Terry Lacoss

Today’s Boats are Bigger, Faster, More Powerful. Look for 43-footers in 2006

One of the most dreaded factors during the early morning checkout of a Southern Kingfish Association king mackerel tournament is a hard north wind accompanied by fierce rainsqualls. Dressed in full rain gear, you often wonder why your kingfish boat isn't a couple of feet longer and rigged with larger motors.

During the 2006 SKA kingfish season you will certainly see bigger and more powerful competitive kingfish boats.

The drive to win highly competitive SKA kingfish events often relies on how your kingfish boat performs. That old adage of getting to the fish first is proving to be more and more important with the availability of larger kingfish boats and more powerful engines.

Diesel engines are becoming more common in center console fishing boats, offering several advantages to king mackerel fishermen, particularly when running in heavy seas and long distances.

"We are now offering a 43-foot center console fishing boat," Nor Tech Marine's Terry Sobo said. "It will get you to the fish in all sorts of weather conditions and in comfort too. She is also very fast for a big boat. Powered by twin 440 horsepower Yanmar diesel engines, she has a top speed of seventy-miles per hour!"

The Nor-Tech 43-Center Console weighs 13,000 pounds fully rigged and has a fuel capacity of 350 gallons. What is more impressive is her efficiency. At a hull speed of 60 miles per hour, the twin Yanmar diesels burn only 28 gallons per hour!

The asking price for this 43-foot mega center console fishing boat runs just over $650,000.00. Features include a standup shower, air-conditioning and a large V-birth. The Nor Tech boat is also being used by the U.S. State Department.

Can you imagine taking a nice cool shower and putting on clean tournament clothing before you tie up to the dock to weigh-in your largest kingfish of the day?

"Island Runner" marine offers a 36-foot diesel powered center console fishing boat, which is also very fuel-efficient. Powered by twin Yanmar 6LPAM-STZP hp diesel engines and bolted to MercCruiser Bravo One X out-drives, the 9,600-pound Island Runner has a top speed of 55 miles per hour.

At a speed of 34 mph, the Island Runner has a range of 1,300 miles, with 20 gallons of fuel to spare! She holds 340 gallons of diesel fuel and burns only 8.4 gallons at 3,000 RPMs. At 3,000 RPMs, the 36-foot Island Runner has a speed of 34 miles per hour. The Yanmar diesels are high rpm engines and rev up to a maximum of 4,000 RPMs.

Keeping in mind that diesel fuel is normally running 35 cents cheaper than gas at the docks, this could mean a big savings for both pleasure boaters and SKA tournament fishermen as well. As of March 1st, the Fernandina Beach City Marina, located in Northeast Florida, was selling gas for $2.79 per gallon and diesel fuel for $2.42 per gallon.

However the majority of major players in the Southern Kingfish Association tournament trail are still rigging their competitive center console fishing boats with gas burning outboard engines. Outboard engines are still some $10,000 cheaper than diesel engines. Outboard engines also weigh from 200 to 400 pounds less than diesel engines as well.

Diesel engines also take up a lot of room at the transom of the boat as well; while outboard engines are simply bolted onto the transom of the center console fishing boat, leaving plenty of room for fish boxes, live bait wells and storage. More importantly, you have more room to access electrical components including bilge and trim tab pumps, normally located at the transom of the center console fishing boat.

However Dusky Marine has solved this problem and rigged their 33-foot center console fishing boat with a single diesel engine just behind the boat's console, leaving plenty of room at the transom of their vented hull fishing boat. What's really neat about this single powered diesel fishing boat is the twin out-drives that are coupled to the diesel engine with MercCruiser out-drives!

Not only does the Dusky 33 save valuable fishing room and weigh several hundred pounds less than twin powered diesel center console fishing boats, it still has the ability to maneuver just like a twin screw fishing boat!

At the helm of the Dusky are a pair of levers that individually shift both out-drives in and out of gear, allowing the operated to maneuver into a tight dock slip, or simply turn the boat on a dime!

Yellowfin Marine's Wiley Negler is presently building a 42-foot center console fishing boat which can be rigged with up to four outboard engines. Yellowfin's 36-foot center console fishing boat can be rigged with triple outboards, with a maximum of 900 hp and has a light dry hull weight of 6,500 pounds. Look for the new 42 Yellowfin center console fishing boat to carry on the same speedy and super-strong construction characteristics that Wiley Negler has designed into all of his Yellowfin fishing boats.

Yellowfin's 36-foot center console fishing boat also has a standard 525-gallon fuel cell, when rigged with triple outboards.

Donzi's 38-foot center console fishing boat weighs 9,800 pounds and can be rigged with triple outboards with a maximum horsepower of 825. The fuel capacity is 325 gallons.

Fountain's 38-foot center console fishing boat weighs 10,600 pounds and has a standard 287-gallon fuel cell, while recommending triple Mercury 275 horsepower outboards.

Contender's 36-foot center console fishing boat has a dry hull weight of 7,050 pounds and has a standard 410-gallon fuel cell. She can handle up to 900 horsepower.

Triton's 35-foot center console fishing boat has a dry hull weight of 8,532 pounds, a 355-gallon standard fuel cell and is rated for up to 900-horsepower.

Interestingly, most of these big center console fishing boats will burn from 30 to 35 gallons per hour at a cruising speed of 40 miles per hour when rigged with triple Mercury Verado 250 or 275 hp outboards.

Most outboard powered center console fishing boats have a cruising range of 450 to 600 miles. Diesel powered center console fishing boats may keep on running, just like the battery commercial!



Pro Tip by Terry Lacoss
Once you have obtained sponsors for your Southern Kingfish Association tournament team, your fishing team now has the opportunity to showcase them on your clothing, tow vehicle, web site and more importantly on your boat.

Be sure and place logos in your boat where they will appear when photos are taken of fishing action and big kingfish catches. Key areas include the bow, console and transom of your fishing boat.

Carry along a digital camera during future fishing trips and take pictures of big catches with their logos in the background. Once they have been downloaded into your computer, it is easy to e-mail them to your sponsors.

You can also e-mail these photos to newspaper and magazine writers, who are always looking for great fishing shots to go along with their articles!

Finally it is always easier to split the cost of wrapping your boat by including all of your major sponsors, instead of just one sponsor.

Photo- Don Combs and Dennis Sergeant's 38-foot Fountain fishing boat showcases their sponsors with a beautiful boat wrap.