Speed Is What You Need

[Chopper]

G''day all,

This topic is probably directed more to fellow competitors in the ABT circus, but if anyone else has an opinion ,feel free .

At the recent ABT Taree event, Mick C and I had the opportunity to chat with Michael Metcalfe about his Quantum boat on Friday. He was telling us that he gets about 68mph out of his boat, but since hitting a rock which consequently stuffed his prop and gearbox, he went on to tell us that he''d just ordered a new Formula 1 leg for his motor, and therefore should be able to get about 80mph out of it when fitted . The trip to the sea wall at the Manning River took most boats between 30 - 40 minutes, while Michael did the trip in 11 minutes.

Now, it''s obvious that more fishing time = more fish, but how mucher quicker can one go before it starts to become a safety issue. A crash at these speeds would certainly lead to serious injury. How much faster can these boats go ?

The ABT has a minimum requirement for the size of engine a competitor must have on his/her boat, should there be a maximum ?

There are some flash looking boats on the circuit at the moment, and is wasn''t all that long ago that a 445 Hornet Trophy was THE boat to have. Where to from here ? What could we possibly see on the circuit next year ? Does owning a quicker boat give someone more of an advantage ?

Cheers,

Billy K

[Buz]

Hey Billy,

Definately is an advantage and I know this is driving you crazy being left behind watching everyone else dissappear into the distance, I know when I fished with you I felt like paddling to get some extra speed, time for you to upgrade :ohyeh: .

More speed equals extra fishing time and means having the ability to reach those long off spots. Bigger boat means when you are a long way from home in bad weather you can stay out longer. As you know in the first tourny of the year my partner and I travelled a long way at full throttle and from memory the Yammy 80 was pushing us at 38mph, we only got approx 5 hours or less of fishing in a 7 hour day due to the distance but it paid off big time.

As you know some spots will only work when there is some run in the water, if this is late in the day it could be crucial to stay out that bit longer like the 20-30 minute difference in travel time you stated.

As to the question of max size get outa here, serious tourny anglers will do what ever they can to get an advantage, we all want a big fast unit, whether we can all afford one is another matter, now in saying that you''ve still gotta catch fish and they are''nt always gonna be miles away, but with alot of smaller rigs in the field the closer spots can get crowded.

You''re good now Billy but imagine how good you could really be with a big rig :ohyeh:, go on mate I know you want one.

Yeah it will take an incident before any assessment will be made and it will most likely be caused by some cowboy that''s full of himself.

Buz

Edited August 3, 2004 by Buz

[AdamK]

Fast boat = more fishing time. Can’t argue with that. But, let’s have a look at the stat’s aswell. Yes there are some anglers with the beefed up machines who generally rank in the top 5-10 but correct me if I’m wrong there are other anglers who also achieve good results who fish from other style (probably slower) boats aswell.

Call me old fashioned, call me scared but 60-80mph is ridiculously fast and dangerous. Day 2 at the Manning I fished with Martin R who is a local from the area. This fella sure knows the area and equipped with his 385 Bermuda fitted with a worked 40Hp/60Hp Merc we were skidding, jumping and doing everything possible on water. No lie this baby was flying. At one stage we were gliding in 2-3 ft of water around old Bar and I was shitting myself. That weekend I was pretty crook but when fishing with Martin I was all ok that day and I put it to the fact that I was more worried about surviving the ride than anything else. I was positioned right in front of the c/c and if we did hit anything I would be the first to fly off then Martin as he was located below me behind the console.

Anyway as Chopper has said it wasn’t long ago when all the Hornets were the flavour but now everyone seems to be talking about these new style of boats. As for putting a limit on the max HP, I can’t see that happening as majority would over rule

That’s my 2 bobs worth

Adam

[Rick T]

I think Alan is right. It doesn''t necessarily mean they will win but it gives them more time and options in the tournament aswell as being accomplished anglers, It is a massive advantage. I really love the finish and ride of fibreglass boats after my Allison but the price tags are probably excessive for me as I am not in the tourney scene and now that I fish mainly by myself a light boat makes it so much easier. They seem to be designed to handle the chop well for shallow boats, so far I haven''t seen anyone behaving stupidly in them but I guess it does increase the risk if an accident occurs. The steering in a mates 5m cairns custom craft with 100hp broke while flat chat and he was lucky with only a broken finger and sore ribs.

I think there will be a big change from alluminium to fibreglass by the end of next year in the tournaments. I believe alot of people are more successful at their river/very limited offshore fishing which means they are more likely to spend the $30-50k on an inshore boat. Its great to see more options out there for us when the $$ become available anyway.

I guess u r trying to upgrade Billy, a 40 on your boat will go OK. I get 29knots on the GPS and have been able to keep up with the 475/60hp combo :thumbsup:

[Chopper]

Yeah you''re right Rick - I am looking to upgrade my current 4 stroke 30 donk to a 2 stroke 40, all in the name of speed.

As for a upgrading to a new boat - not just yet. I like my bed to much and cuddling up to my 70 kilo Rotti in his kennel is not worth it just yet :-whip,

Cheers,

Billy K.

[Chopper]

Surely they don''''t take them onto the racks and in around tight pylons... I''''d be too worried about scratching/tearing my boat that I wouldn''''t concentrate on the fishing. 

They do Swoff''. Michael Metcalfe''s boat has nylon strips (similar to the material they use to make those white cutting boards) running down both sides of his boat. I ran my hand along them and they were as rough as, so it has seen some serious rack time. I check the rest of the hull out and there was not a scratch to be seen, so they have been cleverly positioned to avoid doind damage to the fibreglass hull.

Another interesting point he made was that because the boat sits so low in the water, he has never had so many hits from bream so close to the boat when fishing in the racks,

Cheers,

Billy K.

[Buz]

G''Day Swoffa,

Some guys don''t worry too much about scratching their boats, I saw a gold attack come back at the Hawkesbury comp with severe gouges in it, I think the guy was sponsored. Mich Metcalfe fishes racks but I know if I had a nice Triton or one of the other beautiful yank Bass jobs that I been looking at lately I reckon I''d put fenders out if I went any where near the racks, I don''t think I could handle scratching it up.

I got caught on the racks in the Hawkesbury while trying to retrieve witches hats in the wind and it took about 3 metere to drive off and it left some bad damage to the alloy.

Hey Rick when are those Tritons coming in ?

Buz

[Slider]

Interesting topic Billy.

Hey Swoff, your right mate, Hornets ain''t slow, but when your in a Hornet in an ABT they start to feel a tad pedestrian when the big-boys roar past you like you''re standing still... :naughty: :yikes: .

The need for speed certainly gives you more fishing time. On the second day of the Clarence round riding with Ross Lamotte in his beast we were able to belt far upstream beyond the reach of most other competitors and found heaps of fish that hadn''t seen a lure the day before. At some point in the future when i finally get off my arse and buy a boat, its going to be a tough decision, I want a speed demon to keep up with Jones, but being my first boat maby I''ll be better off getting something easier to handle and more robust (like a Poly) (anyway off topic now...hopefully my decision will be made easy by winning a boat in October anyway :gleam: ).

My prediction is that we are going to see more and more boats with big donks flying around out there in the future. Alot more will be fibreglass, but there will still be plenty of reved up tinnies out there, for example that new savage that has 115 ponies off the back, or the 4.7 Elegant that also can take 115 ponies :yikes: :naughty: . Intersting times ahead.

Cheers

Brent

[Slider]

G''Day Swoffa,

Some guys don''t worry too much about scratching their boats, I saw a gold attack come back at the Hawkesbury comp with severe gouges in it, I think the guy was sponsored.

Your right Buz, I rode in that gold Attack on day 1 of the comp, and I''ve never seen a boat punished like that boat was on that day...I''m surprised we didn''t sink.

Yeah you would be frighteded to take a big beautiful glass boat into the racks... :confusuion: ...but you get such a lovely smooooooth ride elsewhere...bloody tough decision to make hey. Maby one of those suped up tinnes I mentioned above would be a good compromise :confusuion: .

Brent

Edited August 3, 2004 by Slider

[Bankso]

I fished with Michael Metcalfe on the first day of the Clarence round am I must admit he has risen the bar as far as the modern bream boat goes and he did have a fish in the boat by the time the rest of the field court up to us even thou we were only fishing at Browns rock. These tournerments are getting more and more like the Bass comps in the USA where they have the big flash boats that cost a small fortune. I think it is getting to a stage where the average person is not going to be able to compete sucessfully in a comp without having some sort of sponsorship or 4 jobs. Maybe we will soon see different classes in these bream/bass comps so the average joe blow has a chance of being competative. But it is a great boat and is decked and fitted out like nothing else I have seen or riden in and handles the chop at speed suprisingly well even if you do get a bit wet. :thumbsup:

[Buz]

Yeah Slides I think he may have lost that sponsorship, so the elegant takes 115 eh, very interesting.

C''mon Swoff I can just see you behind that beautful consul with all the gauges and those sleek lines as you pass everyone at the social and leave em behind, you''d look so goood :gleam: :ohyeh: .

Buz

[fatman]

Do you blokes reckon it will get like the Bass Tournaments in the states where the boats are so fast (100mph +) that they have capped the maximum at 250 horsepower and crash helmets are the norm while travelling.

The same equation though, more speed = more time fishing.

FATMAN

[Bill S]

Craig

I reckon :confusuion: Metcalfe has thrown down the gauntlet as far as speed goes. The rest of the serious bream/bass fisho''s have no option if they want to stay in the race. (pun intended)

I can see speed and hp leapfrogging until the A.B.T. do set a limit. I just hope it''s before a serious incident.

These big dollar boats will reduce the reasonably even field, of mid horse powered ''tinnies'' to a competition of owning the fastest boat. I''m not suggesting thats all it takes to win a competition, more it will not allow an even playing field for all fisho''s.

The time of, Joe Average the fisho entering the comps for a bit of fun is quickly drawing to a close. Wether you see that as good or bad will depend on how thick your, or your sponsor''s wallet is.

Bill

[Bill S]

Not being into the tournament scene, I am amazed at the bass boats I have seen. I saw a couple being towed through town the other day (obviously heading to the boat show) and they dead-set looked like a missile and with 90 horses on the back would no doubt go like one!

Iain

They would have to be from the Full Boar stables. Ruddy things look like they''re doing 100MPH standing still. Did they have Merc 4 strokes fitted?

Bill

[Rick T]

These tournerments are getting more and more like the Bass comps in the USA where they have the big flash boats that cost a small fortune. I think it is getting to a stage where the average person is not going to be able to compete sucessfully in a comp without having some sort of sponsorship or 4 jobs. Maybe we will soon see different classes in these bream/bass comps so the average joe blow has a chance of being competative.

I don''t believe the average person will not be able to compete just because of the boats and $$ in these comps. It only gives the accomplished anglers a bit of an advantage but if u know the waterway well enough any of us can be up there with the sponsored/big $$ anglers. 2 nobody''s like Mick and I did ok in the aussie open and my boat was the smallest in size and hp in the field. I reckon if u have the $$ and u have a passion for competition as most of the fellas do then its great to see them investing in such sensational boats. It has definately bringing out more sponsorship deals and I hope it gets as big as the american bass tournaments.

Hey Rick when are those Tritons coming in ?

The bass anglers Triton is on its way, I am sure if u give em a visit they can order one for u mate

I am suprised u didn''t look at picking up Mango''s old hornet. his new fibreglass attack looks awsome and I am sure he''ll be taking it into the racks :crybaby:

[Buz]

Hey Rick

I''d heard you and Mick were a couple of heads but I did''nt know it was because you had nobodys and I tried to pick up Mango''s boat but I could''nt budge it and I even tried to pick up Mango and I could''nt budge him either.

Buz

[Rick T]

Hey Rick

I''''d heard you and Mick were a couple of heads but I did''''nt know it was because you had nobodys and I tried to pick up Mango''''s boat but I could''''nt budge it and I even tried to pick up Mango and I could''''nt budge him either.

Buz

A couple of D!@#heads maybe :ohyeh:

Shame, his old hornet was decked out well.

[Hooky.]

G''day all, this topic is probably out of my league but wouldn''t it make sense to have the start point at an area that is closer to where the fishing will be?

I don''t know much about other ABT bream estuaries, but I know and have fished the Manning all my life and most of the bream fishing is usually done from between Croki and Harrington.

Would having a start point in Harrington itself be a wise decision, they have the facilities ie accomadation, eateries, ramp etc. and it''s all close to the main bream fishing areas.

This in turn would limit the need for speed and put everyone closer to the action within about 5 miutes of each other.

I know all rivers are different but it''s just a thought. :confusuion:

cheers :beer:

hooky