If hardcore fishing is your gig, then the Buccaneer El Dorado 685 might just
be the boat for you.

Putting together a GRP (fibreglass) boat is no simple task. Unlike alloy, you cannot cut and weld until you get it right. With GRP, moulds have to be created, and getting something wrong is an expensive business. Hamilton-based Buccaneer Boats’ El Dorado 685 started as a concept for Buccaneer owner and designer Gerry Gerrand’s own trailerable sports fishing boat. The inaugural El Dorado 685 was launched at last year’s Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show and was admired by everyone keen on fishing (Gerry and son Wade are both keen anglers and there are some nice touches that reflect this).

While the centre-cab concept is not new, Wade Gerrand believes it is the first GRP model of that style to come off a New Zealand factory floor. 

“Centre cabs are very popular in the United States, with boats from Grady White and Trophy enjoying a good share of the sports-boat market,” Wade says.

It is based on Buccaneer Boats’ proven 685 hull. It is designed first and foremost as a day boat, although Gerry has overnighted in it for the opening of the trout season. There is a portable chemical toilet to take care of the crew’s most basic needs inside the cuddy beneath the bunk infill.

A fully walk-around layout is a big plus, especially for those chasing big fish on light tackle. The gunwale height is perfect, offering plenty of toe-room to give the angler a leverage advantage, and the floor space is uncluttered. Up forward, a low-profile, beefed-up bowrail provides plenty of security without impeding rod room.

“We designed the boat to allow four anglers to actively fish at the same time, two on the bow and two in the cockpit.”

The bimini top provides plenty of shelter without imposing too much on casting space, which is mostly unrestricted. (A hardtop will feature on the next boat in build.) Consequently, two anglers, alternating their casts and retrieves from the bow, have plenty of space to fish in comfort. There are two rod and drink holders up there too, with the latter being big enough to hold a one-litre water bottle, along with a forward-facing double seat set into the cuddy cabin. 

A helm-operated Maxwell RC6 capstan deploys the ground tackle; the first metre or so of chain is stainless steel. While this adds to the boat’s looks, especially as the plough anchor is stainless as well, it has a practical application, indicating to the winch operator when the anchor is about to appear.

Courtesy lights provide practical inboard illumination from the bow through to the cockpit, and there are two pop-up stainless cleats appropriately placed in the gunwales. These are useful for attaching the fenders or deploying the berley cage. A non-slip surface has been moulded into the floor from stem to stern, ensuring good grip underfoot.

There is no shortage of live-bait storage. The cockpit is dominated by a 120-litre bait tank – an option, as it is a stand-alone unit, with a smaller tank set under the transom step-through. The latter also houses the wash-down hose. 

On the port side are a similar-sized saltwater sink for washing hands (which can be replaced by two tuna tubes if preferred), knives and the like. Between them is a generous sized, removable bait-board that incorporates a couple of rod holders. When game and lure fishing, you would probably leave this behind to give better rod clearance across the transom. 

The cockpit is not self-draining. To have this feature would have meant raising the floor, impinging on the gunwale height which is spot-on, a feature Buccaneer Boats is noted for. Instead, water runs into a large sump at the stern and is removed via a bilge pump.

The El Dorado also offers plenty of storage, starting with an area under the cockpit floor that’s big enough to take a couple of dive bottles and a gear bag, or a standard-size fish bin. More storage is offered beside the passenger seat and built-in as part of the helm console (the latter is the same console as used in the Buccaneer Billfisher). 

As for rods and reels, a rocket launcher provides holders for six rods, with four solid holders set into the covering boards, two on each side, and a further two lighter-duty holders in the bait-board. An additional couple of rod holders are positioned mid-way up the bimini frame (Wade says these are useful for spreading the lines when trout trolling or as a base for removable outriggers if gamefishing), with any remaining outfits able to be placed in the side-pocket holders, along with the gaffs and tag-poles.

There is room for a 14-inch sounder-plotter screen, in this instance a Lowrance HDS 12 unit. A full set of instrumentation includes Yamaha tacho, fuel and speed gauges, rode counter, house-battery voltmeter, Maxwell capstan control, Lowrance VHF, and two switch panels. A Lowrance stereo system helps make the time pass a little more pleasantly on those slow trolling days.

Pedestals seats are fitted to this boat, but Wade says the next one will have a king- and queen-style helm seat with tackle storage set into it.

With its high sides and a step-down cuddy, the Buccaneer El Dorado 685 has a sleek look. The finish is immaculate and a great deal of thought has gone into the layout to make it a true sportfisher. Better still, the hull is a well-proven one, with the five-knot variables and the odd ferry wake in the Hauraki Gulf hardly being a decent test for it.

The rig, as tested, is valued at $128,500.

What the owner says…

Auckland’s Gary Monk is a self-confessed ‘Buccaneer nut’ and the review El Dorado 685 is the sixth Buccaneer he has owned.

Starting with a 605 in 1987, he stepped up to a Billfisher in 1991, and since then has owned a 605, a 635 and then another 605 before the Eldorado 685 was delivered just prior to Christmas.

He disagrees with the Gerrands, who are promoting the boat as a serious fishing vessel.

“I think it’s a great all-rounder. I have the grandkids (aged seven, five, four and two years old) on board, and the high gunwales in particular make it a very safe family boat,” Gary says. 

“There is plenty of space for them either up forward in the bow section, in the cockpit or, if they get bored with fishing, they can sit in the cuddy with their ipads.”

He says the bimini provides plenty of shelter, especially with the clears and backdrop in place, and that the boat is particularly stable at rest.

Gary enjoys the extra fishing space – he has had five people soft-baiting at the one time, two forward and three in the cockpit – and likes the convenient way the boat is laid out.

“Everything is so handy, such as the wash-down hose and hand-holds. It is such a great boat to fish from and feels so safe.”

Gary also says it is an easy boat to keep clean. He fishes mainly in the Hauraki Gulf, and by the time he gets back to the Orams dry stack, all that needs to be done is give the boat a rinse off with fresh water.