Trade-A-Boat — February 2018

O

ne of my

favourite fishing

boat production

houses is

Florida’s Cabo

Yachts, and a few of its noted

battlewagons have shown

up under the stewardship

of Graham and Carmen

McCloy’s Game & Leisure

Boats business at Runaway

Bay on the Gold Coast.

This 36 Express baby of

the Cabo range makes no

apologies for its fishboat

status. With its classic

express, single-level bridge-

saloon accentuating the

vessel’s low-profile lines, and

a sparkling tower in place,

there is no sense of it being

a bejewelled pretender. This

boat is compact, efficient

and poised to strike.

For all this fish-fighting

potential, the boat we

stepped on this day was

awaiting delivery to its new

owners; a retired couple from

Townsville for whom the

noble pursuit is a secondary

consideration to cruising.

You see, the factors that

combine to produce such

an efficient sportsfishing

boat – precise handling, a

spacious cockpit, an ability

to handle wear and tear and

a soft ride – are considered

highly desirable features in

many categories of boat. For

this reason many dedicated

powerboat cruisers can see

the value investing in what

can be classed as a specialist.

In many regards they get the

best of both worlds.

A walk-through of the

Cabo 36 Express is a fairly

short trip. To for’ard, a galley,

a couple of comfortable

looking bunks, a tidy dining

area and a bathroom all

feature in an open-plan,

well-appointed cabin space.

The level of finish can be

optioned up or down, more

or less, as desired.

All-in-all most seasoned

seafarers will struggle to

find many flaws. The boat

featured easy-clean vinyl

wall coverings which, when

combined with the mostly

gelcoat finish upstairs and

outside, ensures the owners

will get to spend plenty of

time enjoying it and not too

much time cleaning it.

The defining feature of

any express-style vessel is its

main cabin. To my eye, with

each evolution, the use of the

space gets better and better.

Enclosed under a hardtop

with polycarbonate windows

completed by zip-away

clears, few could complain

about the ventilation.

An aisle down the middle

of this deck leads forward to

the accommodation or aft

to the business end in the

cockpit.

Speaking of the cockpit,

it comes as no surprise to

find Cabo’s high standard

of fish-friendly outfitting

in place. Close to a third of

the 36 Express’s total floor

area is dedicated to this all-

important working space.

A building sea greeted us

outside the breakwater but

the Cabo’s famously fine

entry made short work of

it as we blasted around at

30kts-plus. I know it is often

said but these boats really do

handle like sports cars.

Such performance is

no accident of course;

this is exactly the sort of

manoeuvring these boats are

designed for. Only the very

best custom-built gamefishes

can outperform a Cabo on

the water.

As compact production

sportsfishers go, the Cabo

36 Express is at the very

top of the bill. With little

customisation it would be a

serious contender among the

hottest fleets on the planet,

and yet, as is proven by its

not-so-serious new owners,

is extremely versatile.

quick specs

Cabo 36 Express

PRICE AS TESTED POA

MATERIAL GRP

TYPE Monohull

LENGTH 11.76m overall

BEAM 4.33m

ENGINE 2 x 575 Caterpillar

C9 ACERT turbo-diesel

FUEL 1600lt

WATER 380lt

FOR MORE INFO

gandlb .com.au

SPORTSFISHER WITH CRUISING CRED

Cabo 36 Express

STORY JEFF STRANG

PHOTO ELLEN DEWAR

tradeboats.com.au 67

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