Yalta Craft Triple-5-HC

The Yalta Craft Triple-5-HC is one of a huge number of boats on the market in the 5-6m class. On a value for money basis, this Queensland-built half-cabin is indeed one of the better offerings.

I say this because it looks good, drives well and is priced right. Sure, it isn't loaded to the gunwales with extras, but it appears to be very well designed and built.

The Triple-5 stands for an LOA of 5.55m, so it's easily towed by the average family car. As a half-cab design, it's a family all-rounder with something for everyone.

The boat we tested, from MY Marine at Dromana (Vic), was a package deal fitted with a 115hp two-stroke Mercury outboard, spinning an 18in Vengeance propeller.

RIPPER DEAL
At $32,640 this package represents real value for money.

And let's place the emphasis on value, not money. In my experience there are too many people buying boats simply because of a 'ripper deal'.

If you're a novice boat buyer, find someone who knows something about hulls - their design, build quality and performance - before you buy. Reading editorials like this is a good start. And, of course, take each prospect for a run - preferably in a fair bit of wind, as anything will perform well on a mirror-like surface. The secret of good, fun boating is to start with a good hull. The rest are add-ons.

The Yalta Triple-5 is an attractive looking boat with a deck that slopes gently from the bow to the sharper lift forward of the windscreen to accommodate the cabin. Large Perspex windows either side allow in plenty of light. The small bowsprit features a bolt-on roller with a split bowpost behind. The anchorwell is large and, importantly, has a large access hatch.

BIG BLOKES
The cabin hatch, which folds back onto the windscreen, is a good size with plenty of shoulder room for even the biggest bloke to get at the anchor. It's little things like this that make a boat so much more user-friendly. There is a narrow walkway around the cabin, but you'd go through the forward hatch by choice.

The windscreen is a four-piece wraparound model with a black aluminium frame and a single central post bolted to the very large dash for strength. The instrument console is good, but on this boat could have been fitted a little better. As well as the usual array of gauges, the instrument console features a Humminbird 150SX sounder, GME Electrophone GR 966 CD player and a 27MHz radio mounted right in front of the skipper (a little behind the helm, but still clearly visible).

The helm position is good, the controls are well-placed and a switch panel is mounted to starboard. While the top of the windscreen lacked a grabrail, two smaller ones are positioned in front of the passenger and also centrally on the dash for someone standing. They work well.

Non-sliding bucket seats are mounted on twin storage boxes, and another open box for keys and wallet is at the passenger's left elbow.

BRIGHT AND AIRY
Inside, the cabin is bright and airy with plenty of headroom. The twin bunks have storage underneath and wide shelves are covered in grey headliner.

The fire extinguisher is mounted on the inside of the bulkhead, as is the navigation light stem, which is clipped neatly out of the way - one of those nice little 'one-percenters'.

The hull weight of around 720kg is fairly substantial - without being too heavy - for a boat this size. It has a 22° deadrise, which is sharp for an 18-footer, but this helps its rough water performance enormously. The trade-off is usually less stability, but I found no problem there with the Triple 5. The hull features three strakes and very wide chines, which explain the good straight-line performance in the first instance and the better-than-average stability in the second.

Cockpit space is quite good. Two rodholders are fitted snugly into the narrow gunwales on this boat, but there is room for four more. So many boats in this class these days have treated timber sidepockets half-covered with stapled vinyl that it makes you wonder if you're an old salt who's swallowed too much seawater and lost your quality standards. So it's good to see sidepockets which don't bow and twist when you stand on them and are fully encased in glass. The Yalta has them, and they're roomy too - although they do lack built-in rod-racks.

EASY CLEAN
The boat has no interior liner, just old-fashioned, easy-to-clean flowcoat, with carpet on all walk areas. The stern features twin rear Teflon-lidded bait tanks in either quarter, with small cleats nearby. Along with a centre-mounted baitboard, this adds up to a good working area.

Nestled up against the transom is a split seat arrangement (with padded backrest) which doubles as lids for two huge, removable gear boxes that clip to the cockpit sole. They're a great idea but do steal a bit of fishing room, so when you need the space, you simply unclip the boxes and leave them home.

Batteries are mounted off the floor in stern quarter boxes and the fuel filler is mounted high in the small enginewell.

Again, one-percenters.

Completing the package was a Dunbier multi-roller, single-axle trailer. Adequate? Yes, but I think I'd go for an upgrade.

Similarly, I'd prefer a bit more grunt from the powerplant than that provided by the 115hp Merc, which was bolted to a pod incorporated into the hull, with swim platforms either side.

The boat is rated to 150hp and it would carry that easily. As the kids grow up, they'll require more power to pull their watertoys out of the water. As tested, the 115-powered Yalta cruised at 40kmh at 4400rpm and WOT was 70kmh at 5300rpm at full trim.

With the outboard fully trimmed in, the Triple-5 tended to get a little bogged in the stern. Its favourite trim position was mid-range when the boat sat well-balanced and skipped nicely over some medium Port Phillip Bay chop.

If an 18ft fibreglass half-cab is your boat of choice, put the Queensland-built Yalta Craft Triple-5-HC on your shortlist.