AMF 660 Pro-Sport Series Hardtop Cabin |
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There are two companies building boats with the AMF marque in New Zealand.
Paul Sharrat, now working out of Mount Maunganui, originated AMF boats, while Brian Collings, owner of RiverCity Marine in Wanganui, liked the workmanship, but wanted a heavy duty, rough water, fishing and diving boat for his local conditions. So they got together and designed the AMF Pro-Sport Series hulls for the job.
Collings and Sharrat still maintain regular contact. Sharrat builds larger, mostly one-off designs in the Mount, while in Wanganui, RiverCity Marine bought the jigs and patterns and produce the AMF Pro-Sport series. The test boat, an AMF Pro-Sport Series 660 Hardtop Cabin, was built by RiverCity Marine.
I travelled to the Coromandel Peninsula town of Pauanui to link up with Trevor Woolston of First Choice Marine, local agents for the AMF Pro–Sport Series, and give the test boat a run.
Construction
AMF Pro-Sport hulls are possibly the most solidly constructed aluminium recreational hulls on the market. As a belt-and-braces man myself, I really appreciate the strength and soundness of the construction techniques, and the high quality of the welding, left unground for maximum strength.
The 660 has a 6mm plate hull, 5mm transom and deck, 4mm sides and 3mm cabin. All welds are full length – no skip welding here. The chine joints are fully welded inside and out, then capped with angle extrusion, which is also full-length welded, giving four full-length welds at the chines. The bottoms are butted up to a keel bar and likewise welded full length inside and out. A wear strip is added over the keel and seam welded, making a total of six full-length welds at the keel.
There are seven full-length longitudinal supports. Under the cockpit floor are four lateral supports, plus bulkheads and collision bulkhead in the bows.
A 220-litre underfloor fuel tank is fitted, with the fuel port outside the transom in case of spillage. A guard is fitted where the fuel lines pass under the transom to the tank.
The fully-sealed floor provides buoyancy, and is pressure tested at the factory. This sealed section has a capacity of 1332 litres of air, and there is also an additional buoyancy chamber built under the boarding platform to give extra lift to the stern when large four-stroke outboards are fitted.
RiverCity Marine offers two versions of cockpit, one with substantially higher sides than the standard design. This is partly to improve the style of the hull, but largely because some people like the security offered by high sides and transom. The only additional cost for choosing the high sided version is in fitting the necessary transom walk-through to allow access into the hull.
The hull design is an 18.5-degree deadrise, moderate entry with down-turned chines. Five topsides layouts are available: Hardtop Cabin (as tested), Hardtop Runabout, Vee-Berth Cabin, Open Runabout, and Open Dory (centre console). RiverCity Marine offers a six-year structural hull warranty for recreational use.
Power and performance
The 660 is rated for outboards of 175-220hp, and the test boat was fitted with one of Mercury’s imposing new 200hp Verado supercharged four-strokes. These are big outboards, both in dimensions and weight (they clock in at a bit over 300kg). In anticipation of this, extra buoyancy had been built in under the boarding platform/outboard bracket of the test boat.
The big Mercs are fitted with Merc’s Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS), and power steering. Also fitted was the SmartCraft digital/dial instrumentation, which is compatible to Navman electronics. A pair of Navman Trackfish units were fitted but not hooked up to the engine system yet.
The Mercury power-steering system was great to use, making light work of helming the big outboard. The steering however, was a bit on the noisy side, particularly noticeable at low speeds, as the engine is such a quiet runner. I believe Mercury is working on this aspect.
Spinning a modestly pitched 15" prop, the acceleration out of the hole was awesome! The DTS controls had such a smooth action, considerable care was needed not to overcook the takeoff and throw an unprepared crew off balance. Overall, the Verado was notably smooth and quiet, and I certainly could not smell any emissions. (This outboard is stated to exceed the American Environmental Protection Agency’s 2006 emission standards.)
Top-end speed was good, but not outrageous. Although First Choice Marine were still fine-tuning the props, Trevor Woolston told me he had achieved 44mph (71kph or 38 knots) at 6200rpm. This would be about right, as I managed 42mph (68kph or 36 knots) at 6000rpm running into 15 knots of headwind. ‘The book’ lists the top-end revs of this model of Verado at 6400, so the prop choice is in the zone, although there are probably a few more knots to be found yet. Consequently, with useful speeds of around 20-30 knots (sea conditions will usually not allow comfortable travel at higher speeds) around the middle of the rev range, it’s well suited to a working fish and dive boat.
In winter there is seldom a problem finding rough conditions to try a hull in, and the test day was no exception. We left Pauanui entrance with an offshore wind of about 15 knots against the run-in tide. This kicked up a tight little chop of about three-quarters of a metre. It was a confused sea, but basically we were running with it as we headed out to the Aldermen Islands, about 18km offshore.
We had a reasonable ride out, but by the time we made the return journey, the wind had swung a little and picked up to over 20 knots against the tide. This made for a much messier sea of up to 1.5 metres, all tight, capping and confused – in short, about as crappy a sea as you would want to travel in!
I would class the ride as ‘lively’; there is so much lift in this hull’s broad shoulders that even with the bow trimmed right down, I never looked like burying the nose.
In such a tight, steep head sea, you are bound to bang a bit, but the big AMF never felt harsh. The windage generated by the hardtop and extra high-sided design did cause the hull to heel into the stiff wind, making steering a little more challenging. I would recommend a set of trim tabs (and a grabrail for the helmsman!) be fitted.
It was not a pleasant sea, and we had to drop to about 15mph until we came more into the lee of the peninsula. It was comforting to have a powerful, responsive engine, a nice, dry hardtop to keep the wind and wet stuff out, and to know we had such a robust hull under us. I appreciated the good visibility, seated or standing, as well as the helm seat, which folds down so the helmsman can travel standing without the seat catching them in the back of the leg.
Anchoring
The 660 is fitted with a Maxwell 500 warp and chain capstan feeding into an enclosed anchor-well in the bow. This well can be accessed through a hatch in the forward bulkhead if necessary. The capstan has a freespool facility for precision anchoring. To get to the bow, it is possible to climb around the cabin sides – there is chequerplate decking, and handrails on the cabin roof – but the footing does pinch up toward the bow. Better access is through the hatch in the forecabin roof.
The foredeck is made of chequerplate and curved to shed water. A protective plate guards the deck from the chain and anchor, while the Sarca anchor is permanently mounted on a short bowsprit between split bowrails. The furniture on the pointy end is completed with a heavy-duty aluminium bollard welded solidly to the foredeck.
The capstan is controlled from the helm, and there is no real reason to get out on the bow to work the pick, save for sticking your head through the hatch to freespool the anchor warp.
Layout
A wide entry makes access to the fully-lined forecabin easy. Two berths will sleep two adults full length, and there is stowage space underneath them. A toilet fitted under the centre squab is an optional extra. Large side shelves double as padded backrests for anyone seated in the forecabin.
The drop-down forecabin deck has bung drainage, should any water ever get up there. A cabin light and fire extinguisher are fitted, and a hatch gives access to the wiring and steering connections inside the console.
Out in the enclosed, fully-lined wheelhouse, a large flat dash has been lined with marine carpet and has a high back lip, well designed for rough water travel. The forward ‘screens and sliding side windows are 6mm toughened glass, bonded and bolted in.
There are a number of seating options offered. The test boat was fitted with bench seats – the helm seat folding away if necessary – while the L-shaped passenger set-up had internal stowage. Footrests are also fitted.
The dash is the ideal place for the twin Navman Trackfish 6600 units to be fitted. They can accommodate GPS plotter, sounder or Mercury Smartcraft engine displays. A Navman VHF 7000 radio, Ritchie compass and Pyle sound system were flush-mounted in front of the dash. Other instrumentation and switching gear was recessed into the console. Good-sized side pockets, another cabin light and a big grabrail have all been added.
The sliding, lockable cabin door is substantial, and gives access to the cockpit. The hardtop overhangs the cockpit by about 400mm, and a series of grabrails are there for anyone wanting to travel outside.
Sealed chequerplate decks drain the cockpit to a sump under the transom wall. The sump is drained overboard by a 1100gph bilge pump.
Large side pockets are fitted down each side of the cockpit. The lines are clean and edges rounded.
A triple-battery system is well protected up in the transom wall, accessible through two forward-opening hatches. On the passenger side is a transom walk-through with a heavy polycarbonate swing door. Solid-looking cleats are recessed in each stern corner, a nice touch.
The most noticeable thing about the cockpit is the remarkably high sides and transom. The gunwale height varies over the length of the cockpit, but averages 980mm. This is an option offered by RiverCity Marine over the standard height of 790mm. Some people love it, others do not, and opt for the normal height. Even the transom walk-through is a bit of a step up, but more of this in a minute.
Over the transom are two chequerplate boarding platforms with a fold-down ladder and grabrails. Between them is the open-topped outboard bracket. The sump can be drained into this by bung when the boat is out of the water, and also serves to rise a ram-feed for a washdown hose when under way.
A separate mounting plate for transducers is fitted under the platform.
Fishability
The 660 is a reasonably stable hull, with the chequerplate deck giving good non-skid footing. There is plenty of toe room, and the clean, smooth cockpit lines with rounded corners make for a painless fishing environment.
The other main design feature that effects the fishability of the boat is the height of the cockpit sides and transom. I am of average height and the cockpit sides come above my hips – about a metre above the deck. I am ambivalent about this feature. The height certainly gives a feeling of security, and would be good if small children were aboard. For average bottom fishing, it is useful to lean against. On the other hand, it would make stand-up fishing with a drop-bucket harness difficult, made swinging caught fish aboard a little harder, and was not as useful a perch to sit on when fishing as a standard-height construction.
The high walls necessitate a transom walk-through door (even this is at a fair height) to get from the boarding platform to the cockpit, especially for a suited-up diver. The walk-through is also not a bad place to sit in and fish from, and allows access for an angler to work a fish around the ‘big black beast’ on the back.
AMF says that the split of sold boats is about 80% in favour of the high-sided version. The good news is, of course, that this is an option and the standard-height version is also available.
Other fishing fittings were a six-position rocket launcher, four plastic through-gunwale rodholders (more plastic or full-stainless rodholders are options), cockpit floodlight, and an optional baitstation (with two more rod holders) can be bolted on the transom.
AMF offer other fishing options, including an ice bin with squab top, a berley bucket in the transom, outriggers, and a livebait tank built into the engine well.
Trailering
The trailer supplied is a Voyager cradle A-frame design with tandem axles, galvanised frame and rims, and zinc-treated leaf springs. Hydraulic brakes are fitted, as is a dual-coupling, wind-down jockey wheel, bottle-screw bow tie-down, submersible lights and dual-ratio manual winch.
The hull is well supported on 10 pairs of wobble rollers per side, and a chequerplate walk board was fitted to help keep the feet dry when hooking up at the ramp. This is a well-made and high-specked trailer. Tow weight for the rig is approximately 2100kg.
All in all…
The AMF 660 is very much a hard-core Kiwi fish and dive boat. It is extremely solidly made, with a high level of finish, yet it still manages to look stylish. The benefits of the high sided version is something to be judged by individuals according to their own needs, but the value of the hardtop on a cold winter’s (or hot summer’s) day is not up for argument.
Specifications
LOA 6.75m
Hull only length 6.20m
Beam 2.45m
Deadrise 18.5°
Bottoms and keel wear strip 6mm
Transom and deck 5mm
Sides and side decks 4mm
Topsides 3mm
Rec. power 175-225hp
Hull only $48,000
Base key-turn (Merc 200 EFI) $85,000
As tested $109,990
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