SUMMER 2009/2010
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
Low carb' boating
A 4.1m hull that only weighs 110kg? Read on for an example of modern technology creating attractive lightweight boats
WORDS & PHOTOS: STEVE STARLING
Throughout our boating lives, many of us progress from small, basic, lightweight craft to larger, faster and more sophisticated rigs. However, I've recently bucked that popular evolutionary trend by heading in completely the opposite direction—down-sizing, de-stressing and simplifying my boating life to better suit the forms of fishing and intimate waterways I most enjoy these days.
After spending the last few years in 5m-plus, go-fast bass and flats boats with 115 horses strapped to their sterns, my latest rig is a lightweight 4.1m open runabout powered by a tiller-steer 40hp four-stroke. This new rig is considerably smaller, lighter, cheaper and more economical to tow, run and maintain than my previous couple of boats. It's also much easier to launch and retrieve single-handedly, especially in those sneaky little creeks and lake backwaters that typically lack formal boat ramps, but often boast superb fishing opportunities.
My new, down-sized, low carb' recession-buster is a CrossXCountry 4.1 TE. These exciting little high-tech boats are manufactured on the banks of the Brisbane River by my good mate and third-generation shipwright, Tyson Dethridge. Their hulls feature a fibreglass-and-foam-sandwich composite, employing the very latest in resins, cloths and state-of-the-art infusion technologies from industry leaders, FGI (Fiber Glass International). Thanks to these ultra-modern methods and materials and CrossXCountry's unique 'E-Lite' infusion construction system, Tyson is able to produce a hull that's surprisingly strong while also incredibly light. (See 'The Technical Low-down' box for more details.) As a bonus, these craft are very quiet on the water, especially in terms of deadening hull slap and muffling any bangs or thumps on the deck. This stealthy aspect makes them ideal for modern styles of finesse fishing with lures and flies, where stealthy approaches are often critical.
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Tyson turns out two distinct versions of the CrossXCountry 4.1. One—the CT—is kept ultra-light for car-topping or slinging upside down onto a camper-trailer; the second version—the TE model I chose—is beefed up for trailering, and also to support a larger motor. Yet even this trailerable version weighs in at just 110kg for the bare hull.
Tyson generally keeps the topside fit-out of these craft simple but functional, and it's also highly adaptable. Customised layouts are available to suit different tastes and applications. Unlike so many companies making mass-produced boats these days, CrossXCountry don't tell you what you've got to have. Instead, they ask you what you'd like in your boat, then build it. That's a refreshing change. The end cost remains comparable with a mass-produced tinnie—amazing!
On my 4.1 TE, I opted for an expansive casting deck up front with lots of storage space underneath, and just a very small rope and anchor well tucked in behind the electric motor sitting on its little foredeck. A wide seat/walkway runs right down the port side of the cockpit at the same height as the casting deck and the rear seat platform, allowing me to walk right around that side of the vessel. This portside walkway/seat also conceals a nifty six-rod horizontal storage system that will handle rods up to 2.6m in length. Four more angled, vertical rod holders are positioned in the port stern corner. There's a simple, padded swivel seat in the starboard stern quarter and a small side console amidships for the sounder and various switches. A large live well (60l to 70l capacity) immediately behind the casting platform doubles as a step-up onto the bow... and that's about it. Functional and uncluttered is the overarching theme.
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WORDS & PHOTOS: STEVE STARLING
Throughout our boating lives, many of us progress from small, basic, lightweight craft to larger, faster and more sophisticated rigs. However, I've recently bucked that popular evolutionary trend by heading in completely the opposite direction—down-sizing, de-stressing and simplifying my boating life to better suit the forms of fishing and intimate waterways I most enjoy these days.
After spending the last few years in 5m-plus, go-fast bass and flats boats with 115 horses strapped to their sterns, my latest rig is a lightweight 4.1m open runabout powered by a tiller-steer 40hp four-stroke. This new rig is considerably smaller, lighter, cheaper and more economical to tow, run and maintain than my previous couple of boats. It's also much easier to launch and retrieve single-handedly, especially in those sneaky little creeks and lake backwaters that typically lack formal boat ramps, but often boast superb fishing opportunities.
My new, down-sized, low carb' recession-buster is a CrossXCountry 4.1 TE. These exciting little high-tech boats are manufactured on the banks of the Brisbane River by my good mate and third-generation shipwright, Tyson Dethridge. Their hulls feature a fibreglass-and-foam-sandwich composite, employing the very latest in resins, cloths and state-of-the-art infusion technologies from industry leaders, FGI (Fiber Glass International). Thanks to these ultra-modern methods and materials and CrossXCountry's unique 'E-Lite' infusion construction system, Tyson is able to produce a hull that's surprisingly strong while also incredibly light. (See 'The Technical Low-down' box for more details.) As a bonus, these craft are very quiet on the water, especially in terms of deadening hull slap and muffling any bangs or thumps on the deck. This stealthy aspect makes them ideal for modern styles of finesse fishing with lures and flies, where stealthy approaches are often critical.
read on below advertisement
Tyson turns out two distinct versions of the CrossXCountry 4.1. One—the CT—is kept ultra-light for car-topping or slinging upside down onto a camper-trailer; the second version—the TE model I chose—is beefed up for trailering, and also to support a larger motor. Yet even this trailerable version weighs in at just 110kg for the bare hull.
Tyson generally keeps the topside fit-out of these craft simple but functional, and it's also highly adaptable. Customised layouts are available to suit different tastes and applications. Unlike so many companies making mass-produced boats these days, CrossXCountry don't tell you what you've got to have. Instead, they ask you what you'd like in your boat, then build it. That's a refreshing change. The end cost remains comparable with a mass-produced tinnie—amazing!
On my 4.1 TE, I opted for an expansive casting deck up front with lots of storage space underneath, and just a very small rope and anchor well tucked in behind the electric motor sitting on its little foredeck. A wide seat/walkway runs right down the port side of the cockpit at the same height as the casting deck and the rear seat platform, allowing me to walk right around that side of the vessel. This portside walkway/seat also conceals a nifty six-rod horizontal storage system that will handle rods up to 2.6m in length. Four more angled, vertical rod holders are positioned in the port stern corner. There's a simple, padded swivel seat in the starboard stern quarter and a small side console amidships for the sounder and various switches. A large live well (60l to 70l capacity) immediately behind the casting platform doubles as a step-up onto the bow... and that's about it. Functional and uncluttered is the overarching theme.
next page »
« go back
