TRAILERBOATTRIALS
BySamMossman
Extreme
610 Centre Console
Based in Thornton, near Whakatane,
Extreme Boats are making quite a
name for themselves.
The company is owned by Glen
and Diane Shaw, and their goodlooking, solidly-constructed fishing
and diving-oriented boats have been
impressing both the fishing public
and the judges at various boat shows,
taking home more than their fair
share of awards.
It was at last year’s Hamilton Boat
Show that I first saw the subject
of this month’s Trailerboat Trial,
the Extreme 610 Centre Console.
Initially a custom boat built for
owner Ian Miller (‘The Boating Guy’)
based on the 610 hull, it was drawing in hard-core fishos like blowflies
to a filleting bench, and demand has
subsequently forced it into production. It looked like such a hot fishing
boat that I arranged to do this test
on the spot. The question was: did its
performance match its looks?
With one thing and another, it
was late February before the boat
and I managed to get on the same
piece of water. The rig was on shortterm loan to Dave ‘Mavis’ Bryant of
Coromandel Safaris, and early one
morning I drove to his Kuaotunu
(near Whitianga) base to give the
610 a run.
Construction
The 610 Centre Console features
5mm bottoms, 4mm sides and decks,
and a 5mm transom. The entry is
fine, with no strakes on the hull,
substantial downturned chines and
a 20.5° deadrise aft. Six fully seamwelded stringers run the length of
the hull, with frames at 1200mm
centres supporting the sealed, 4mm
chequerplate decks.
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New Zealand Fishing News April 2010
A feature of the construction is the
use of a flat plate welded across the
hull just above the keel. This forms a
chamber that is triangular in section,
running the length of the hull. It is
left open at the transom and vents
through the anchor-well at the bow.
This adds stiffening to the hull, and
brings and drains water from the
under-deck holds. It also acts as a
self-flooding ballast tank, filling with
water when the boat comes to a halt,
adding to the hull’s stability at rest,
and draining rapidly as the hull lifts
onto plane.
Reserve buoyancy is an impressive
489kg – getting on for half a tonne –
in three under-deck compartments.
Power and performance
The recommended horsepower
range for the 610 hull is 115-150hp.
The test boat Fin-Nor had one of the
new-model Mercury Optimax 125hp
outboards bracket-mounted on the
back, swinging a Vengeance prop
with an 18-inch pitch. Fuel capacity
is 170 litres in a tank mounted under
the centre console, with the filling
port on the console’s side.
With two-and-a-half men on
board and about half a fuel load,
the rig achieved 61kph (33 knots)
at 5800rpm. Given that the ‘book’
top end revs for this engine are
5750rpm, it was over-revving a little
and could stand about a one-inch
reduction in pitch, which would
also have the effect of lifting the
top-end speed a bit. Realistically,
although the 125hp outboard was
adequate, with a full fuel load and a
few more bodies and gear on board,
a 150hp engine may be a better
match. Cruising was comfortable at
around 3800-4000rpm, running at a
little over 20 knots.
We launched the boat at the
Kuaotunu ramp and headed out to
the Mercury Islands, the sea still
dropping after a stiff easterly blow
the day before. This meant a metre
of swell out in the open, with a 1015 knot breeze putting a little chop
on top.
The big centre console’s ride really
impressed me. It chewed through
the sea like it was not even there,
riding soft and smooth with not the
slightest tendency to bow-steer or
broach, even when running at an
acute angle to the swells. It was a
stable hull and, for a centre console,
it was also very dry, helped in part by
its rising sheer line. With the wind
quartering on the bow we took little
spray, and did not bother to fit the
clears that can be domed onto the
bimini support frame. Often when a
manufacturer develops a centre console layout on an existing hull, they
struggle to get the balance and hull
attitude right first time round, but
Extreme is spot-on with this one.
Exceptional.
Anchoring
An advantage of the centre console layout is ease of access to the
bow for anchoring. The forward
bulkhead is a big flat face to lean on,
and the anchor well is a decent size.
An aluminium bollard is welded to
the foredeck and a fairlead to the
bow, which also features a one-piece
bow rail.
This is a fairly basic set up, and
a boat of this size really requires
decent ground tackle, so it is a bit
of weight to pull by hand. There is
plenty of room for a capstan to be
fitted, which is an option no doubt,
Centre console layouts offer easy access to the bow and all-round fishing room; The forward seat has a padded back rail and lots of internal
stowage space.
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The large chequerplate boarding platform is fitted with a fold-down ladder; the bench seat has a heap of internal stowage and could be designed to take an after-market ice box;
instruments and electronics are flush-mounted on the big console; a six-position rocket launcher is mounted on the bimini top.
or you could just use a lifting float to
make life easier. An under-deck hold
is fitted in the bow, and this would
be a useful spot to store a float or
extra warp.
Layout
Like the Tardis, this boat almost
seems bigger on the inside than
the outside. It is beamy, and wide
gunwale tops offer all-round seating. As mentioned, bow rails are
fitted around half the length of the
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New Zealand Fishing News April 2010
hull, and fitting clear spray skirts to
these would be a possibility. Decks
are sealed chequerplate, draining to
a sump under the transom, from
where any water is removed by a
1500gph bilge pump.
There is an under-deck hold in
the bow with a bung drain into the
self-flooding tank along the keel line.
Another similar hold is built in near
the stern.
A large, upholstered seat is situated in front of the console, featuring
a padded, rolled backrest. Under the
seat is a deep stowage well. The large
console shelters two adults easily
and three at a pinch, also providing mounting space for instruments
and electronics (in this case flushmounted dials, switching, sound
system, Raymarine 49E VHF, and
Humminbird 917c sounder/chartplotter).
The Hy-Drive Admiral hydraulic
steering was excellent (unusually,
the helm was set on the centreline
of the hull, but this worked well
in practice), and there was stowage space on top of the console for
odds and ends. This was where car
keys, cell phones, cameras and the
like all seemed to end up, sheltered
behind the heavy, clear polycarbonate ‘screen. The single battery
was set in a sheltered position inside
the console (no doubt dual battery
set-ups are an option and preferable), which also boasts plenty of
sheltered internal stowage space. A
substantial pipe frame supports a
bimini top, offering shade and allowing the addition of a set of clears for
more spray protection when under
way, if needed.
Behind the console is a paddedtop bench seat featuring a huge
amount of internal stowage, and supplemented by a pair of two-metrelong side shelves.
The transom wall is roughly divided into thirds: a step-through with
a drop-door on the starboard side; a
central stowage locker (which contained the wash-down hose, fitted
with a pressure pump); and a livebait tank to port. Over the stern
is a large chequerplate boarding
platform, fold-down boarding ladder, and under the waterline there
are mounting brackets for trim-tabs,
water intakes, transducers and the
like.
Fishability
It was surprising to find a hull that
cuts through the water so well is also
stable at rest, with the self-flooding
keel-line tank, the reduced topside
weight of the centre console layout
and the down-turned chines all coming into play. The chequerplate deck
The catch could be stored in the
fore or aft under-deck holds, or the
bow or stern seating units could be
designed to take an after-market ice
box.
Divers are catered for with a transom step-through, boarding ladder
and boarding platform. The helm
seat is designed to store dive bottles,
standing up.
Trailering
gives good footing, and the gunwales and transom have toe room
underneath, with mid-thigh support
offered astern of the console.
The bow area has a raised deck,
useful for casting from. I cast a fly to
some rat kings from up there with
no problems, although I found the
height of the rails interfered a little
when spin-fishing to some feeding
kahawai schools and wanting to keep
the rod tip down low during a fast
retrieve. Unless spray skirts are going
to be added, much more abbreviated
rails (shorter and lower) may be better from a fishing point of view.
The best thing about a centre-console layout is the all-round fishing
room it opens up, as Mavis, his young
fella and I found when we got some
action from rat kings, snapper and
kahawai on light fly, soft-plastic and
spin tackle. Being able to walk fish
right around the boat and cast from
the bow are big plusses for sportfishing, especially jigging, fly, popper,
soft-plastic and other lure casting. In
this beamy hull, even the over-wide
console does not impede movement
around the boat.
Fishing fittings include throughgunwale alloy rodholders: two in
the bow, six along the sides aft of
the console, and two built into the
bait-station. This last item has the
useful feature of a tip-up baitboard,
allowing easy washing into a trough
beneath, which in turn, drains overboard.
As mentioned, a live-bait tank is
built into the transom, although it
had yet to be plumbed. The bimini
top supports a six-position rocket
launcher, forward and aft-facing spotlights, and could no doubt be used to
mount outriggers if required.
Extreme Boats build their own
trailers, in this case a cradle A-frame
design in galvanised box section. It
has a single axle, leaf-spring suspension and is fitted with mechanical
brakes. Features include: a winddown jockey wheel; submersible
LED lights; dual-ratio manual winch;
and dual coupling. The boat is carried on four pairs of wobble rollers
per side, and a rear keel skid-plate
and forward keel roller aid loading. Tow weight is approximately
1400kg.
All in all
Centre-consoles are not for everyone, especially in winter months in
colder parts of the country, but if you
are a fan of the fishing advantages
bestowed by this layout, then the
Extreme 610 Centre Console is one
of the best.
Easy to fish from, a very good sea
boat, stable at rest, solidly constructed with a good level of finish – the
610 looks cool as well. With options
and customising taking care of your
own preferences, this is a very serious sportfishing machine. Specifications
Material:
aluminium
Configuration: centre console
LOA:
6.18m
Beam:
2.49m
Bottoms:
5mm
Sides:
4mm
Decks:
4mm
Deadrise:
20.5°
Recommended HP:
115-150hp
Test engine:
Mercury 125hp Optimax
Prop:
Vengeance 18-inch pitch
Fuel capacity:
170 litres
Trailer:
Extreme Boats
Tow weight:
1400kg approx
Base key-turn package: $68,759
(Optimax 125hp)
As tested:
$78,118
Test boat courtesy of Ian Miller.
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