SEPTEMBER 2008
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link b
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link b
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
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Easy rider
WORDS + PHOTOS:
SCOTT AMON
This versatile little workhorse offers one of the smoothest rides in its class.
With a list of three different Yamba Welding & Engineering boats to test in the same day, ranging from 4.5-7.5m, my personal preference, initially, was for the two larger vessels. I was soon to change my mind. Without beating around the bush, the Ocean Cylinder 4500 Side Console was the softest and quietest riding boat (either fibreglass or alloy) under 5m that I have ever had the pleasure to ride in.
Alloy boats are more famous for hull noise and harder riding than fibreglass hulls, but in the short sharp wind chop on the Clarence River, this little pocket rocket dismissed both charges. The 5mm hull bottom plating and 26-degree deadrise on the hull entry point is the major reason for this. And it is the rigid inflatable concept that allows this.
Rigid inflatables are now well established in Australian and New Zealand boating markets, and while slightly unconventional in looks, they offer outstanding safety, comfort and stability benefits.
The Ocean Cylinder employs a robust construction and combined with its unique peripheral buoyancy cylinders, creates a degree of stability at rest that approaches that of a catamaran.
read on below advertisement
Herein lies a key feature of the Ocean Cylinder concept. As soon as the boat ascends onto the plane, the main deep-vee hull lifts up into its normal planing mode, and the cylinders themselves are completely out of the water—thus minimising any possible drag while also acting as chine-like spray deflectors. All Ocean Cylinder boats are built to 'Level Flotation' standards, an important safety feature. They are also built under a Quality Assurance system based on the relevant requirements of AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000.
Plenty of power
The 70hp Suzuki ran well, offering plenty of power and top end speed. As mentioned, the soft, quiet ride of this boat impressed me. It travelled through short sharp chop like a hot knife through butter. And while the rigid inflatable hulls do tend to lean a bit on tight turns at speed, once you get used to it, they deliver a confidence and robustness on the water akin to what a 4WD does on land. With the chop side-on, there was a fair amount of spray finding its way onto the helm position, but you would expect that from any other side or centre console of this size.
Uncluttered Layout
For a 4.5m vessel this boat had a nice amount of uncluttered working area inside the gunwales. A neat pod housed the Suzuki DF 70 TX and sections of chequer plate welded beside the pod created handy footholds for easy stern entry and exits.
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SCOTT AMON
This versatile little workhorse offers one of the smoothest rides in its class.
With a list of three different Yamba Welding & Engineering boats to test in the same day, ranging from 4.5-7.5m, my personal preference, initially, was for the two larger vessels. I was soon to change my mind. Without beating around the bush, the Ocean Cylinder 4500 Side Console was the softest and quietest riding boat (either fibreglass or alloy) under 5m that I have ever had the pleasure to ride in.
Alloy boats are more famous for hull noise and harder riding than fibreglass hulls, but in the short sharp wind chop on the Clarence River, this little pocket rocket dismissed both charges. The 5mm hull bottom plating and 26-degree deadrise on the hull entry point is the major reason for this. And it is the rigid inflatable concept that allows this.
Rigid inflatables are now well established in Australian and New Zealand boating markets, and while slightly unconventional in looks, they offer outstanding safety, comfort and stability benefits.
The Ocean Cylinder employs a robust construction and combined with its unique peripheral buoyancy cylinders, creates a degree of stability at rest that approaches that of a catamaran.
read on below advertisement
Herein lies a key feature of the Ocean Cylinder concept. As soon as the boat ascends onto the plane, the main deep-vee hull lifts up into its normal planing mode, and the cylinders themselves are completely out of the water—thus minimising any possible drag while also acting as chine-like spray deflectors. All Ocean Cylinder boats are built to 'Level Flotation' standards, an important safety feature. They are also built under a Quality Assurance system based on the relevant requirements of AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000.
Plenty of power
The 70hp Suzuki ran well, offering plenty of power and top end speed. As mentioned, the soft, quiet ride of this boat impressed me. It travelled through short sharp chop like a hot knife through butter. And while the rigid inflatable hulls do tend to lean a bit on tight turns at speed, once you get used to it, they deliver a confidence and robustness on the water akin to what a 4WD does on land. With the chop side-on, there was a fair amount of spray finding its way onto the helm position, but you would expect that from any other side or centre console of this size.
Uncluttered Layout
For a 4.5m vessel this boat had a nice amount of uncluttered working area inside the gunwales. A neat pod housed the Suzuki DF 70 TX and sections of chequer plate welded beside the pod created handy footholds for easy stern entry and exits.
next page »
« go back
