SP T ON FOR SPOT X BY KEITH INGRAM W
hen Wally Browning retired from the hotel and holiday park tourism industry he had a hankering to go fishing. Originally he had set his sights on the Kaipara Harbour, but to get a nice place and then establish the necessary infrastructure for a tourist fishing base was starting to become all a bit hard. While access to good west coast game fishing was an attraction, the water for most of the year was going to be green and brown, so when the option of Marsden Cove came along it was a bit of a no brainer. Wally now has a lovely canal home with his own private marina berth eight metres from his front deck giving direct access straight out into some of the best fishing waters around. As Wally says, with the Hen and Chickens and the wreck of the warship Waikato on his doorstep, diving opportunities abound. Head out wide and sou-east and we have the Mokohinaus and Great Barrier Island with Little Barrier on the inside. Further north and the Poor Knights beckon, so what more could a man ask for? Not only was it a marketer's dream, it was only two hours from Auckland as well. With this in mind Wally wanted a fast, stable boat that would be
essentially a day boat for fishing and diving while still maintaining an overnight capability if required. Because of the wide range of fishing and diving opportunities within a close proximity of the Cove his thinking was that folk can get back on dry land to relax, have a beer and a barbie as they regain their land lubber legs for the night. The whole idea was to not punish folk who may not enjoy good sea legs, but still wanted to enjoy the experiences the sea has to offer.
Cats, in particular BladeRunner foil assisted cats, had always impressed Wally with their functionality and space, and their soft ride and sea keeping abilities. So it was with this shopping wish list that he contracted Greg Shine of BladeRunner Boats to design and build his new craft.
Constructed in 5083 H321marine grade alloy with 6mm plate hull, 5mm hull sides, and 4mm cabin structure, plan approval to Maritime NZ SSM standards was carried out by SGS naval architects with the construction surveys and SSM system approval by Steve Mabbett Ltd of Whangarei. Spot On is licensed to carry up to 16 passengers in the Whangarei inshore limit and eight or six game fishers further off shore.
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