Robalo R200

Robalo has a proud history of manufacturing specialist fishing boats and has been doing so for around 44 years.

Recently the company has gone more into the recreational and cross-over  boating market, but not at the expense of its traditional fishing boats. The boat tested here is one of the specialist fishing models, the R200 centre console.

We also had a lovely Honda 150hp four-stroke on the back with Seastar hydraulic steering.

This all brought the price on an Easytow custom tandem trailer to $79,500.

The boats are available from $61,999 with a Magic Tilt trailer and 115hp two-stroke outboard.

This is a four-cylinder double-overhead camshaft layout with multi-port programmed fuel injection. With its automotive heritage, it is needless to say that it is a very high-tech engine and consequently smooth and quiet in operation.

The R200 uses Robalo’s Hydo Lift hull design which the company says is a “performance breakthrough that sets us apart from other fishing boats.” While we can’t attest to that, we can say that it certainly is good hull and built to last. It’s backed by a 10-year hull warranty which is pretty good evidence that the company has confidence in its product.

The tie-up with Chaparral (Robalo was acquired by Chaparral in 2001) is more evidence of quality. Chaparral is renowned for its quality and attention to detail, and the Robalos that we have seen certainly point to the fact that the Chaparral ethos is carried through to Robalo.

That said, the coamings are wide and there’s plenty of room for extra rod holders, other bolt-on equipment, or just sitting on. Down aft, there’s a transom seat in each corner which fold down to give access to the two boarding platforms – the starboard side sporting a concealed fold-out ladder. There is storage under the seats and slap-bang in the middle is the plumbed live-bait tank – sensibly right under the stainless-steel-framed bait board.

There is rod storage along each side under the coamings and a stainless-steel toe-rail down low so you can tuck you feet in when fighting that massive snapper.

A big kill tank sits under the floor and it’s interesting to note here that virtually all the hatches to the lockers and kill tanks have gas struts for ease of opening and closing. A nice touch.

Also notable is that the cockpit is self draining via scuppers in each aft corner.

Moving to the console, we note a substantial double helm seat with a strong stainless-steel frame so passengers can hang onto it when standing and not be afraid of breaking it.

The fascia is well laid out with toggle switches on either side and a nice big flat surface in the middle to mount screens. We had the Garmin 5008 mounted there along with the Honda digital readout and the remote for the stereo system. There was also a couple of stainless-steel drink holders on the port side and the engine controls to starboard which fell nicely to hand from the five-spoke stainless steel wheel. In all, a nice, neat helm station that would be easy to customise with your own electronics package.

A great feature of the R200 is that the forward section of the console opens to reveal what can only be described as a storage room. Once the door is opened, you can step down into this cavernous locker and avail yourself of the Porta-Pottie (if fitted). Otherwise it’s a great place to store your safety equipment, bulky fishing gear, or hang your foul-weather gear.

Up front, there is seating for three or four, or alternatively, your forward casting platform. Our boat had the optional cushions which made this a very comfortable lounging area (who said this was exclusively a fishing boat?).

The full bow rail ran from amidships right around the bow. Some fishermen may not like this idea but it was as sturdy and good-looking addition that really suited the boat.

On the bow was a substantial anchor locker. But what? No roller. I don’t know that I’d like to be the one dragging chain and anchor over the sparkling gel coat. Further, the combo navigation light was placed in the middle of the bow on the deck which would make it vulnerable if you were to anchor.

The R200 is designed to take a maximum of eight people, but you’d have to be pretty good mates – especially if you were fishing. More likely, you go out with two or three fishing buddies and have plenty of room and storage.

On the day of this test, we had about 15-18 knots of northerly blowing which, where we were in Port Phillip, made for reasonably flat water with a bit of chop and a few white caps.

We did some runs both with the wind and waves and then against them to get our performance figures from the GPS. What was important to note was that the figures were virtually identical.

The R200 is a fairly heavy boat built, as it is, for the rough stuff. Therefore, it doesn’t get overly affected, in terms of performance, by the wind and chop. We found a nice quick cruise of 22 knots at 4500rpm. This kept the boat up and out of the water with a bit of trim out, and it just skipped over the chop and didn’t get a drop on the screen. At this speed and revs we were burning around 20 litres per hour.

For the record, wide-open throttle gave us 34 knots at 5900rpm (around 55 lph) and at 5000rpm we were doing 27 knots for a fuel burn of just under 30 litres per hour.

With the Seastar hydraulic steering, the R200 was a dream to handle. Steering was smooth and direct and the hull performed beautifully when thrown around. The Honda engine seemed a good match, but perhaps a little fiddling in the prop area would help the hole shot and top end.

It has the luxuries, it has the soft and comfortable ride – and it’s pretty good looking. For 70-something grand, you’re getting a lot of boat backed by a bit warranty and solid after-sales service from Chaparral Australia.