The planing strakes and chines must also be
designed to turn down the water flow to achieve
maximum dynamic lift. This helps to raise the boat out
of the water, thereby reducing friction and improving
fuel economy.
Get these factors right and the end result is a far
more efficient, economical, smooth-riding, dry and
functional sportfishing platform.Engine and drivetrain
It is important that all aspects of the boat – including
the construction materials, hull design, engine and
drive train – work together to achieve performance
efficiency.
Every production trailerable gamefishing boat that I
have seen on the market has engines far larger than
should be necessary for a boat of their size. This is due
to the manufacturer’s choice of building materials, as
well as an inefficient hull, sometimes using up to twice
as much horsepower and fuel as would be required to
adequately power a more modern design. The same
applies to the bigger boats.
Shaft-drive boats can be made significantly more fuel
efficient with the right shaft angle. On many twin-screw
diesel-powered gameboats the shaft angle is so steep
that considerable fuel is wasted pushing thrust down
beneath the boat rather than moving the boat forward.
Boats with an inefficient hull design will require
larger engines and therefore need to carry more
fuel to feed those bigger engines. That means more
weight, which in turn requires more horsepower.
Changing that equation will save you a lot of money.My goal now is to produce boats that make
gamefishing far more affordable, while at the
same time providing adequate comfort, safety and
unmatched fishing efficiency.Layout
My ideal layout for a gamefishing boat is being able to
fish all the way around it, without any obstacles. Full
thigh support should extend throughout, on one level,
so you can brace against the gunnel, freeing up both
hands to fight a fish or take the leader.
The layout should also enable the angler to stand
anywhere from alongside the helm to the bow, so the
skipper can chase down a fish with the boat going
forwards. This will make it far more effective when
chasing high-speed, long-running species like blue
marlin, or sailfish on light-tackle.
A fully functional gamefishing boat should enable
multiple anglers to fight fish at the same time. It
should also make it easy to cast from the bow and then
transfer to the cockpit. Every one of my Yellowfin plate-
alloy boats were centre-console or centre-cabin designs
and in my opinion this layout is the only way to go.
The walk-around format is suitable for all stand-up
tackle, and although fishing with 60kg tackle from a
gamechair is a little different, the team should still
have full mobility.
Even when fishing heavy-tackle from a chair in the
cockpit, the set-up should still enable the boat to
easily chase the fish while travelling forwards – in
this case with the chair and line angled towards the
forward quarter.The initial concept
drawings of Wayne’s
11m centre-cabin,
shaft-drive gameboat.
The shaded deckspace
on the upper diagram
shows that it provides
360-degree unhindered
fishability.“Fibreglass
has long
passed its
use-by date
as a boat-
building
material.”
58 facebook.com/BlueWatermagazine
A revolution in gamefishing boat design