Tournament 2000 Bluewater

All timber components in the hull were done away with, replaced by fibreglass mouldings. The stringer system was converted to hollow glass which, when installed, was foam filled. This alteration brought about a restriction on availability of the space under the deck for fish boxes but there's ample on-deck space for portable boxes which lessens the inconvenience.

The bonuses to the foam addition are strength and rigidity to the hull but also sound deadening with the minimisation of water slap noise through the structure.

The chines of old were rounded on the edges and a re-design in this department has seen an extra 75mm added to each side at that location. Effectively it has added a lot of stability to the boat when at anchor or on the drift and changed its attitude to one more level when pushing hard into turns at speed.

A large 210-litre fuel tank will give this boat plenty of legs and with four stroke economy in a two-stroke Evinrude ETEC 150hp, the greener pastures are within grazing distance. Producing very good performance with that fitment, there is room to add another 50 horses if you feel the need; having said that, we didn’t think it necessary.

As tested, we found the addition of a VHF radio, a Garmin 750S touch-screen combination chart plotter and depth sounder as well as front and side clears, stainless-steel rocket launcher, a full bunk infill and a sliding lockable door to the expansive cabin. With those added options you can add another $8,600 to the price tag, ringing the till at $72,800.

Standard on all Tournament Boats is hydraulic steering and, in this case, they have used the seemingly ever-reliable Sea Star unit.

Diehard bluewater anglers will most likely divest themselves of the three-quarter cockpit width rear folding lounge seat base which is hinged and not made for speedy removal. The backrest provides good thigh padding when fishing here though most of that would be inaccessible once you have installed a bait-rigging transom on the bulkhead which would overhang most of it.

A livebait tank situated in the starboard side of the transom bulkhead was unplumbed and featured a lid that folded toward you rather than away. This needs to be changed for practicality reasons.

Under this bulkhead and strapped to the floor is the cranking battery and the ETEC oil reservoir. The aft end of the fuel tank is exposed in the bilge and the plumbing for the fuel inlet pipe, pick-up and breather come up vertically from the tank.

A stowage compartment under the walk-through transom door was vacant and would be a good place to install the oil reservoir clearing some of the clutter from under the bulkhead but an external filler would have to be installed.

Typically, when anglers get a thrashing toothy critter on board, it is given a clout with a club and its head is jammed under these bulkheads so gnashing teeth do not find human flesh. They might well find plastic fuel lines here and create all sorts of problems. There is also a possibility of heavy low-profile objects sliding around on the deck that might cause damage when contacting here. We’d like to see some sort of fence protecting this potentially fragile area.

The side pockets in the cockpit are carpeted and their fronts are upholstered as well. The apertures here are large enough to allow easy passage of long gaffs, tag poles and tackle trays.

More stowage is found under the two seats in the form of fibreglass modules. They have a small rebate at the aft end which looks to be intended as a seat for the crew but in reality it is quite small.

These boxes do not have a sealed floor, rather they are screwed to the deck and dampness will seep underneath via the carpet into contents inside necessitating drying and airing each time you take water onto the deck. If these were sealed from the elements it would be a lot less hassle cleaning after each trip.

The helm sits behind a toughened glass wrap-around windscreen with side panes of the same material and the optional clears may be installed for protection. A grab handle running along the back of the screen would be a good addition as the large sliding and lockable cabin door uses up a lot of the dash top area for its aperture; the site where one would normally install a grab rail for passengers.

Evinrude’s digital gauges are installed on a brow above a flat area that housed the Garmin. This area is large enough to install a pair of eight-inch screens or a single 12-inch model and the helm is installed low down and does not interfere with operation of the units, both physically and visually.

Bluewater anglers carry a lot of gear and it is all big! Big tackle boxes, tackle and lure rolls, big bulky rods and reels and so on. The large cabin on the 2000 is made for them.

It will easily sleep two adults and has excellent head height when seated on the bunks and the leg well could host a portable toilet should you have a crew with that requirement. And you would still have leg room left over.

From here, one has easy access through the cabin roof to the ground tackle in the anchor well should they be hauling it manually. The review boat had blank panels in place for the future installation of an electric winch.

Finish to the gelcoat is excellent and fittings and joins are neat and tight.

In fact, this boat, like others from its stable, gives a softer ride than many in its category.

Running down the face of the swell and pulling back the power, the hull continued to track straight with not a hint of broaching and running at angles across it failed to show any bad manners. It should be able to handle bar crossings with ease.

Back in smoother waters WOT at 5800rpm had us on the gps at 46.4mph which is a shade over 75km/h.

Should you need to go astern to run down a big fish, the steering is direct and the transom keeps high enough so as not to bury itself.
You will appreciate the stability exhibited by this boat

The 150 ETEC and the 2000 hull make a good marriage and provide a sound basis for building a relationship with the mini game boat/sport fisher you have always dreamt about.