KwikKraft 6.5m Offshore

Tauranga, based-KwikKraft is a boat-building company that cut its teeth on jet boats.

Originally owned by Tony Ward, present owners Brian Cottle and wife Liz got involved by contracting the company to build fishing boats of Brian’s design under the ‘Offshore’ marque.

I tested one of the original Offshore hulls back in early 2000, and although it had some neat design ideas, it left something to be desired in buoyancy and stability. To his credit, Brian took my criticisms positively and made hull alterations straight away.

Then, five years ago, he and Liz bought KwikKraft and set about realizing Brian’s vision of creating the ‘strongest, safest, best-handling and best-looking boats on the market’. After testing his latest hull, the KwikKraft 6.5m Offshore, I would say that he has pretty well succeeded in his goal.

In the process, the Cottles have moved the plant from Te Puna to Greerton in Tauranga. Although fishing boats have made up the bulk of production over the last couple of years, KwikKraft has a solid foundation in marathon racing jets and jet-powered tour boats, with exports to the USA, Zambia, Japan, Korea and Australia.

Construction

For its size, the 6.5m Offshore must be one of the most solidly constructed boats on the market. In addition, Cottle has melded a fine entry with down-turned chines and self-flooding ballast tank, to create a hull that is stable at rest but which cuts the sea like a knife.

The rear portion of the bottom features a planing wedge of 10mm aluminium, easing to 6mm towards the chines. Sides, decking and transom are all 4mm, topsides 4mm and 3mm, and the engine pod is 6mm material. There are six longitudinal bearers and six full bulkheads, as well as deck supports at 600mm centres, all fully welded. The chine joins are lapped, with three full-length seam welds.

This design also has excellent buoyancy features. Two sealed under-deck buoyancy chambers are supplemented by two further chambers set up on the sides under the side shelves, helping the boat float upright were it ever to be swamped. All buoyancy chambers are pressure tested, and provide a combined reserve buoyancy of 550kg.

In short, the KwikKraft is built like a tank, and with good reserve buoyancy figures, the 6.5m rates highly in the safety stakes. Welds are well executed and the overall finish and appearance are very smart indeed.

KwikKraft takes considerable pains with construction, as indicated by isolating dissimilar metals where they contact, fitting mounting blocks for the trim-tabs and transducer, and having their ‘sparky’ conduct an on-water electrolysis test after launching. Inboard and hardtop versions are available.

Power and performance

You can’t have the security of heavy-duty construction and heavier-than-normal materials without paying a bit of a weight penalty. The hull weighs around 1200kg and is rated for 115–200hp outboards. The test boat, Back in Black, is owned by Waikato farmer and rugby enthusiast Chris Brennan and pushed by a 200hp Yamaha four-stroke outboard with a 19”-pitch prop. With four adults, half a fuel load and a set of dive gear on board, we achieved 66kph (36 knots) at 6100rpm, and cruised comfortably at 40kph (22 knots) at 4200rpm. Maximum book revs for this outboard is 6000rpm, so the prop could probably stand another inch of pitch, which in turn would give a little more top-end speed. Otherwise, the engine was well set up, and the Ultraflex hydraulic steering was pleasant to use.

The hull has a fine entry, variable to 19° at the transom. It has a tapered planing wedge at the stern and a single planing strake per side.

We beach-launched the boat with Chris’s tractor at the Coromandel Peninsula’s Opito Bay. It was a nice day with a modest NE breeze. Out towards Great Mercury Island there was a half-metre swell with a very slight chop on top – hardly enough to extend the boat, but enough to get a feel for the ride. The 6.5m Offshore had all the makings of an excellent sea-boat: its fine entry just ate the sea and it was a soft traveller.

This was a soft-top option, with clears between the Bimini top and the ‘screen. Visibility was good when seated, barring a bit of internal ‘screen reflection, which could be tamed with a dark marine carpet finish. Visibility was fair when standing, and good (although a little breezy) with the clears zipped out. This would be an interesting boat in a hardtop version. Overall it was a very good performance.

Anchoring

It is an easy climb around the cabin sides to the bow, with non-skid panels all the way and a sturdy set of bow rails. The boat is fitted with a Quick chain-and-rope capstan, nicely set below the foredeck hatch. A permanently-mounted Sarca anchor is set out on a short bowsprit, and the chain/warp runs up a protective channel to the capstan, with a double leg bollard over the top helping to contain it.

The capstan controls are at the helm, with a second set mounted where they can be controlled with the toes while standing in the forward hatchway. It was a pleasure to use the anchoring system, aided by a chain counter (and you can see the pick going down on the sounder as well). A nicely engineered anchoring set-up with plenty of options.

Layout

Much thought has been given to the layout, with owner Chris Brennan closely involved. In the fully-lined cabin, two berths will sleep two adults comfortably with infill fitted. There is stowage space underneath, and in the centre a Jabsco pump toilet is fitted.

A portable gas cooker is enough for a scratch meal and a cuppa if overnighting. A neat unit fitted in the cabin ceiling has a fold-down screen for TV and DVD. Handy if you want to catch the footie or if the kids get bored with the fishing before you are ready to leave.

Also fitted is a radio and sound system, as well as cabin lights. Extra stowage is provided by two side shelves. The wiring in the console can be accessed through a hatch. A sliding, locking cabin door allows gear to be secured when unattended.

The helm position is protected by a canvas Bimini top with clears dropping to the ‘screen; the rear is supported by a fold-down rocket launcher. There are two levels of dash with back rails, but most of the instrumentation and electronics is flush-mounted into the console. This includes Yamaha tacho, speedo and fuel-management gauges, RayMarine C80 multi-task sounder/GPS and a GME Electrophone GX600 VHF.

Handy storage for odds and ends is provided by a locking glovebox and two protected side pockets.

Seating consists of two king and queen-style seats on large bases with plenty of internal stowage. Owner Chris is a keen diver and can fit two full dive rigs under each seat.

The upholstered helm seats (from Bob Littler Agencies in Australia), besides swivel and slide adjustments, have a neat little feature that allows the front edge of the seat to pivot up and back to create a padded bolster on which to lean your backside when travelling standing up. Good footrests are also fitted.

Two hatches between the seats give access to under-deck holds that will take shallow fish bins. These (and the forecabin step-down) are bung-drained into a bilge channel above the ballast tank, which, in turn drains to a sump under the transom, along with the sealed decks. From here, water is pumped overboard by a 2000gph bilge pump, controlled by automatic and manual float switches.

Full cockpit-length side pockets provide extra stowage, and movable drink holders can be clipped on as required. Coamings made from an attractive South African hardwood are a nice touch. Chequer-plate decks are covered with marine carpet, giving good footing. The transom wall houses a locker containing the two batteries, fuel filter and deck-hose pump, as well as providing further stowage space. An isolation switch is also fitted.

On the port side, a transom walk-through with drop-board closure allows easy access onto one of two chequer-plate boarding platforms, fitted with grab rails and a fold-down boarding ladder.

Good use of space, plenty of cockpit room and some clever design features are all apparent.

Fishability

The basics are all here: the ballast tank aids stability at rest or at displacement speed; there’s good footing and plenty of fishing room; and the flat gunwale faces provide mid-thigh support as well as reasonable toe room all around.

Four through-gunwale rod holders are fitted along the covering boards (two to a side) and there is room for more. The transom-mounted bait station will take three more rods. The cutting board is at a good working height, doubles as a water-toy tow point, and sports a tackle drawer underneath.

A livebait tank is fitted under the transom step-through, with a snapper-shaped ‘fish TV’ window in the front. Letting in some light helps keep the fish swimming right way up, allows an easy check on their health, and keeps the kids interested. The tank in Back In Black is ram-fed, but can be easily plumbed with an electric pump.

A six-position rocket launcher is fitted, and provides a good position for the cockpit spot to be mounted for night work. This is about my only criticism: the rake of the rod holders is a little too great, so the rods interfere with cockpit ‘air space’. But given that KwikKraft mostly customise boats to prospective owners’ requirements, it is an easy thing to correct.

Divers are well catered for, with easy boarding, stability and plenty of stowage space for their gear. Chris is right into diving and didn’t need any urging to slip over the side to harvest a feed for the crew at a local scallop bed. We followed this up by casting a few soft-plastic lures around a rock or two, knocking over a feed of pannie snapper and finding the cockpit easy to work from. 

Trailering

KwikKraft manufacture their own trailers – and Back in Black was carried on a heavy-duty aluminium model with gusset supports, chequerplate steps and central walk-board. This is a tandem-axle rig with Duratorque suspension. The hull sits on eight pairs of wobble-rollers per side. Other features include: LED submersible lights; wind-down jockey wheel; and dual-ratio manual winch. Other trailer options are available.

Because this trailer is pretty much a dedicated beach trailer, trailer brakes have not been fitted. Owner Chris launches his boat off the sand with a tractor and, to make retrieval easier, has mounted a hydraulic winch on the power take-off of the tractor that runs through a roller box on top of the trailer’s winch post. You don’t want to be mucking around too much in the surf, and the hydraulic winch pulls the boat on the trailer quickly.

All-up tow weight is about 1900kg.

All in all

Brian Cottle has made a great boat here: very solidly constructed, well finished, stable, travels well, is fishing and diving friendly, looks smart and has plenty of reserve buoyancy. And KwikKraft is happy to customise to any buyer’s requirements. What is there not to like?

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News Dec 2006 - by Sam Mossman Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited