Retro Pirate

Fishing and family fun are a winning combination for many of our production boatbuilders. But it wasn't always that way. For many years, elite anglers would have you believe the two activities were mutually exclusive. Kiss the poor fishwife goodbye at 4am, swinging by the service station for fuel, bait, ammo and ice, casting the lines in the wee hours. Return in the afternoon, bedraggled and salt splattered, with a decent catch and, hopefully, receive absolution...until the next fair-weather weekend.

But a well-designed fishing boat can be more than one trick pony. It will offer utility and comforts, appeal to the family, double as a weekender on which to hunker down, and of course be smooth riding and comfortable. The Pirate 340 Sportcruz is one such boat, a crowd pleaser that goes further by breaking new boating ground with its shift from diesel inboard to petrol outboard power.

The original Pirate day-gamefishing boat was built by master Cairns boatbuilder Dick Ward entirely of composite construction, with double and triaxial fibres and vinylester resin. Every part of the hull was vacuum-bagged, leading to great panel strength from the closed-cell Klegicell foam core.

Then one thing led to another and the moulds sailed south to the Gold Coast City Marina, where boating entity Dean Leigh-Smith set about creating the ultimate express sportsfisher with all the bells and whistles. The new Pirate 340 was launched in 2006 to great acclaim.

Just one problem: the 34-footer with twin 380hp Cummins engines, built to survey in composites and with a tower, cost $620,000 as it appeared at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. As time has shown, not too many people have been willing to dig deep for the hardcore fishing boat. So Leigh-Smith had a rethink.

Enter the latest rendition of The Pirate, the 340 Sportcruz, with paired back interior and no tower costing about $420,000. But here's where things get really interesting. With twin 275hp Mercury Verado four-stroke outboards - yes, outboards - the Pirate Sportcruz is yours for $365,000.  And it's well worth comparing what you get here against a similar-sized Grady White or Boston Whaler.

MORE POWER TO OUTBOARDS
There are some distinct benefits of outboard power over the usual diesel shaft drives. To begin with, the latest-generation outboards are low-emission and low noise, but also low maintenance since you can tilt the legs clear of the water, and low draft for accessing skinny waterways, anchorages, crossing bars and beaching the boat. Also, the boat had just two skin fittings, meaning less chance of things going wrong.

Further, there's an improvement to top-end speed due to better power-to-weight ratio, with the twin 275hp Verados propelling The Pirate to more than 40kts compared with 35kts with the 350hp QSB Cummins. Though fuel consumption is better with the diesel donks, the outboard-powered boat has another ace up its sleeve - due to the lack of engine room there is a second cabin with transverse double bed.

Meanwhile, the solid GRP hull with foam-cored decks (designed by Leigh Smith and his preferred naval architect) was laid up by Deep Vee Marine which, of course, builds its own range of family fishing boats. Only the finish goes to another level on the Pirate. And being a semi-custom boat means you can play with the options list and shots to suit your style of boating.

To this end, the demonstrator had a hardtop and clears, but no tower, Reelax outriggers on Junior bases, 10-slot rocket launcher, a clever 12V air-con system, battery upgrade and multifunction Raymarine C80 screen. The idea was to create a fish and family boat and, as this boat attests, you can indeed have both rolled into one.

DECK DESIGNS
As with all good express boats, the Pirate has a raised bridgedeck that overlooks a big, uncluttered, cockpit. Up front, an especially sturdy stainless steel rail traces the flared bow, with decent-sized cleats. Access is around non-skid topped sidedecks that emerge off moulded steps in the cockpit. A Muir windlass takes care of anchoring duties.

The Australian-made Alfab windscreen is as at once stylish and practical, tinted for looks, but deep enough to protect you and the electronics. There's a good amount of headroom under the moulded hardtop, too, which is held up by sturdy stainless steel struts. Clears with zipout sections fill the void between hardtop and windscreen for greater weather protection.

The seating is shaded from the midday sun and ranges from a double helm seat to a long portside lounge that will double as a daybed. There is storage for a carry-on esky below the lounge, a fridge behind the helm seat, and a single aft-facing seat. The quality of the mouldings and upholstery is truly excellent.

Amenities include a portside icebox (fridge unit optional) and a moulded sink unit (with storage below) opposite that easily converts to a bait-preparation or tackle centre if you use some of those excellent Deep Blue suction-cup fittings (see www.wizardtackle.com.au).

Survey-height freeboard and padded coamings help ensure you can tuck your toes under the gunwales and get plenty of purchase when fishing. Of course, there's scope to fit a gamechair or lunch table, as with all good fishboats, hawsepipes with below-deck cleats ensure you don't foul lines. The boat had five heavy-duty rodholders, too.

The outward opening marlin door (yet to be fitted to the boat during our test) is designed to let you drag yourself post swimming or a big fish aboard, while the livebait tank is in-floor to help keep the centre of gravity low and the cockpit clean. The boat is fitted with Shorepower, but an inverter is a must-have option for away-from-dock 240V power.

WEEKENDER AWAY
With the engineroom being reclaimed on this outboard-powered boat, the Pirate Sportcruz can, if you had to, comfortably sleep six in its lock-up cabin.

The bow is taken up by one big double bed that faces a television and is surrounded by a series of storage lockers. The option is for a V-berth in the bow, while the lounge in the saloon converts to a bed, with the second double back aft in what used to be the engineroom.

The galley includes hot water to a sink, a three-burner cooktop, 12V fridge, drawers and cupboard space, while the nearby head packs in a handheld shower and electric loo. The joinery, all high-gloss cherrywood, is smarter than you will find in your average factory-rolled craft and reflective of the custom heritage of The Pirate boats before it.

More importantly, with the abovementioned spread of amenities, you can sleep a fishing crew during tournaments and head away for extended fishing safaris or cruising and stay out with the family. The boat's 300lt of water will last at least a long weekend and the 1100 litres of unleaded gives a 200-plus nautical mile range at cruise speeds.

UP AND RUNNING
The Mercury Verados are mounted on an aluminium pod and come with SmartCraft, as well as analogue gauges, so you can get instant feedback on fuel consumption. And being supercharged means they have an interesting torque curve, making a lot of power at the top end. These are also high revving outboards, topping out at 6400rpm and, says Leigh-Smith, have produced up to 41kts on the speedo.

Meantime, I noted consumption of 70lt/h at 4500rpm where the boat did 17.3kts, and 105lt/h at 5000rpm cruise and 23kts. So the boat uses a bit more juice than the twin-diesel model. And it seemed to take a while to wind out to cruise speed. But as we pointed out, there are upsides of outboards, not least being a substantial $60,000 over the inboard model. And that buys a fair amount of unleaded.

HIGHS

• Pretty lines and all
• Plenty of factory and custom options
• Proven offshore pedigree
• Big cockpit for family and fishing
• Plenty of day amenities
• Storage
• Excellent workmanship and build quality
• Mouldings and finish are a cut above
• Great backing by the Leigh-Smith family

LOWS

• Boat seemed a tad wet
• Outboards are a bit doughy down low
• Twin outboards gobble fuel at fast cruise speeds
• The boat doesn't back up too well