Trade-A-Boat — November 2017

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Col's Vision

THE FAMILY FOCUSED 175 ALLISON IS A SOLID FIRST-BOAT OPTION

STORY JOHN WILLIS

Allison 175 Vision

T

he Allison Boat

company was

a family aff air,

headed by one

of the boating

industry’s true characters,

Col Allison, and I have

always had a soft spot for

their boats.

Col used his race-bred

and recreational marine

experience to create some

manufacturing know-how,

starting Allison Boats in the

mid-80s, and subsequently

took his whole family along

for the ride.

I was a proud dealer for

Allison Boats for many

years, and I can truly say

that working with Col and

his family was a highlight of

my career.

The team manufactured

wonderful packages with a

really genuine attitude, at

all times displaying honest,

old-fashioned quality and

service.

Allison Boats produced

a range of very popular

ski boats, bowriders, cuddy

cabins and walkarounds, all

developed using Col’s many

years of experience both as

a race boat driver and keen

fisher.

His designs featured

reverse chines with strong

running strakes producing

excellent lift, stability and a

lack of spray.

Col always laid claim to

the fact that he was the first

in the country to produce

a totally synthetic stringer

system, eliminating rot and

delivering extremely strong

yet relatively lightweight

designs.

THE RANGE

The range of Allison

fibreglass boats started with

the wonderful Fisherman

5, a little ripper raised-

runabout-style boat that

handled like a sturdy go-cart

on the water and batted well

above its class.

The Fisherman 5 had

some the biggest, deepest

deck space in its class with

a well-formed half pod

74 tradeaboat.com.au