Southwind UB520 Sportsman

No, the invasion of which we speak is the arrival of the long boats.

As their name suggests, these are long, somewhat narrow, monohulls - the sort seen plying the waterways of southeast Asia for decades. Popular as workboats in Asia and across the Pacific in one form or another, one of the long boat's most appealing features is its ability to carry big loads efficiently and quickly with relatively low horsepower engines.

This style of boat has been on the market for decades in Japan where it has been a favourite of fishermen in the country's often treacherous inshore waters.

Given the Japanese connection, it's not surprising that the first company to offer long boats in reasonable numbers Down Under was Yamaha.

Via its Southwind subsidiary, Yamaha has had two utility boats (UBs) on its book until recently. Rather bare-bones affairs, the UB19 and UB22 (5.8 and 6.7m respectively) have won plenty of fans thanks to their smooth ride and excellent seakeeping qualities.

Now, Southwind's new 5.2m UB520 takes the concept a step further, offering 'Australianised' basic and sportsfishing versions that have lost none of their predecessors' practicality, affordability and efficiency.

I'm proud to say I've had a fair bit of input into the development of the Australian model UBs. Indeed, when the UB520 was first mooted, Yamaha and I sat down to do some homework on the basic centre console boat to come up with an affordable, but classy inshore sportsfishing package.

Twelve months down the track we've had the development boat on the water for a couple of months and its proven to be an effective fishing tool. It's not quite perfect yet and we plan to make a few more changes, but in the meantime it's worth taking a look at it.

Essentially, the Southwind UB520 is an open 5.2m fibreglass boat of 100% timber-free construction that boasts a large centre console. With a beam of under 2.0m, it's relatively narrow, however, it's fair to say that almost every cm of the boat is fishable.

Based on the UB19, the 520's hull, though shorter, features more freeboard amidships and aft than its predecessor, as well as revised hull and transom configuration.

Powered by a four-stroke 50hp outboard, the UB520 is efficient without breaking any speed records. Being long and narrow, the boat slips through the water very smoothly.

Most of the changes made to the 520's hull have been aimed at improving its dryness. According to the maker, the 520's bigger transom angle allows more effective motor trimming to plane big loads and reduces the spray taken aboard when backing into a slop. Even the non-skid, self-draining floor has had attention - it's now higher to prevent flooding through the scuppers at rest.

Coupled with the UB-series' trademark gunwale 'collar' the end result is a remarkably dry boat.

In fact, even in quite choppy seas, the UB affords a very dry ride - except when quartering into a sea. We all know what happens then in an open centre console.

The F50A 50hp four-stroke has proven a good match to the hull - if just a tad underpowered. Perhaps a better choice would be to switch to the high-thrust B-series engine.

Having said that, the A-series equipped 520 doesn't struggle to get out of the water, and the speed and load-carrying ability doesn't change much whether lightly or fully loaded.

What you do notice is the boat's top-end speed (or lack thereof) and the revs that you have to sit at to maintain 20mph. For any sort of speed, you will need to spin the four-cylinder four-stroke to 4500rpm or more.

Flat out, the so-equipped UB520 registers around 28mph at 5700rpm.

At these revs you would expect to consume a reasonable amount of fuel. However, our runs with two to three adults on board in average to rough conditions registered a pretty consistent result of approximately 9lt/hr.

So even when working the engine at these higher revs, you can still have a cheap day out on the water. And with the UB's underfloor tank holding 85lt, it can be a long one too.

If you're a keen sportsfisherman and don't have to travel long distances all the time, this sort of economy is reason enough to put up with slower outright speeds. Another is how quiet the four-stroke-equipped 520 is on the water.

On several occasions during our testing, we were able to motor almost on top of a school of feeding tuna without spooking them. Other boats working the schools in the same area couldn't do this without alarming the fish. Without doubt, this can be attributed to how quietly the package motors.

The long narrow fibreglass hull does not slap in the water, either.

The UB's layout is pretty straightforward.

There is quite a lot of room under the two moulded seats aft. On one side we stashed the battery box and mounted an oil bottle for two-stroke users. By placing the two on one side, we freed up the opposite space so that a livebait tank could be fitted into the seat. By the way, this still leaves room underfloor for tools, tackle and gaffs.

Optional on the base boat, the UB520's centre console is a must have on the sportsfishing version and swallows a mountain of gear.

It's quite a large console (given the size of the boat) and provides three smaller tackle hatches as well as a front-facing EPIRB and extinguisher hideaway.

Our test Southwind was fitted with a full stainless steel bar kit comprising bow and side rails, a rear baitboard and framed bimini.

The framework of the canopy provides the ideal place to strap your paddles and includes a few horizontal few rod holders and a four-place rocket launcher.

At the bow there's a raised platform in which the anchor and warp is stored. This is a large area, and there's plenty of room to store other gear.

With minor modifications, the underfloor between the aft seat and the console could be used as a wet tank or storage area. The floor has a screw-down section and a natural box underneath created by the bulkheads. This is an excellent storage space.

The fuel tank is found under the deck forward of the console and balances the boat nicely.

The 520's deck is self draining, with moulded side gutters and scuppers located just in front of the rear seat boxes.

One of the big advantages of the boat is its abundant fishing room. For example, the raised area of the bow is great for casting lures, though you will need a decent pair of sea legs to keep your balance in any sort of sea. To start with, you need to keep the weight central until you get used to the movement of the boat.

I'm sure that the Yamaha UB520 will prove to be one of Yamaha's more popular boats. On the next one, we'll be fitting a 60hp two-stroke to compare speed and performance, along with a few other modifications. Keep your eye out for an update in coming months.

Until then, check one of the current boats out and if you get a chance take it for a run. It might not be quite ready to take on a 1000lb billfish but I'm sure you'll be impressed, nonetheless.