O
ur first taste of what Nick
Sharp of Sharpcraft has
to offer was through
his own design, the 4.7
Scout, a runabout that
impressed in the same slop seen in
this test. When trailing the 4.7 Scout,
we had this Wadecraft X310 as our
camera boat, but one look at it and
we needed to know what the 550hp
on the transom could do with the
sleek-looking hull.
Nick has since moved to a new
shed, much bigger, brighter and I
hear better insulated to the chills of
SA’s winter. With the move comes the
room to do his normal job of repairs,
plug making and technical repairs.PERSONAL TOUCH
Owner Jim picked up his X310 as a
near bare hull, so bare it didn’t have
a console and needed some floor and
castingdeckwork,itwasaproper
blankcanvas.Beingabitofaspeed
freakandwithabigbunchofmates
always keen to head out with him, he
needed a big boat with big power but
wasonatightbudget.
What it had was room to move and
safe,tallgunwaleheights,afullyflat
floorandagood-sizedivedoor.Whatit needed were motors, console, some
work on the floor and front lockers.
Jim did a lot of the work himself but
brought in specialists for key parts,
like the well-made and good looking
console. Jim set it back, not fully
to the rear though, I would call it
a centre-rear-console. The benefit
of this setup is being able to stand
closer to the planing surface of the
hull; too far forward and the up and
down becomes tiresome for some.
It’s a big boat, but not unwieldy.
Yes, it’s over-width for standard
towing and once laden, is heav y.
For Jim though, a good 100 Series
LandCruiser and a set of flags is all
he needs to get the boat to the water
from his nearby home.SERIOUSLY SIMRAD
Twin Simrad NSS12s adorn the
dash and fill it nicely. I’ve been a
bigfanofthetouchscreenNSS12s
sinceIfirstplayedaroundwith
themsomeyearsago.Theyhave
decentbacklightingandaclever
screencoatingthathandlesmost
ofthegutsandsunscreensmears
a lot of touchscreens tend to show.
Obviously a display is nothing
without the brains behind it andCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT The
centre console is set back so the skipper
can stand comfortably riding on the
boat’s planing surface; For’ard deck has
padded bench seating to the bow;
Electronic throttles were one of several
reasons for picking the Mercury Verado
power plants; A clean and neatly
presented helm utilises the dash space
well.
tradeboats.com.au 93Wadecraft X310