Image 8.65m Fishfinder

Invercargill boat builder Dean Wilkes started out big.

His first job in the field, 22 years ago in Australia, was on a 100m aluminium power cat. Some years later he returned to his South Island home and spent six years working for iconic pontoon boat builders, Stabicraft. This was followed by a further six years at Gough Brothers building commercial craft, including the two big aluminium ferries that service Stewart Island. After a year-and-a-half stint with Kiwi-Kraft, Dean figured it was time to do his own thing, and founded Image Boats six years ago.

The Invercargill-based firm now employs seven people on the factory floor, and has completed 63 hulls so far. Most of these have been domestic sales, but Image has also put a toe in the export market, and is currently completing a 10m hull for a customer in Alaska.

Dean recently towed an Image 8.65m Fishfinder up to Auckland for display at the recent Auckland Boat Show, before delivering it to an East Coast customer. During his time in the north, we managed to give the big rig a run in the Hauraki Gulf.

Construction

The Image 8.65m Fishfinder aluminium hull is solidly built with 6mm bottoms, 4mm sides and decking, and 3mm topside construction. The six longitudinal bearers under the deck are made from 4mm plate and further support is given by a plate welded flat across the hull, just above the butted and seam-welded keel, forming a strong triangular cross-section at this point. The chine joins are fully seam-welded, inside and out. Lateral support includes five bulkheads and also the rear cabin wall and transom construction.

The curved cabin top has been strengthened to take the weight of anyone who wants to get up there — a fact Dean reinforced by jumping up and down up on it. A rung ladder and grab rails are fitted to aid access. This is a useful spot to secure an inflatable tender or build a lookout position.

Image boats are quite open to customising their hulls, and the trial hull has been extensively customised. The wheelhouse has been stretched by 600mm, the decks raised so they are self-draining, and the Volvo-Penta inboard required a large engine box that is not part of the more usual outboard version.

The test boat was built to survey, with five sealed buoyancy chambers. Reserve buoyancy varies with alterations made to hull design. (This rig, for example, had been heavily customised to the new owner’s specifications, as may be seen by comparing the ‘as tested’ price with the cost of a basic key-turn package in the specification box at the end of this piece.)

Power and performance

The test boat Bella Vita was powered by a Volvo Penta D4-225, a diesel-powered 225hp common-rail engine, with a Duo-prop leg. We headed out from Whangaparaoa’s Gulf Harbour in near perfect conditions. In a quick squirt, the Volvo produced 56kph (30.2 knots) at 3600rpm, and cruised comfortably at 20 knots. This is obviously an adequate power plant for the rig, but there is potential for a more powerful engine (or engines). About 80% of these particular hulls sold are rigged with an outboard or twin outboards, according to the builder.

It was certainly a magnificent day on the Hauraki Gulf, hardly sufficient for the boat to show what it was really capable of. Fortunately, there were some wave-makers at hand in the form of the frigate Te Kaha (you have to get something out of all those tax dollars after all), and a passing container ship. I ran the Image through the steep, up to metre-high wakes at speed, and was very impressed with the way the boat handled it. A very soft rider, with no tendency to move off line or bow-steer, she appears to have all the makings of an exceptional rough water hull.

The deadrise at the stern is a reasonable 18°, but the 6mm bottoms, engine position and weight, fine entry at the bow and downturn in the chines, add much to the performance. Forward and side visibility is good, and the Sea Star hydraulic steering did the job well. A useful set of trim-tabs made controlling the hull attitude easy.

The excellent fly-by-wire Volvo throttle control was so smooth and sensitive that it took a little getting used to for someone like me, brought up on the crunchy old outboard cable controls we endured over the years. Both the throttle control and seat footrest were too low for me, so I guess they were customised for the new owner.

Anchoring

A horizontal freefall anchor-winch handles anchoring duties, the large, hatched well giving sufficient drop for the unit. The well can be reached through hatches in the forward bulkhead or from a hatch on the foredeck.

Access to the bow is either through the forward cabin hatch or around the sides. A non-skid finish is used and there are grab rails on the cabin roof in addition to substantial bow rails. A Delta Fast-Set anchor is permanently mounted on the fairlead, with a deck plate providing protection from chain flogging. The winch is controlled from the helm.

A useful feature is a fold-down section of bow railing above the anchor, which forms a bow ladder, to make the dropping off and picking up of passengers from beaches and lake shores with a reasonable slope much easier.

Layout

The fore cabin has big, comfortable berths with a synthetic suede finish. The addition of a berth infill creates a nice double unit, with a further hammock above one side. A hatch gives access to the wiring etc behind the helm console.

A big dash offers stowage and instrument-mounting options. It is carpet-lined with a rear lip and grab rail incorporated. A Lowrance X25 Sounder/GPS plotter is mounted here, as a big CRT Furuno Radar unit dominates the dash – a specification of the new owner.

The passenger side of the cabin has two double bench seats, the forward one having a reversible backrest so it can also be used with the table behind it. This table can be lowered to form a good-sized berth.

The helm seat is a swivelling, sliding model with a fridge built in underneath. Aft of this is a small galley unit with twin gas burners and a hot and cold freshwater sink fed from a 25-litre tank. A second tank is stowed under the transom wall, offering another 25 litres. A drawer stowage unit is under the galley top, nicely built from solid rimu. Further stowage room can be found under the passenger seats, in a small cupboard beside the helm, and in a big hold under the cabin floor.

The cabin windows are made from 5mm safety glass, with sliding side windows and wipers fitted. Ceiling grab rails aid moving around the cabin when underway.

A swinging, lockable door secures the cabin. Out in the cockpit is an enclosed toilet/shower with hot and cold fresh water. There are plenty of handrails on the rear of the cabin and under the overhang. The free-draining chequerplate decks feature scupper drainage and a large under-deck hold, forward of the engine compartment.

The water tank and the gas bottle are contained under a bench seat against the rear-cabin bulkhead. Full-length side pockets (approx 3.5m long) are wide enough to take dive bottles. On a shelf inside the transom wall are two batteries with an isolation switch and selective charging. A walk-through transom (with aluminium drop-door) ushers out onto a chequerplate boarding platform with a fold-down boarding ladder. A wash-down hose with pressure pump is built into the walk-through, and substantial mooring cleats complete the deck furniture.

As may be expected with a custom-built boat, much of this layout is controlled by the requirements of the owner, and Image Boats will alter layouts (within reason) as required.

Fishability

The big engine box limits access to the transom a fair bit, but, with its padded top, does provide seating and two well-braced fishing positions, one in each corner. There is room for more anglers further forward in the cockpit. Fishing while sitting on the transom wall with your feet out on the boarding platform is also an option.

This inboard version of the hull is not common. Dean Wilkes said that about 80% of these hulls are set up for outboards. This layout would create a huge amount of usable cockpit room, especially considering the test boat had a stretched cabin and used further space for the toilet/shower.

The hull is pretty stable. We even tried seven adults along one gunwale, which, while putting a fair list on, did not feel dangerous. The chequerplate decking gives good footing. There is a toe recess all along the gunwales and in the transom corners, with top-of-the-thigh support.

This boat had been set up for basic bottom fishing with a six-position rocket launcher on the hardtop, four through-gunwale rodholders, and side mounts in one gunwale for a baitboard. A permanent berley bucket is welded into the boarding platform, and a bait tank set underneath. The big under-deck hold will swallow the catch.

Divers are well catered for with a boarding ladder and platform with grab rails, transom walkthrough (on the other side of the platform to the ladder for balance and layout reasons), hot shower, and plenty of tank and gear stowage.  

This boat would handle basic bottom-fishing chores well, and even the occasional game fish. The extra cockpit space available in the outboard version would allow the construction of a pretty serious blue water fishing boat.

Trailering

The trailer is custom made by Image Boats from aluminium, suitably strengthened by gussets where necessary. It is a cradle A-frame design fitted with polyethylene benches and supports at 1750mm centres, rather than rollers. This has several benefits: it lowers the boat on the trailer somewhat (making for easier launches and retrieval); removes a lot of moving parts; avoids individual pressure points on the hull caused by rollers; and to a large extent locks the hull and trailer into a single unit, removing a lot of flex when travelling.

The tandem-axle trailer is fitted with American-made Carlisle Hydrastar brakes, controlled by a brake actuator mounted on the trailer.

Suspension is zinc-treated leaf springs. Rims are galvanised, and hubs are fitted with Bearing Buddies, which are a great aid in preserving bearing life. A wind-down jockey wheel, submersible lights, dual-ratio manual winch with gel-spun polyethylene rope and dual safety chains are all fitted.

All-up dry tow weight is about 3.1 tonnes.  

All in all

This is a well-constructed boat that delivers an excellent ride. Image Boats offer extensive customising options and have incorporated many good design ideas into the test boat. All the requirements are there to make a very serious fish and dive machine (or maybe not so serious, if that is what you want) on the 8.65m hull. Good stuff from the far south.

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News   2007 - by Sam Mossman Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited