Judging by the sheer number of FC boats of all sizes now plying our waters, Fish City’s foray into trailer boat manufacturing has been an unqualified success.

FCBoats offer excellent value for money, the smaller boats in particular providing affordable entry-level boating, which surely accounts in no small part for their runaway success.

The FC500 is one of Fish City’s mid-size offerings, available in a number of configurations including centre-console. The base boat is good value, but don’t expect too many extras. However, if prepared to pay a bit more, there’s plenty of scope for improvement since the factory can accommodate a fairly extensive customisation programme. That’s one of the reasons fishing personality, journalist and broadcaster Terry Williams-King chose an FC500, although the smart looking vinyl-wrapped It’s 5 o’clock somewhere is anything but standard.

Terry is a fishing all-rounder, but lure fishing is his main interest. For that reason he went for a centre-console layout, adding a removable T-top along with removable clears and side curtains to provide a measure of all-weather protection. His experience with other FC boats, most notably the FC600 he fished from for two seasons of the TV series Match Fishing League, led to a number of modifications and adaptions to his FC500.

Principal among these was to create a more usable casting platform from the FC500’s foredeck. The factory added reinforcing under the foredeck to better support Terry’s 2m frame, along with non-slip paint and four heavy-duty rod holders set into the deck. They also added a step so access to the foredeck is easier, and the non-slip extends to the side decks, which are wide enough to sit on comfortably. The bollard was shifted off the foredeck and into the open anchor well – where it’s less likely to tangle fly lines or impede anglers fishing from the foredeck – along with the anchor and warp; a parachute-type drogue is also stowed in the anchor well.

Another modification involves a substantial aluminium staple with a bait/utility tray and a Life multi-function mount. Terry uses the latter for his iPad Mini, so he can display navigation and sounding information from the Simrad GPS-plotter-sounder unit in the dash via an app. The staple slots into a pair of rod holders in the foredeck, providing anglers with leaning support and security; the rest of the time it’s housed out of the way in tube brackets behind the foredeck.

Perhaps the main feature of the foredeck is the 25kg-thrust MotorGuide 12V electric outboard, which lies flat on one side of the deck when not in use. Controlled from a handheld remote and equipped with its own GPS system, the MotorGuide can navigate a number of pre-programmed routes, hold the boat in position against the wind or current (‘anchor’ or ‘skyhook’ mode), and navigate back to a waypoint. We used it to good effect during our test session.

The centre-console layout means the boat is completely walk around. The console offers plenty of stowage space and there’s also good access to the back of the instrument fascia, wiring and steering though the hatch on the front of the console. Terry has mounted the boat’s batteries inside the console, but far enough down to keep the centre of gravity low. There’s a dedicated battery for the electric motor and an onboard smart charger he can hook up at home, plus the usual combination house-start battery. Batteries can be linked in series if required in an emergency. There’s also a fire extinguisher tucked away out of the weather, but easy to reach, and a couple of 12V outlets on the console for GoPro cameras, along with the Fusion sound system, GME VHF radio and Simrad EVO NSS7 fishfinder-GPS-plotter. There’s no helm seat, but plenty of handholds for standing passengers.

Like the rest of the FC range, the FC500 is a beamy boat with plenty of usable deck space. There’s room to easily move past the console, though the floor to either side isn’t flat since it conforms to the chines. While it’s possible to fish two or more anglers down one side of the drifting boat, thanks to the hull’s inherent stability, the T-top projects far enough that it gets in the way of over-enthusiastic strikes, where you risk smacking the rod against the T-Top frame. This isn’t such an issue in the cockpit, and Terry has also angled his rocket launcher to keep the rods out of the anglers’ way, but the best place of all to fish from is the bow, either at floor level or, better still, up on the foredeck when sea conditions allow.

The cockpit is generous in size and Terry has learned his lesson from the FC600, specifying a lid for the self-flooding bait tank to prevent water slopping into the boat. Fuel is supplied by tote tanks under the corner seats/steps, though a flat floor in this area would accommodate them better. A bilge pump is a non-standard addition, supplementing FC Boat’s bung system, which allows the hull to drain via the bait tank. Terry’s boat has a couple of spray guards welded either side of the engine, a worthwhile addition judging from the water that sprayed over the transom of a standard FC500 I tried recently. The large 1kW transducer bolted to It’s 5 o’clock somewhere’s transom kicks up even more spray than a smaller one would. The FC500 lacks an outboard well or a transom door, and Terry’s boat has just one boarding platform, where he intends to mount a pair of tuna tubes.

We took It’s 5 o’clock somewhere on a Little Barrier Island raid from Omaha with three anglers aboard and a fairly loose fishing plan. Although 60hp is the recommended power for this hull, with a boat as heavily modified as Terry’s, carrying a lot of gear, extra batteries, an electric motor on the foredeck and three good-sized anglers, a few more horses wouldn’t have gone astray. However, performance with the 60hp Mercury four-stroke was adequate, providing a top speed of 27 knots on the day.

We cruised out to Little Barrier in pleasant sea conditions doing 23 knots at 4700rpm all the way. In general the boat handled well and the hull appears to be a dry runner. There wasn’t a lot of chop to contend with, but the sea was a bit sloppier for the run home, which the FC500 easily dealt with.

Fishing from the boat was a real pleasure. With 10 welded aluminium rod holders, a rocket launcher, and under-gunwale rod, net and gaff racks, plus stowage in the console, under the seat and under the foredeck, we had plenty of storage options for all our gear.

We started fishing soft-plastics in the Little Barrier shallows, landing snapper and kingfish. The electric motor proved its worth, holding us in the current and allowing us to creep silently into the shallow margins, where experience told us the bigger snapper would be lurking. Terry reckons he averages two days’ fishing between battery charges.

Notable snapper eluded us that morning, though we caught plenty of respectable ones, but Mark Kitteridge managed a very good kingfish on a soft-bait from just a few metres of water.

We explored the island’s shores for several hours, catching a variety of species and taking turns for the prime casting position in the bows. On the way back we stopped to investigate birds sitting on the water and quickly found good fish sign in 45m, the Simrad EVO NSS7 showing its worth. A short session using slow-pitch and micro-jigs saw us boating a succession of good-sized snapper and a nice kingfish. Again, the MotorGuide was invaluable, allowing us to hold the boat over a school of fish indefinitely.

With the icebox full, we made our way back to Omaha a bit after 1pm. We’d covered 52 nautical miles for the day, burning a miserly 31 litres of fuel. We were well pleased with the day and the way the FC500 easily accommodated three keen lure anglers. Terry’s work with FC Boats has turned a fairly basic, barebones fishing boat into a TWK Fishing Machine: It’s 5 o’clock somewhere is a great success.