Yalta Craft Odessa 615

Recently, there's been growing criticism of the modern-day 5-7m trailerboat. Critical judgements being passed include: they've become too dressy... They're wearing ballgowns when tracky dacks and sloppy joes are more appropriate...

Back in the early '80s, I recall writing that Australian boats were too bare, lacked the refinements and options offered by American makers, and that our builders were producing hulls only and saying to fishermen, do the rest yourself...

The school of thought altered during the mid-1980s, with our designers producing some terrific purpose-designed and built fishing craft ? with just a little bit of comfort thrown in for mum and the kids.

POPULARITY PENDULUM
But has the pendulum swung too far? Have manufacturers put comfort ahead of fishability, resulting in impractical boats with very hefty pricetags?

Not so for Yalta Craft, in my opinion, one Queensland manufacturer which hasn't 'lost the plot'. Perhaps the company is one of the few smaller manufacturers to recognise the swing among experienced boaties ? a pronounced move from light to heavier build and towards more individual customisation rather than fully-moulded ex-factory packages.

I've probably stuck my nose into hundreds of boats fitted out by their owners ? and they're all different! The concept of what works best is dictated by personal preference. These are the boaties who steer away from the 'flash and dash'.

The Yalta Craft Odessa 615 (at a genuine 20ft, and a boat-only weight of 800kg) is an impressive boat all-round, which will give you change from $45,000 u and that's impressive in itself.

The boat's not in the heavyweight class, but it's no cost-cutting lightweight either. It's a nice balance, and I like that. All up its highway tow weight is around 1700kg, which is within Holden and Falcon territory with heavy-duty hitches.

It goes well, too. The testboat from MY Marine in Dromana (Vic) was fitted with a four-stroke Honda 130hp mated to a stainless Vengeance 16-inch prop, which really surprised me with its performance. Indicated top speed was a creditable 58kmh at 5800rpm, and it cruised comfortably at 50kmh at 5000rpm or 40kmh at 4000rpm.

A LITTLE RIPPER!
Port Phillip Bay was behaving too well for a comprehensive test, so we headed out through The Rip (right on a tide change) to get into a bit of rock 'n' roll. The Odessa handled it impressively and quite smoothly from every sea direction, with just the occasional slap when re-entering off centre.

The water in The Rip was all over the place and I pushed the boat as hard as possible through that mess. On a couple of occasions, a wave picked up the stern and pushed the nose to starboard in a mini-broach (albeit in fairly extreme circumstances). I wondered later whether the half pod incorporated into the hull had an influence on that characteristic. Apart from that, handling was very good indeed.

The boat leans a little left with engine torque in flat water, but this is by no means disconcerting. In fact, stability is quite exceptional for a hull with a deadrise of 22&176.

Styling is quite squarish compared to many modern designs, but I think this also reflects the boat's practicability. The tinted windscreen is twin flat-glass panels and has perspex sidepanels. It needs a reinforcing grabrail, which is on the options list.

The deck is flat at the anchor well which is covered by a finger-in pullout hatch (without a lockable latch) behind a fairly fine pulpit with bowroller ? you wouldn't call it a bowsprit. The split bowrail is handy.

From the anchor well, the deck slopes up sharply to a flatter non-skid section in front of the windscreen which incorporates a small hatch. You have to twist your shoulders a bit to get through it.

The alternative, walking around the deck, is also difficult. The footway is very narrow but does slope in towards the boat to prevent a foot slipping out and over. However, this walk-only comes back level with the windscreen where the cabin mould slopes out to the side of the boat. With the clears up and the rod-rack mounts on the gunwale, it's an impossibly large step to get around all this to get your foot to the walkway.

The cuddy cab has plenty of air and light provided by large perspex side windows and a substantial interior light, as well as a wide canvas-covered access through the main bulkhead from the cockpit (positioned centrally and in front of the passenger).

SLEEP PEACEFULLY
There's room for a snooze on the V-berth, the sidepockets are wide, strong and timber encapsulated glass with backrest padding, the EPIRB is mounted on the port side, and a running light is cleverly positioned behind switches on the starboard side. Unfortunately, the switch panel is not covered.

The skipper's bucket seat is not adjustable, which means a long-arm stretch to the TFX Marine helm. But it was comfortable enough with plastic moulded footrest. The main switch panel is on the right side of the helm, with the radio perfectly placed directly in front. Trim gauge and speedo are mounted left of centre, with Honda engine switches and rev counter centre, and fuel gauge on the right. Electronics are mounted left and right of the centrally-mounted compass.

The testboat had a bimini and clears, which were a separate attachment to the fold-down, six-slot overhead, one-inch stainless rocket launcher with excellent clearance of around 1.85m.

Skipper and passenger seats are mounted on storage boxes. The driver's box has a fire-extinguisher mounted in front (within an easy grab), and a tackle cupboard in the back. Underneath, the passenger seat is an open storage bin, and behind it a very large livebait tank with a clear perspex lid, plumbed through the side of the boat with a deckwash hose attached.

Radio speakers are mounted either side in elbow-height pockets, while in front of the passenger is a small glovebox (which needs a drain) and a substantial grabrail.

Floors are carpeted throughout. The only underfloor storage in the cockpit is dedicated to the 180lt fueltank.

The long and deep sidepockets are gelcoated, and although they flex a little when stood on they still appear strong enough. All coamings are padded.

The flat transom treatment is interesting. It features a padded seat which sits on two substantial GRP storage boxes. The boxes are clipped to the deck so they can be removed if you don't want them intruding into your fishing space. There's still heaps of room, even with them in the boat.

It's good to see the batteries and oil bottle located in stern quarter boxes which are raised about eight centimetres. A bilge pump is standard.

The Odessa has four stainless rodholders (the rear two with rubber insert caps), recessed cleats, and good-sized storage bins in both rear stern quarters with Teflon-hinged lids.

The outboard well is quite large but doesn't intrude into the boat, because the engine is mounted on an in-hull moulded pod which goes right to the hull line. A berley bucket is built into the port platform, and there's a matching swim platform to starboard. A baitboard is also offered, slotting into recesses in the transom.

The hull features wide, flat chines and three strakes. The inner strake goes down only a third of the boat, the middle one two-thirds and the outer goes all the way to the stern. Those features certainly add to the hull's good performance.

The boat sits on a hydraulic-braked Dunbier all-roller trailer.

Performance, cockpit size and practicality are the Odessa's best features. Its design and fit out is good, without being over the top. Above all, it's a good platform to build-on to your particular desire.