Another advantage of the angler being able to move
quickly to the bow after hook-up is that both they and
the fish will then be separated from the other trolled
lines. These can then be retrieved by the crew while
the captain and angler are already in hot pursuit of the
fish – all without risk of chop-offs or tangles.
Every boat goes forward much better than backwards,
especially outboard-powered boats. So why use a boat
with a cabin across the front, forcing you to back-
down, when it’s easy to design a boat that makes it
simple to chase forwards? Fishing over the stern of a
boat with a high work-station and a couple of outboard
engines in the way defies logic and common sense.
Common layouts that indicate the builder doesn’t
understand what is required for a fishing-friendly
platform – or the benefits of a centre-console or centre-
cabin layout – involve structures that extend to the
gunwale of the boat. These include a canopy, hardtop,
tower, outriggers or anything else mounted on the
gunwale in a way that restricts easy access to the bow.
A high work-station, bait table or rocket-launcher
rodholder mounted on or near the transom can also
make it difficult or impossible to get to the stern or to
manoeuvre a rod or leader around the boat. Likewise,
the placement of storage boxes, seats or even beds
up on the bow will impede an angler when chasing a
big fish.
An unnecessary or unnecessarily-high bow rail is
another common sign. The object of a centre-console
or centre-cabin boat is to allow the angler to move
to the bow and be able to chase and fight a fish
effectively with the boat moving forwards. It is simply
not possible to pump line on a big fish with a bow rail
stopping you from lowering your rod.
Another concept
drawing of the
11m centre-cabin,
showing that the
tower fixtures and
outriggers will
not obstruct easy
passage along the
gunnels to the bow.“When
everything
is in the
right place,
then fishing
becomes a
pleasure.”
Wayne eventually
designed and built
his 11.9m flybridge
gameboatWarrigal.
Although he and
his team used it
to great effect,
winning a multitude
of gamefishing
tournaments, this
vessel taught Wayne
still more lessons
about the benefits
to be gained by
having easy access
to the bow with no
restrictions, providing
full 360-degree
fishability.Fit-out
When everything from the outriggers to rodholders,
work-station, storage, refrigeration, electronics, seating
and flooring is in the right place, then fishing becomes
a pleasure. If not, the boat can become an annoying,
frustrating obstacle course that will cost you fish.
In my future articles I will delve more into fit-out,
covering design and improvements for trailerable
gamefishing boats and the bigger cruiser gameboats
separately.
I genuinely feel for fishing enthusiasts who part with
their hard-earned cash for a boat that I know won’t do
the job anywhere near as well as a properly designed
and built gamefishing boat should – and can.THE ANSWER: A REVOLUTION
My aim is not only to educate and make gamefishermen
more aware of what to look for, but also to provide
solutions. By request, I have been working on two
futuristic and revolutionary new gamefishing boats.
Both of these have been designed to optimise fishing
efficiency, while at the same time performing with less
power and significantly reduced running costs.
One is a 7.6m trailerboat on a normal dual-axel
trailer as the boat will be relatively lightweight, while
the other is an 11m gameboat.
In coming articles I will describe the intricacies
of each boat’s design separately, which I hope will
give you a better understanding about how a true
sportfishing boat evolves from concept to fishing. In
the meantime, if you’d like to discuss this concept
further, I can be contacted on 0409 636 135, or by
email at [email protected]bluewatermag.com.au 59A revolution in gamefishing boat design