Trade-A-Boat — February 2018

The flagship of the Caribbean fleet is

well crafted and fitted out in

conservative and timeless style.

Capable of accommodating a large

family for summer getaways, it’s also

the consummate big-fish chaser with

a tradition going back to the drawing

board of legendary naval architect

C Raymond Hunt.

Sea Trials

2600L fuel, six people, Props: Austral five-blade (range calculations using 10 per cent reserve)

RPM SPEED (KTS) (LT/H – BOTH) RANGE (NM)

700 (idle) 7.2 16 1093nm

850 (troll) 8 24 810

1750 20 144 337

2050 (cruise) 26 160 394

2390 (WOT) 32 228 341

*Sea-trial data supplied by the author

THE RIDE
A pair of 715hp Caterpillars is in
keeping with Caribbean’s conservative
approach to power. This might seem
unadventurous for a 49ft game boat
but they push her 26-tonne laden
weight beyond 30kts and she’ll cruise
all day at 26kts in the right conditions.
That’s enough not just to keep the fleet
in sight on a run to the shelf but to be

there ahead of most of them.

More importantly, they’re relatively

economical compared to mega-

powered beasts so they win at the

refuelling station, sparing funds for

vitals like lures, tackle and beer.

At an 8kts trolling speed the engines

were ticking over at 850rpm and

consuming a meagre 24lt/h, giving

a range of 810nm or an average over

an eight-hour trolling day of about

180lt. Slow cruising at 20kts arrived at

1750rpm – this was about the speed we

achieved on day two into very nasty

wind-on-tide conditions with a two-

way swell. We had spray over the top a

lot of the time but the ride was soft and

I noticed very few bangs or rattles from

the superstructure. Range at these

revs would be 337nm.

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Caribbean 49HT