Simple and stylish for sea-goers

WELL FOUND: The Bluefin 720 Lock-up Weekender offers a good turn of speed, plenty of space, and a toilet and shower. Photo / NZ Herald.

Bluefin Boats has a reputation for providing value for money. Its latest offering is no exception.

Drive through the Waikato town of Morrinsville and it's pretty hard to miss the big Sportscraft yard on the side of the main thoroughfare.

Owned and run by the Black family and its patriarch, ex-powerboat racer Spencer Black, the company has, for the past 20 years or so, built a strong reputation for providing value-for-money aluminium boats.

Many a Waikato farmer, farm worker or 'townie" has discovered the joys of boating thanks to a reasonably priced Sportscraft rig. In later years, the company has found favour further afield, too. It now has a second yard in Mt Maunganui and proudly claims to be the country's largest aluminium boat dealership.

Although Sportscraft is probably best known for its entry level Scorpion range, it also makes and sells the larger and more highly featured Bluefin models. Like their smaller and less "flash" cousins, the Bluefin range offer exceptionally good value for money.

The latest offering, the 720 Lock-up Weekender, is a good example.

For a 7 metre-plus aluminium hardtop with a lock-up cabin, painted superstructure, a separate toilet and a powerplant capable of reaching 45 knots or more one would reasonably expect to pay well into six figures.

The Bluefin 720 Lock-up Weekender offers all that, a windlass, a 7in colour GPS display, wiper and a host of other extras for under $94,000. Pull back a bit on the size of the outboard, drop some of those extras (and not that many) and this boat can be driven off the yard for just $69,750.

Compare that with what else is available in this size and one could be forgiven for thinking that the 720 must be some kind of cut-price, bog-basic tinnie, about to pop rivets and fall apart at the first decent wave.

Not so. The Bluefin 720 has a 5mm hull with 4mm sides. There is the standard underfloor buoyancy and further upright, positive buoyancy under the gunwales. The hull features a 17-degree deadrise and there is a slight gull wing at the chines.

The "standard" boat (the one for less than $70,000) features a toilet and shower in their own lock-up compartment off the cockpit, a separate sink and faucet set into the wide port side deck, a califont and gas bottle, carpet in the cabin, a bait board and even a depth sounder. Hardly a "basic" set up.

So what are the options that push it to over $93,000? The painted cabin top is one; an engine upgrade another. The top-of-the-line configuration comes with a 250hp Mercury OptiMax; drop the engine size or even switch to an EFI model and watch the dollars drop away, too.

Like most boats of this size and type, the 720 is primarily a fishing and diving machine. As such, the cockpit is a relatively simple affair, although surprisingly stylish in appearance. This is largely due to the smart chequerplate floor (which continues into the cabin) and transom walk-through, and the carpeted side lockers.

There are, perhaps a little surprisingly, no underfloor lockers or bait tanks, although a 180-litre fuel tank does come standard. A popular option, no doubt, is to add a brace of moveable fish bins, complete with padded top cushions, to provide both additional stowage and extra seating.

Those planning to go over the back, either diving or just swimming, will also welcome the enclosing pushpit that surrounds the boarding platform. A section of this railing also doubles as a ladder, dropping into the water when required.

The other stand-out feature of the cockpit is the built-in sink. Positioned not in the transom, as is more common, but well forward on the port side, it sits above the gas bottle locker and just aft of the heads. This latter is a completely separate compartment and comes complete with a califont (using water from the 100-litre bladder under the wheelhouse floor) and a shower.

This is a real plus in a boat of this size and, especially, price and is sure to be welcomed by all the female members of the crew.

While the more usual toilet-under-the-centre squab arrangement does work, there is usually little privacy, less comfort and definitely no shower! The 720's cabin, while not flash, is certainly a pretty big step or two up from rough-and-ready. It is fully carpeted and features opening side windows (a must on hot days) and an infill seat that allows four (including the skipper) to sit cosily abreast and out of the weather.

For those needing a kip, or perhaps planning to spend the night, there is a full length vee berth complete with infill.

Another feature worth a mention is the 720's wide side decks. Although, in these days of remote windlasses, there is less need to go for'ard than there once was, being able to do so in comfort has its advantages. For a start, not all such bits of machinery are trouble-free. And, when soft baiting, the ability to stand on the foredeck, well away from those in the cockpit, can be a decided plus.

The 720 is rated for outboards from 200 to 250hp and, as both Sportscraft branches have Mercury franchises, this is what they tend to fit.

With a top-of-the-range 250hp OptiMax on the transom, Bluefin's latest offering hit a respectable 42 knots at 5700rpm.

However, that was straight out of the box and, with some loosening up and perhaps a bit of tweaking, that should creep closer to 45 knots. (Sportscraft's Scott Black runs a 720L with a 225hp OptiMax and enjoys a top speed of over 43 knots.)

Regardless of which motor one chooses or what other options are added or left out, some money should be left in the kitty for a decent set of trim tabs. (Sportscraft has already built provision for these into its hulls). The pricing means the extra expenditure should not be a problem.

A full review of the Bluefin 720 Lock-up Weekender appears in the June-July issue of Propeller Magazine or at www.propellermagazine.co.nz.



BLUEFIN 720 LOCK-UP WEEKENDER

LOA: 7.69 metres.

Hull length:7.2 metres.

Beam: 2.55 metres.

Deadrise: 17 degrees.

Trailerable weight: 1800kg.

Recommended hp: 200-250 horsepower.

Fuel capacity: 180 litres.

Water capacity: 100 litres.

Construction: Aluminium.

Price: From $69,750.

Contact Marine editor Mike Rose on (09) 483-8284; (021) 735-015 or email: mrpr@xtra.co.nz.