Why I love my Haines Hunter Formula 233: Classic Boats

Our 1972 Haines Hunter Formula 233 called Galaxy II was originally built and owned by John Haines himself in Brisbane. The boat had a twin-motor well and a pair of 140hp OMC outboards.

In the late 1970s my Grandfather bought the 233 off Haines. He wanted a family bay boat that could obviously handle the rough very well.

My father Jim McKinnon grew into a teenager and developed a huge love for fishing inspired by my Granddad and this boat.

It was then that Galaxy II had its first of many upgrades — a brand new 225hp Mercury BlackMax outboard and a set of outriggers for game fishing!

My (grand) father and son team fished hard, winning many tournaments and achieving Australian Records in the mid-80s into the 90s. Dad loved the water so much he decided to be a marine mechanic.

THE FIRST REFIT
As the years went on, Dad and Granddad began the first major refit!

The boat has new transom filled in to suit an engine pod for a brand new Yamaha 225hp two-stroke outboard that pushed it exceptionally well. The hull colour changed from old-school yellow to Teal Green. There was a full interior refit.

Galaxy II was used for annual trips away and the odd fishing trip offshore until Granddad said to Dad: it’s yours.

In 2011, I picked up Galaxy II with dad. We had big intentions to turn what is rated to be the best-riding high-quality 7m boat in its class into a purpose-built game-fishing Boat.

And we did… after a year of working every night and every weekend.

THE ULTIMATE FISHING BOAT
We firstly stripped the boat back to a bare hull then we removed all internal stringers/floor/transom/side pockets. We moved the longitudinal stringers outwards allowing us to have wider area for larger fuel storage for long-range trips.

We raised the deck and lifted the front 60mm higher than the back. This allowed us to have self-draining decks, which no Haines Hunter has, then we completely foam filled the hull and structural foam stringers. Will never rot again!

We built the transom to suit large battery storage and a large live-bait tank. But we also rounded the transom for backing down on game fish.

The custom aluminium pod received a brand new F300 Yamaha four-stroke outboard.

Then came the bit that makes the boat — the custom hard top! It’s insulated aluminium and built for the outriggers, a shotgun rigger and large rod storage! Glass windows with window wiper and washer were added to keep the minimal salt spray away.

THE INTERIOR
The cabin has a forward V-berth, which sleeps two comfortably, and an inbuilt toilet if needed.

The portside has a 1.9m fridge/freezer/storage box up the side that is used as a single bed for the third person.

There is a long bench seat for three-to-four people sitting side-by-side and a 200lt fridge/freezer below running constantly!

On the driver’s side, there is a custom timber cabinet, which consists of the helm seat, a massive amount of tackle storage, and a freshwater sink for washing lures/hands or dishes.

THE DASH
As there is always someone looking at the dash when navigating and fishing, we created a custom aluminium design incorporating the Yamaha electronic control/hydraulic steering that makes driving this beast amazing!

For the navigation and fishing we run top-of-the-range Garmin electronics consisting of three displays: a 12in, a 10in and a 7in, with two 1kw transducers, Structure-Scan/Clear View and Rear down Panoptix 3D sonar for the fishing!

There is colour radar, autopilot and the high end Garmin charts that makes this smooth riding beast an absolute pleasure to skipper.

With a 24-degree deadrise, the stability is an 8 out of 10. But when at its full capacity of fuel (650 litres) it wont move!

We can hit a top speed of 50 knots with a light load and travel at a 27-knot cruise speed for 45 litres an hour.

For the trolling, which we do a lot of at 6 knots, we get 7 litres an hour.

Since the full refurb five-years ago, we’ve clocked up 1200hrs.

WE LOVE IT!
Every year, Galaxy II competes in several game fishing competitions from Hervey bay to the Gold Coast catching blue marlin, black marlin, sailfish and other species as by-catch, which keeps the esky full.

Galaxy II is a great-sized boat, manageable to fish with two people helped by the Garmin autopilot, and up to eight people for social days at Tangalooma. It’s cheap to run, too.

There are no future plans to upgrade or change, because we love this boat Constant upgrades internally and a yearly cut and polish and our 1972 Haines Hunter 233 called Galaxy II has another 45 years in it!

In this search we have more than 200 Haines Hunters for sale on our sites.