WINTER 2011
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now!
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now!
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
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The best of both worlds
Pioneer's Cape Island 186
WORDS & PHOTOS: MICAH ADAMS
The past five years have seen a rise in the popularity of American-style, bass-fishing boats. I own one of these boats and I'm the first to admit that while they are unbeatable in estuaries, their versatility is limited.
Australians want a boat to skim through shallow waters, over sand flats and up small creeks; we want lots of raised deck-space from which to cast lures, plenty of storage below for gear, and neatly fitted rod lockers. We also like to troll for trout and impoundment barramundi. But most of all, we want to slip offshore and cast to tuna schools and surface kingfish, as well as drift the reefs with plastics for snapper. We want a boat that can both handle swell and keep us dry from chop.
The above wish list is a tall order for most boats to do well, especially those designed for just one role. I think the American bay boat is the closest anyone will ever get to producing the perfect inshore boat, and the best of these I've seen so far is from boutique brand name Pioneer, with its Cape Island 186.
With my new TV series 'Adventure Angler' covering so many different situations all around the country, I needed a truly versatile boat. The Cape Island 186 fitted the bill perfectly. It's 18ft 6in in the old scale (5.64m in the new) and it's a bay boat. The unique thing about bay boats is that they have a really shallow draft so they can both float on and travel across shallow water like a flats boat. The difference is, a bay boat has higher sides to keep out the chop.
read on below advertisement
In the case of the Pioneer, the bow of the boat has a pronounced Carolina flare that deflects spray. This is a seriously dry boat to drive, and when your cameraman is holding a camera worth more than a luxury car, keeping water outside the boat becomes extremely important. Everyone likes to stay dry, of course, yet dryness seems to be a rare quality in boats I test, particularly in those built locally, unfortunately. The Cape Island's bow has the most flare I've seen on any of the US bay boats and it works a treat.
Where the bay boat concept really shines, however, is the way it lets you fish both shallow water and exposed water. The Cape Island has a draft of only 30cm, a measure paramount to anyone wanting to sight cast
the northern sand flats for trevally, queenfish and permit, southerners wanting to do the same for shallow water bream, and seasoned barra anglers fishing skinny water for barra on the flats. Its shallow draft means that the Cape Island ticks all these boxes.
To extend the boat's shallow-water sight-fishing qualities further, I ordered my Cape Island with a polling platform, which is paramount to any northern flats fisher. I've seen some ugly polling platforms and some that look sleek and cool. The one Pioneer fitted is certainly the latter. From up top you can spot fish from a long way ahead. I use a G.Loomis push pole from up there. I've mounted one of the latest Watersnake Slider electric motors on the bow?an 80lb thrust, 24V system with a remote-control foot-pedal. The pedal reaches the polling platform, allowing me two modes of silent movement and the ability to crab-walk the boat.
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WORDS & PHOTOS: MICAH ADAMS
The past five years have seen a rise in the popularity of American-style, bass-fishing boats. I own one of these boats and I'm the first to admit that while they are unbeatable in estuaries, their versatility is limited.
Australians want a boat to skim through shallow waters, over sand flats and up small creeks; we want lots of raised deck-space from which to cast lures, plenty of storage below for gear, and neatly fitted rod lockers. We also like to troll for trout and impoundment barramundi. But most of all, we want to slip offshore and cast to tuna schools and surface kingfish, as well as drift the reefs with plastics for snapper. We want a boat that can both handle swell and keep us dry from chop.
The above wish list is a tall order for most boats to do well, especially those designed for just one role. I think the American bay boat is the closest anyone will ever get to producing the perfect inshore boat, and the best of these I've seen so far is from boutique brand name Pioneer, with its Cape Island 186.
With my new TV series 'Adventure Angler' covering so many different situations all around the country, I needed a truly versatile boat. The Cape Island 186 fitted the bill perfectly. It's 18ft 6in in the old scale (5.64m in the new) and it's a bay boat. The unique thing about bay boats is that they have a really shallow draft so they can both float on and travel across shallow water like a flats boat. The difference is, a bay boat has higher sides to keep out the chop.
read on below advertisement
In the case of the Pioneer, the bow of the boat has a pronounced Carolina flare that deflects spray. This is a seriously dry boat to drive, and when your cameraman is holding a camera worth more than a luxury car, keeping water outside the boat becomes extremely important. Everyone likes to stay dry, of course, yet dryness seems to be a rare quality in boats I test, particularly in those built locally, unfortunately. The Cape Island's bow has the most flare I've seen on any of the US bay boats and it works a treat.
Where the bay boat concept really shines, however, is the way it lets you fish both shallow water and exposed water. The Cape Island has a draft of only 30cm, a measure paramount to anyone wanting to sight cast
the northern sand flats for trevally, queenfish and permit, southerners wanting to do the same for shallow water bream, and seasoned barra anglers fishing skinny water for barra on the flats. Its shallow draft means that the Cape Island ticks all these boxes.
To extend the boat's shallow-water sight-fishing qualities further, I ordered my Cape Island with a polling platform, which is paramount to any northern flats fisher. I've seen some ugly polling platforms and some that look sleek and cool. The one Pioneer fitted is certainly the latter. From up top you can spot fish from a long way ahead. I use a G.Loomis push pole from up there. I've mounted one of the latest Watersnake Slider electric motors on the bow?an 80lb thrust, 24V system with a remote-control foot-pedal. The pedal reaches the polling platform, allowing me two modes of silent movement and the ability to crab-walk the boat.
next page »
« go back