The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft, je
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Live cray tank Aft in the saloon The main saloon and helm station 68 NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2013 sort things out, and between them and the local guy Brett Ripley, Paul is happy to report that all the issues have been sorted out and Mistique II is now running as sweet as he could wish. One of the big issues for any boat operating out of Kaikoura is having seaweed foul your motor. On a traditional propeller, that generally means getting into the water to clear it. With the jet boat Paul puts the engine into low revs, then reverses which is an effective backflush to clear the intake. He could get a weedrake, but suffice to say this works well enough that he hasn't bothered. Paul's biggest praise for the boat is its stunning manoeuvrability and how much easier this makes his job. The move up in power from 450hp in the old Mistique, to twin 500's in Mistique II, is certainly part of this and he's paying about an extra third in fuel costs. But the advantages in power and manouverability the new jet boat offers over his old prop and shaft drive cray boat, ■ are a no-brainer for Paul. spec's doubles as the main settee across the rear bulkhead of the saloon. Access to the foc's'le is somewhat impeded by a 300mm sill at the top of a short companionway, in keeping with survey requirements for coastal waters. The interior is finished in serviceable paint and panels, with soft linings. The windows are all toughened glass set in SeaMac alloy frames to meet coastal requirements, rather that the Sikaflex adhesion systems that are becoming popular on inshore vessels. Seaworth Defence weather grills protect the main ventilation inlets and outlets to the machinery space, which is aft of the bait well with full sound insulation under the deck and on the hull and bulkheads to reduce noise. Mystique II's twin Yanmar 6CXM-GTE2 diesels produce 357kW at 2900rpm and are coupled to the twin HamiltonJet HJ322 blueArrow units. This propulsion system enables her to cruise at 24 knots with a five tonne deadweight and reach a maximum speed of 30 knots. Up on her top deck, accessed by a small ladder on the port side, is the radar arch and aerial farm. The life rings and liferaft are also stowed up top and are protected by a short, raised screen extending from the eyebrow above the reverse sheer front screen. This raised screen has been formed to aesthetically soften the harshness of the commercial look of the reverse sheer. There's always teething problems with a new vessel and the ones Paul has encountered with Mistique II have been mainly electrical issues. As they say, everything's okay till it's not okay, and it is how a service provider performs when things are not running to plan that sorts out the men from the boys. HamiltonJet sent men up from Christchurch twice to Twin Yanmar power below Length Beam Draft Engines Power Propulsion Service speed Top speed Designer Builder 13.6m 4m 700mm 2 x Yanmar 6CXM-GTE2 2 x 357kW (488bhp) @ 2900rpm 2 x HamiltonJet HJ322 blueArrows 24 knots 30 knots Teknicraft Q-West Boatbuilders