Tabs 5100 Territory Pro

Built for serious fishing, the Tabs boats are popular with anglers throughout the country.

LIKES

- Ergonomically friendly at the helm
- Well suited to long-distance travel, seated or standing
- Good robust finish to welds

DISLIKES

- Forward casting deck hatch warped and lifted corners will interfere with feet
- No hydraulic steering as standard fitment

OVERVIEW

- It ain't broke!

There must be literally hundreds of Tabs 5100 Territory Pro boats floating around this country. They have been in production since 2005 and still continue to roll off the line even during the strained economic times we are experiencing. It’s a tough market out there and there is an old saying that rings true here; ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going!’

And there is another adage; ‘if it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ and that ostensibly is what has happened with the Territory Pro. It has remained unchanged since its inception save for some internal modifications. That said, the boat has plenty of fishing bling to make life comfortable in a variety of situations.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

- More than meets the eye

The reviewed boat belonged to the proprietor of Tabs Boats and was fitted with a 115hp Tohatsu outboard motor as a test outfit. In reality, the maximum recommended horsepower rating for this boat is 90 while the recommended is 70 and the minimum recommended is 60.

It has been set up for some pretty serious fishing with an electric motor base forming part of the coaming in the port forequarter. The battery compartment to house the power supply for this is in a hatch in the aft port corner of the casting deck, and sits just below the hatch suspended above the bilge making for easy removal for charging. This is well thought out as charging batteries in sealed compartments can be an invitation for a gaseous explosion of sorts.

In this same compartment a filler neck for a 100-litre fresh water tank is fitted and the hose for this attaches to a tail coming off the casting platform bulkhead, into the portside pocket. It was also good to see the switch for this pump is at the hose tail so one or other person does not have to go back to the console to activate the water supply as is the norm.

A removable ice box of about 110 litres in volume sits under a hatch in the middle of the forward casting deck, and forward of that is another small stowage area. This latter hatch was warping and lifting its corners which could be an issue to toes should it become more pronounced.

Garmin’s 750S combination chart plotter depth sounder was fitted on the console along with a VHF radio.

GME’s marinised CD/radio was also fitted to the console fascia and its twin speakers were flush mounted in the casting deck bulkhead.

A Shurflo pump and filter was installed under the transom on the port side. It supplied the live-bait tank as well as a saltwater deck wash to compliment the freshwater unit.

LAYOUT

- Built for fishing

The layout of the Territory Pro is very user friendly across a number of fishing disciplines. Well over a third of the internal space is occupied with the forward casting deck and it is situated well below the surrounding coamings. While this in part prevents one from inadvertently ‘walking the plank’ it allows gear to be stowed up on the platform and tied down for secure travel when on the water or the highway.

Those coamings are quite wide which will allow for easy installation of other accessories such as outriggers or planing-plank posts, the latter being a fishing style practiced more often on trout lakes in the south of the continent.

The helm console is fitted against the starboard gunwale and set back slightly from the casting platform bulkhead. It is at this point the coamings are rebated both sides and aft, to maximise internal working space in the cockpit of the boat.

In the gap between the console and the bulkhead one may store a number of medium to small rod and reel outfits in the fitted holder. A handy tackle draw set sits behind a hatch in the side of the console. The rear bottom edge of the console is rebated so one does not catch their toes on it when walking about the deck.

A sturdy hand rail with a Perspex screen inside sits atop the console and when seated at the helm there is plenty of leg room here although the owner of this boat carries a spare fuel tank strapped down which cramps this space as we found out.

The inner coamings against the transom bulkhead are upholstered with plenty of padding for the upper thighs when bouncing around at anchor and having a fish.

In the deck a flooding kill tank is handy to the anglers and the seats may be repositioned about the boat to further free up angling space.
Centrally located and bolted down on the transom is a sturdy bait-rigging station featuring a bottom compartment and three rod holders.

ON THE WATER

- Well suited for a tough life

We could just imagine this boat up in the Northern Territory, swags on board, ice-box full of supplies and rod holders bristling with tackle while working the remote coastline. It will be a comfortable long hauler for sure and its soft ride will ensure that whether you're seated or standing at the helm.

Stability at rest is excellent and the rock and roll when moving about the decks is minimal for a boat of this size.

With two people seated well aft and such a big powerplant, the boat exhibited a bow-up attitude when performing its hole-shot but quickly settled onto the plane. We noted a fair amount of torque during hole-shot but this will be remedied with hydraulic steering. Why wouldn’t you fit it? It was all that was missing on this boat. A lighter engine would also change its performance out of the hole, for the better.

We wound the Tohatsu up to 5800rpm at which stage we were clipping along at 75km/h. The motor exhibited plenty of torque throughout its rev range so slowing right down for an economical cruise was not an issue.

The Tabs boats are well suited to hard fishing and the hard country encountered getting there be it on land or sea. There are a lot of them in service in the Northern Territory and doing it well.

If you are looking for a boat with longevity of life, they are worth more than a cursory look; they don’t disappoint.

RATINGS

Overall rating: 4.6/5.0
Mechanical/equipment: 4.8/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.9/5.0
On the water Performance: 4.6/5.0
Value for money: 4.7/5.0
X-factor: 4.6/5.0

Specifications:

Price: $29,980 base boat with 90hp two-stroke motor
LOA: 5.15m
Beam: 2.3m
Weight: 515kg approx.
Engine: Tohatsu 115hp
Fuel: 110 litres
Berths: nil
People Day: 5

Supplied by:

Tabs/Seascape
Telephone (07) 5594 6333
Email: sales@tabsboats.com.au
Website: www.tabsboats.com.au

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Tabs 5100 Territory Pro

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