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43' Sport Fisherman

The 43' Sport Fisherman was being designed for an Australian client who admired American style sport fishing boats. Although Australia is known for its great fishing, the client planned to use the boat mostly for cruising with his family. Her styling is pretty straightforward, with a broken sheer line similar to the Carolina boats. The flaring bow transitions to tumblehome at the stern. Her bottom is a convex V-shape with a fine entry and down angled chine flats. Deadrise at the transom is about 12 degrees.

The interior layout is also fairly simple in order to ease construction. As you enter the saloon, the galley stretches along the starboard side. She has an LPG range so that the generator will not have to be started first thing in the morning in order to make breakfast. To port is a large 'L' shaped settee with a hi-lo table. The client figured most of their meals would be served on deck, so doing away with the dinette was a good way to gain interior space. A TV and stereo are housed in a locker forward of the settee, under the "windshield".

Moving forward, the electrical panels are to starboard, outboard of the companionway steps. At the bottom of the steps, the head compartment is to starboard and features a large shower stall. Rather than squeezing two small heads onto the boat, the choice was to have one nice one. I think this is a great trade off and really simplifies the interior as well as the machinery installation. On the port side is the master stateroom with a large double berth. In the forward outboard corner is a large hanging locker. There are cabinets running along the outboard side of the berth, from the head of the berth to the locker.

The forward stateroom has three berths, two to port and one to starboard. The starboard berth is raised, allowing for a storage locker with drawers underneath. A large hanging locker is aft to starboard. This stateroom was meant for the clients three children. While it is pretty roomy for a boat this size, I hope they all get along!

The cockpit is typical for this type of boat, with prep centers stretching across the forward end. In the starboard console is a sink and cutting board. The port console features a large freezer, a baitwell and engine room access on centerline. Room has been left for a fighting chair if one is ever needed. Hatches in the sole provide access to the lazarette and the genset. A transom door is to starboard.

Her flying bridge is accessed by a ladder to port from the cockpit. The helm is on centerline and features a Carolina style steering "bubble" with the gear levers on each side. Forward of the wheel is a large surface for mounting electronics. A bench seat spans the front of the helm console, providing room for 3-4 people. There should be plenty of storage below the console and under the sloping forward bridge face.

Her engine room is fairly straightforward as well. Outboard of the engines are the water tanks, one each to port and starboard. The black water holding tank and is forward on the starboard side. The A/C compressors and the water heater are also in this area, in a space just forward of the engine room, aft of the head compartment. On the port side, mounted on the forward engine room bulkhead, is a 300 gpd watermaker. There is a second entry/exit under the companionway stairs forward. All engine rooms should have at least two exits in case a fire is blocking one.

The single fuel tank is aft, below the forward end of the cockpit. Just aft of the fuel tank is the generator. The service hatch for the generator is aft to avoid any water dripping on the generator and turning it into a pile of rust. The aft location also insures the cabin will be relatively quiet when it is running.

The client planned to build this boat himself, possibly hiring some help with the hull and deck. Her construction was to be all composite utilizing DuFlex panels and strips from ATL Composites. These are covered with additional layers of GRP set in epoxy. Her stringers are foam cored GRP, as are her bulkheads. The deck and superstructure are also made up from DuFlex panels. Overall, she should be a fairly lightweight boat. The design was fairly well advanced when the client had to pull the plug. He was moving and starting up his own business. The expense of continuing the design as well as building the boat was just too much. I was really excited about this design and was hoping I could finish it someday.

I actually think about this one a lot as there are a number of things I'd change to Americanize it a bit. I'd add tunnels for the props, thus moving the engines aft a bit. The engines would be changed to Cummins, which I have already designed in just in case the deal for the Iveco diesels fell through. I'd move the master stateroom to the bow and put a standard upper/lower bunk stateroom to port. The head would stay about the same, I like the big roomy head as opposed to a couple of little ones. I would probably reduce the water capacity and lose the watermaker as most Americans use these things like day boats. Lastly, as DuFlex panels aren't readily available here in the US, I would change her to foam core composites or strip plank composite. Now all I need is a lot of time . . .