| As
a writer, I’ve had the unusual opportunity to run a wide variety of
saltwater fishing boats in the 18- to 30-foot range and seen a fairly
complete cross-section of design and construction. It’s taught me a lot
about how much variation there is in design details and how important
they are, both in and of themselves and as indicators of the amount of
thought that’s gone into the design of the entire boat. Speaking from personal experience here, I know how easy it is to get starry-eyed about a shiny new boat or about a great deal on a used boat and tell yourself that those little issues — no good place to stow tackle carriers, for example, or a cramped helm station — are things you can just get used to. Often, in fact, you don’t even notice them until after you’ve bought the boat. Of course, every fishing boat has at least one or two little things that leave you scratching your head and wondering what the design team could possibly have been thinking. And you do tend to get used to them eventually. But if they’re too bad, or there are too many of them, they can make even a boat with a great-riding, well-built hull unpleasant to own and fish. Another reason, in addition to starry eyes, that many boat shoppers tend to overlook such issues is the fact that we often don’t know there’s anything better out there. Compare the number of different boats the average boat-owner is likely to drive in his or her life to the number of cars the average car-owner is likely drive. All too often, boat owners and boat shoppers figure, “Well, I guess that’s just the way it is with boats.” That said, here are a few observations about design details gained from running a lot of different boats: Helm Stations There’s no excuse for a helm station that isn’t comfortable for driving in both standing and sitting positions. All too many boats are fine for one but awkward for the other. If you can’t adjust things to create enough space between the wheel and the seat, or whatever the seat is mounted on, you can’t stand comfortably. And if you can’t bring the seat forward enough to reach the wheel easily, you can’t drive comfortably sitting down. A secure, well-positioned footrest — either a metal bar or pad or a cove molded into the console — is also important for sitting down. Driving with your feet dangling in the air is no good. The best footrests can be adjusted vertically for taller and shorter drivers. It may seem easy to overlook in the showroom, but in the long run, a comfortable, adjustable helm station is critical. The option to drive while leaning back against a seat or bolster is also nice, but many leaning posts are too low to work well. You should be able to lean back with your legs straight and your butt — not your upper thighs — on the post. Also, for all but the shortest drivers, it’s almost impossible to build a good leaning post setup without a toe cutout at the base of the console. Otherwise, you’ll either have your toes crammed against the base of the console or you’ll be leaning forward to reach the wheel. Consider your sight-lines as well. All too often, you’ll find that there’s aluminum tubing, a windshield support or a piece of canvas right in the way when you’re driving. The worst is when you have to crane or duck to see the horizon. This is something easy to miss when a boat is sitting in the showroom; once you get out on the water, though, where running attitude changes frequently, it will be obvious. Finally, all switches should be in plain sight and easy to reach while driving. Trim tab switches should be positioned between the throttle and the wheel, close to your throttle hand and at a comfortable angle. Think twice about boats where you need an extra joint in the middle of your forearm to reach switches placed behind or below the wheel. Rod Holders We all like to see boats with lots of rod-holders. For our style of offshore fishing, which employs both trolling and bait rods, and probably a few jigsticks as well, you should figure a minimum of four gunnel trolling holders, plus two more storage holders for each crewmember. If you plan to fish with three anglers most of the time, for example, 10 holders should be about the minimum. If you plan to do more than one kind of a fishing in a day — say working the Butterfly in the morning and then fishing calicos at Clemente in the afternoon — you’ll need more. But rod holders have to be reasonably accessible to count. I’ve run plenty of boats with six or 10 rod holders across the back of the flybridge that only an NBA forward could reach from the cockpit. Certainly it’s fine for some rods to be tucked out of the way, but at the very least, you need to have all your bait sticks in “quick-draw” holders somewhere in or near the cockpit. These are often easy to add yourself, but don’t wait until after you’ve written your check to think about where. Also, don’t assume that those under-gunnel rod racks are truly functional; many are too short to hold any rod longer than 7 feet, and some are too short even for that. Tackle Storage Look at tackle storage too. Many boats these days come with tackle lockers to hold Plano-style trays, but often just two or three of them. My boat has room for four, and I wish it had twice that. On small boats, you don’t want to have big tackle carriers loose in the cockpit. They not only get in the way, but you’ll likely end up with wet tackle. For your own gear, you want sufficient built-in storage, and for guests, you want a dry and secure — but also convenient — place for tackle carriers. One such place is under a center console — or at least it should be. Unfortunately, many under-console compartments are needlessly difficult to get to. Beware of side access hatches, which often require you to get down on your knees in the tight space between console and hull side. Also, many under-console compartments are just huge, empty spaces with nowhere to put anything except down on the floor with the porta-potti or head. The best designs feature removable shelving systems that allow you to put all that valuable space to use on trips where you’re not likely to need the head. Another good place for tackle carriers is inside the little molded “pods” on which the helm chairs are mounted in many walkaround designs. Just remember that no matter how big that interior space is, it can’t hold anything that won’t fit through the access hatch. I’ve sometimes been amazed to see cavernous, carpeted dry storage areas with access hatches you’d be hard pressed to fit a shoebox through. Unfortunately, we’ve only scratched the surface here of the innumerable little design elements that, taken together, can make a boat either a pleasure or a pain to fish. The point, though, is that these seemingly insignificant things merit more serious consideration in deciding on a boat than they’re usually given. |