Trophy 2502 Walkaround

There is an ethereal light that one sees only occasionally on the water, and this rare radiance made itself known for a sortie aboard two new sexy Trophy sportsfishers.

The Trophy 2502 Walkaround and 2103 Centre Console arrived sporting optional Sea Mist green hulls and moulded hardtops sitting on impressive anodised alloy framework. They were quite a picture.

Minutes earlier, the rain had been bucketing down; the sky was leaden and the lighting was glum. But as that storm moved out to sea, the sun burst through as though someone had turned on the studio lights. The Trophies were the stars of the stage, strutting their stuff before the black curtain out to sea.

The two sportsfishers performed like well-orchestrated actors in a television campaign espousing the virtues of sportsfishing. Sadly, I didn't have tackle aboard. A school of feisty Aussie salmon sensed as much and charged headlong at some garfish. The ballyhoo, as they're known Up Over, danced in the light like quicksilver. It was exciting stuff.

Meanwhile, a nice little storm sea was on hand to test the seaworthiness of the Trophy boats. They weren't stay-in-port conditions, but the metre of confused chop and 1.8m groundswell were testing. It was the kind of sea one might tackle at low planing speeds before trolling the rest of the way to the grounds - which is what I did.

The 21ft Trophy 2103 Centre Console (see future issue) would be a great boat for warmer climes. The 2502 Walkaround, the subject of this test, is a better choice for all-season boating. It has the amenities to pacify friends and family as well as fish and fishers. It also has protection and a cabin.

INDEPENDENCE DAY
Bayliner makes Trophy boats, but any swipe at that parentage will leave you with egg on your face. Unlike the company's family runabouts, which are built to a price to take the hoi polloi boating, the Trophies are pitched and produced to perform as serious offshore boats.

Since these boats and their customers are a very different animal to Bayliners and their buyers, the parent company split Trophy away. It is now marketed as a standalone entity. By my reckoning it has finally come of age. Make no bones about it, these Trophies are thoroughbred sportsfishers.

Importantly, the boats exceeded my expectations on the engineering front. The 21-footer felt more like a 25-footer; such was the lackadaisical manner in which the stiff hull strutted across the waves. In some ways the 2502 wasn't as impressive for its length, though it did boast a lot more internal comforts and space.

Volume is something Trophy delivers. Like a lot of American boatbuilders, Trophy offers a wide beam for the waterline length. This was especially evident with the 2103 Centre Console, which shared the same 2.59m beam as this 2502 Walkaround.

That 2.59m beam might require a towing permit that restricts you to towing in daylight hours in some states.

But you get a lot of boat for your buck here, and I'd take the permit and the voluminous interior any day - or grab a drystack somewhere.

HULL DESIGN
The hull of the 2502 boasts pronounced flared sections above the waterline to shed water, and there is a lot of buoyancy to help keep water out. The bow will easily support the weight of a crewman retrieving the anchor or an angler wielding, say, a casting rod with a popper.

There is nothing revolutionary about the running sections of the hull. The 2502 Walkround is built on a deep-vee design with 21° of deadrise at the transom. I was impressed by the amount of freeboard back aft. At rest, the boat didn't droop under the weight of its twin Mercury Optimax 200hp outboards.

Back aft, I noted that the transom isn't too far for a fisher to clear the rod tip around the motors. The outboard non-skid aft platform can also support the weight of a deckie, gaffman and angler with at least a light-tackle hook-up on, say, a deep-slugging fish like a trevally or jack.

Trophy says the 2502 Walkaround is a combination of computer-aided design, a rigorous on-water testing program and a so-called Trophy Hull System comprising an apparently overbuilt, one-piece fibreglass-and-foam stringer system bonded to the hull and deck.

In turn, this creates a unitised or monocoque structure whereby nothing moves. That was true but for one thing. The bi-fold cabin door is held open with a strip of material and a press stud. There's too much room for the door to move and, as such, it rattles annoyingly. A better means by which to secure the door is needed, please.

That detail aside, the boat is backed by a 10-year limited hull warranty and boasts deck fittings through-bolted to backing plates, PVC conduits carrying wiring looms, colour-coded wiring harnesses and excellent ergonomics. The designers first turn their hands to making full-sized mock-up boat models to move about, imagining how things might be, before final moulds are made. And it shows.

The Trophies also have Drainage Response Systems - a complete water management approach including a self-draining cockpit, fishboxes that drain overboard, an impressive livebait setup, cambered decks to keep feet dry and the deep engine well. Even the drinkholders have drain holes.

I noted a terrific grade of non-skid decking stretched all over this boat, including around the gunwales and bow - where one might step off at the ramp or wharf - and on that aft boarding platform, which was big enough to host a gaffman looking to close out a fight from a drifting boat. 

DANCING ON THE DECKS
The bow boasts a big anchor locker, a small sprit on which you can run around with a plough at the ready, mooring cleats, navigation lights and, just as importantly, a high bowrail that offers support on the thighs.

The Walkaround does as it is intended and the boat's stability is such that it doesn't heel alarmingly when tracing the decks. There are also water and waste outlets for the optional holding tank.

You step down to the cockpit, which is generous in size and equipped with padded coamings (on slides so you can easily replace them) and stainless-steel toerails.

Before revealing all the fishing features, it's hard to ignore the T-top. The moulded hardtop was a nice bit of work, incorporating a lockable electronics box and clears on tracks for easy operation.

There is a floodlight, plus deck and courtesy lights, and a stout anodised alloy frame with plenty of grabrails and a rocket launcher with four rodholders. Mounting outrigger bases and 12ft poles off the hardtop should be a snap.

I counted four rodholders about the wide gunwales; two under-gunwale gaff and/or tagpole racks a side; and a triple vertical rod rack on the outboard side of the transom. But the fish centre at the transom is the undisputed highlight.

The aft bait station features a cutting board, a lift-out Igloo icebox for stowing bait and carrying bait aboard (remove it to access plumbing lines), and an impressive 113lt oval livebait tank with aerator, overflow and light. There is a sink, freshwater tap and raw-water washdown close by.

A hatch grants access to the battery switches and main circuit breakers. Twin batteries live under the transom with room for two more. There is access through a hatch to the bilge with its 1000gph auto/manual pump. The seacocks are all bronze.

To these things you can add a giant portside fishbox under the navigator's seat big enough to stow serious kings, jewfish and at least school-sized dressed tuna and dorado. There is a small, lined fishbox under the helm seat too.

Optional cushions attach to the top of the aft end of these fish-and-seat boxes to boost seating when idling about or at rest. The buddy seats have backrests. I'm told the 2502 is also offered with an optional aft lounge if you really must appease the family between fishing trips.

There are rubber tiedowns under the navigator's seat to secure a tacklebox or two. A 40lt Igloo carry-on cooler is stowed under the helm seat. Both helm and navigator seats slide and swivel aft. There was plenty of room between the seats and to each side, where you can grab the alloy framework to ride shotgun.

CABIN CRUISER
While the cabin door rattles annoyingly when held open with the retaining strap, the cabin is lockable, so you can leave your fishing gear inside - four internal rod racks are provided - when dropping by the motorboat club or a weekend eatery. Should you so desire, you can most certainly sleep overnight.

The cabin has headroom near its entrance and stooping room thereafter. Amenities include a Waeco 12V portable 50lt fridge with a token freezer tray, a galley sink with manual-pump freshwater tap linked to a 90lt tank and a single-burner alcohol stove. There is a small but serviceable head enclosed by a fibreglass liner with a Jabsco manual loo and sink.

The cabin table can be demounted and stowed away in the dedicated locker. There is plenty of storage space by way of various shelves, drawers and nooks. Removing the table reveals a vee-berth that converts into a double bed. I thought the finish of the cabin was better than what I have found in some built-for-pleasure boats. 

BATTLE STATIONS
Full marks for the grey non-glare dash moulded to accommodate two flush-mounted 7in colour screens. The stainless-steel toggle switches were self-explanatory; there were Lenco trim tabs, dual ignition switches and twin throttles.

The 200hp OptiMax had SmartCraft and analogue engine gauges, and the motors were firing on all cylinders when I took the helm. Views through the armourplate-glass windscreen of the dark clouds and inky ocean were unfettered, and the clears kept the spray at bay as I upped the ante.

The hull proved a rapid holeshot and it held a useful 14-15kt slow cruise speed into the fray with some trim tab to point the bow down. At 3500rpm you can enjoy a fair-weather cruise speed of 24kt. At 4000rpm, the twin outboards were purring. At this setting a high-speed 30kt cruise would put most people on blue marlin grounds within an hour.

The best I recorded was 41.2kt at 5500rpm. But no matter what speed you decide to travel, if you can maintain it offshore, the boat's whopping 617lt fuel tank will accommodate your wishes.

The 2502 Walkaround is serious long-range sportsfisher with lots of volume, excellent built-in fishing features and comforts to camp aboard. It only needs electronics, outriggers and, as I unfortunately discovered, some decent ammunition to coax those fish aboard.