boat of choice for those people hell-bent on tackling tumultuous waterways.

Of course, there are almost as many permutations of the North Sea trawler as there are ways to cook herring or cod. Having said that, the boats remain easily distinguishable from the run-of-the-mill production cruiser. Unlike boats dished-up to meet the tastes of take-away boaties, the North Sea Trawlers have a sense of enduring style.

A little more background may be in order. North Sea trawlers are displacement vessels with predominantly round-bilge hulls and a modest diesel motor. They are stout-looking, quite beamy, and big on internal volume for carrying plenty of herrings and cod in the bilges. They often come with rounded sterns so the waves don't wash aboard.

While they don't exactly race across the water, North Sea trawlers are made to be far-ranging. Greenpeace replaced the Rainbow Warrior, after a settlement with France in 1987, with another North Sea trawler. The Grampian Fame was bought from North Star Fishing Company Ltd., who had been using her as an oil rig stand-by vessel. She was equipped to carry 300 survivors in her holds. See what I mean about internal volume?

Now the reason I mention these things is that I have just returned from a voyage on the Resort 35. The recreational boat is, I am told, based on a North Sea trawler hull that was imported here in the 1970s. Various versions of the original boat have been available to local boaties for some time. You may recognise the Cuddles 30 and 35, for example.

COMPARATIVE MINNOW
Though she is only a minnow by comparison with the North Sea fishing-factory boats that head out for weeks at a time chasing herrings, the Resort 35 has the seaworthiness to take on ocean passages. The trawler-like hull chortles through the waves rather than skips across them. It has a very steady, reassuring motion into a headsea and is less rock-and-rolly than the old Cuddles after chines were added to the hull sides.

Hull speed is about 8-10kt, so you will need plenty of time to complete your passages and good judgement when confronting river bars. But the single 115hp Nanni diesel motor won't send you broke - it burns 10lt of fuel per hour.

As mentioned, the rocking motion of the round-bilge trawler, especially when beam-on to the sea, has been tamed on the Resort 35 via the addition of chines. I can vouch for this fact, though I am told one owner claims the boat has a better motion offshore than his old Grand Banks.

Construction comprises a fibreglass hull with two glass-encapsulated ply bulkheads for strength, an internal floor liner and a moulded one-piece deck, which is glassed to the hull. The boat is built on the Gold Coast to USL code and often put into survey as a charterboat with things like fire systems, fuel cut-offs and bigger propeller shafts.

Whichever way you look at it, the Resort 35's volume permits a lot of scope with the layout. The version I drove, a working charterboat on Pittwater, had a flybridge and semi-enclosed cockpit. There are now sportsfishing and trawler-yacht versions being offered.

As it was, with both upper and lower helms, the boat has a useful amount of deck for carrying a party, with things such as a big barbie and lots of fridges, not to mention terrific views from the bridge, to keep everyone entertained.

Upper and lower helmstations also make the Resort 35 a true all-weather boat. In summer, drive with the wind in your hair from the flybridge. In winter boating, life remains just as comfortable at the internal helm, cruising with a hot coffee in hand, the blow-heater on.

Accommodation comprises three cabins: a forepeak with bunks, an amidships with a double berth and a double cabin with a separate entrance back aft. There is a head with all the mod cons, plus an additional deck shower, dinette, excellent galley with gas oven/stove, and lots of lounging space.

The cods were warm and there were no red herrings during my time aboard the Resort 35. I rounded Scotland Island and puttered or pottered back down Pittwater, thinking about nothing at all, merely trawling for ideas.

Despite having just one motor, the Resort 35 is manoeuvrable if you know how to walk a single-screw boat. If you don't, go for the optional bowthruster. Steering up top could also be improved.

With nothing much to go wrong, and an interior big on space, it is not surprising that the Resort 35 is a popular charterboat. There are fleets of them in the Whitsundays, for example.

PASSAGE-MAKER
But don't underestimate the passage-making ability of this recreational cruiser inspired by a North Sea trawler. John and Joan Holmes, who bought their Resort 35 for pottering about Brisbane Water and making nearby passages, delivered the boat from the Gold Coast last September.

The cruising couple about took five or six days hopping from port to port, running for about eight hours each day, clocking up around 60-odd nautical miles. Joan, who had never done an offshore passage before, says the boat was very stable and reassuring in the water.

"The galley works miracles and has all the conveniences of home, allowing me to provide hot meals at sea. And the boat just has so much room it is incredible," she says.

Since taking delivery of their boat no herring or cod has hit the decks. In fact, despite trolling a line all the way from Queensland, the couple aren't big on fishing. But they have entertained groups of up to 10 people without feeling like they are packed like pickled herrings in a can.

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