Boat design holds commercial potential
A
vid fisherman Wayne McKinley built his first boat for a friend almost three decades ago. Since then his company, Senator Boats, has continued to build quality fishing vessels, predominantly for the commercial workboat industry and the leisure marine market.
The company now employs 13 boatbuilders at its factory in Napier and has a network of dealers throughout New Zealand.
Senator was a pioneer builder of aluminium pontoon boats in New Zealand and their new, customised offshore alloy catamaran series complements their Pontoon and Offshore models. These catamarans are known for their seakeeping stability, safety, manoeuverability, power-to- weight ratio and speed. Some of the keys to Senator's success are the evolution in design and construction of its vessels and the company's ability to listen to the needs of the boating community. This is especially important for commercial fishers, who know what they want in a vessel, rather than what the boatbuilder says they should have. The vessels are constructed so key sections are not enclosed, allowing easy access for various trades and ensuring less down time, thus keeping costs down. The design may be powered by a conventional shaft drive, sternlegs, surface drives or waterjets. One recent custom-built vessel is the waterjet-
powered Senator 1700, set up for pleasure boating and sportfishing. At 17m, with a beam of 5.6m, this boat is one of the largest in the Senator range and she has some real estate on board.
The hull design is highly efficient, with superior 30 NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2012 Wayne McKinley at the helm
load-carrying, stability and storage. Built in marine alloy plate, the 1700 has an 8mm bottom with 6mm hull sides. Scantlings and frames are all 6mm with the cabin structure in 4mm and the decks are all 5mm chequer plate. A large, fenced boarding platform protects the waterjets tucked underneath and provides an ideal fishing area. Immediately for'ard across the transom is a central island bait station and a live bait tank, complete with a stainless steel top.
Access to the cockpit is through transom doors on either side. When we stand on the deck the surrounding space is huge. In the middle of the cockpit is a teak workbench with slats, and the rod holders are mounted above two high-density iceboxes. Looking for'ard, we see the large deckhouse or main cabin, where the roofline extends aft to provide shelter for the external dining area and a large stainless steel barbecue with five burners built into the port side. Remember, this boat is a serious boys' fishing boat, and the barbecue is an easy way
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