Introducing
one of the few genuinely new and very innovative GRP boats we've
seen in Australia in several years. A fibreglass trihull, this
new entry has a wide range of applications and is sure to be a
real success in both the commercial and recreational markets.
Released at the 2001 Brisbane Boat Show, the Lifestyle 6700
is without doubt, one of the most interesting new fibreglass boats
we've seen in some years. Absolutely brim full of excellent ideas;
the Lifestyle 6700 is the culmination of experience and skill
from three blokes who between them share more than 50 years of
boating experience.
Down in SA, many readers will remember the name Steve Peake.
Steve, hailing originally from SkipperCraft in that state, has
been working up on the Sunshine Coast now for several years. He
has quite a few notches on his plug makers belt, not least of
which is a wide range of the current Noosacats, many of which
have been tooled by this very talented craftsman.
Chris
Reynolds is another bloke with Noosacat involvement - he's been
one of their key employees for several years and in fact it was
at Noosacat where the two men met up with each other and discovered
a rapport that ultimately led them to create a business together.
The third player in the team is Steve Evans, the Solas Propeller
man well known to F&B readers because he has personally helped
out hundreds of our readers over the years. He is deservedly known
as Steve, The Prop Doctor throughout Australia.
Steve is a very switched on marketing man, with a vast knowledge
of the Australian dealer network and how boat distribution systems
work, so he became involved in the Lifestyle Project too.
So perhaps it's not all that surprising that these three men
came up with such a polished craft. Few would argue that Steve
Peake is one of Australia's foremost plug makers, and with input
from his two colleagues, what you see here is one of the most
competently produced trailerboats available in Australia.
Lifestyle
Boats are never going to be a threat to the Haines Signatures
and Seafarers of the world, nor is that in their business plan.
They see themselves as occupying a niche in the overall scheme
of things, contentedly building a very high quality fibreglass
boat on the basis of one, perhaps even two boats a month, at best.
In this way, they hope to retain the same sort of flexibility
and individual attention that has made plate aluminium boat building
so attractive to the more experienced buyers dominating today's
market place.
By keeping their production team small, and their output carefully
controlled, Lifestyle Boats can retain a degree of customer involvement
not normally found in the fibreglass world.
Design
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| Stability at rest is excellent;
ideal for bottom fishing or trolling. |
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This is a very good looking tri, isn't it? When they first pulled
into the car park, I was amazed at the sleek, slim lines of the
craft, and delighted to find the mouldings were of such a high
standard. The craft is right up "there" with the best of Australian
GRP standards.
Testing boats 'out of the box' is always a bit of a worry, because
more often than not, the standard of mould making or glass production
leaves a great deal to be desired. Not here - this is a boat that's
equal to any in its class, with a very high standard of moulding,
very attractive lines, and a direct application to all sorts of
boating, be it recreational or commercial.
But let's take a closer look at what makes it work.
Upfront, we're looking at a fibreglass trihull, or as it would
be known in some quarters, a "gullwing". From the writer's viewpoint,
calling it a trihull is more accurate than calling it a gullwing,
because this is indeed a fair dinkum tri. Typically, the forefoot
and "mouth" area are the critical zones, and getting the
shape of these areas right is what occupied many months of Steve
Peake's time.
This is where the boat meets the water. Unlike a monohull, this
boat has three separate hull shapes to get into a wave and out
the other side without going Kerbang! in the process. Most whalers,
tris and for that matter, many cats fall apart when the skipper
brings the boat about and heads directly into the sea.
Head-on is the Achilles heel of almost all these multihull craft.
Understandably, we were very keen to find out how this design
coped in choppy water, but looking at the boat in the car park,
and studying the underwater lines, I must admit I was singularly
impressed. The laminar flow of water through the tunnels of this
boat is quite impressive, and has obviously been subject to some
meticulous workmanship and planning. Very interesting!
As you can see in the photographs, it's a big tri, measuring
6.7m LOA with a maximum beam of 2.5m, a draft of approximately
300mm and a highway weight, complete with boat, motor and trailer
on the weighbridge of 1.980 tonnes. That's with the 130hp Honda
as shown here, and a tandem axle, hydraulic actuated disc braked
Tinka trailer.
It's not a 'pretend' walkaround. There is a really good trench
right around the cabin. It's big enough to allow oversized blokes
like the writer to walk around the cabin in safety and comfort.
You're not squeezed between the coamings and the 'shed' nor do
you have to position your bum over the side to get around the
cabin.
It's one step up and an easy walk up front to the forward fishing
area and the two marvellous anchor lockers. No kidding, this is
one of the best foredeck set-ups I've seen. It has two huge anchor
lockers, both big enough to take a decent sized (15 lb) plough
anchor and chain on one side and a nylon warp Danforth anchor
on the other.
The windscreen is a nice piece of armour glass, and although
the cabin obviously comes inside the maximum beam quite a way,
it's interesting to note you don't really feel as compressed or
tight as you do in many other craft. The two helmsman's chairs
sit well together, both swivel easily and with the addition of
the clears and bimini shown, a practical wheelhouse set-up is
created.
One step down into the cabin reveals more excellent planning.
Although the berths are only 5'8" long (1.72m) there is actually
plenty of room to sleep albeit 6 footers will have to curl up
a bit as the bunks are only just 5'8" wide. Interestingly, with
the fill-in panel in place, the width of the cabin (or the resultant
double berth) is 5'6" across the boat as well - so there's plenty
of play room in here for the energetically inclined.
A toilet can be fitted between the berths, and in the test boat
was one of the pump-out varieties. The boys can easily build in
a holding tank for areas where the sewerage issue is particularly
sensitive. For trailer boat owners, a chemical toilet slots into
the same position.
Back up into the cockpit, the test boat was fitted with some
very nice (optional) seat mouldings embracing a galley unit on
the port side and an ice chest and live bait tank on the starboard.
Again, this is all very good design.
Performance
As you can see in the photographs, it was a pretty awful sort
of day, with a strong sou-easterly blowing, and a gale due in
that arrived (fortunately) just after we finished the test. Nevertheless,
it was blowing up enough to make the seas offshore pretty sloppy,
and with five of us onboard, the Lifestyle 6700 was working fairly
hard to keep it all together in the manner we'd like with only
130hp on the transom.
This boat is actually rated for 225hp 4-strokes, or two x 115hp
2 or 4strokes on the transom - or for that matter, a diesel or
petrol sterndrive.
But the 130 Honda was struggling a bit with the load, especially
as we came across the bar. It all worked properly, we didn't have
any dramas, but I just thought it was a bit sluggish with a heavy
load of blokes onboard (sorry, Ruth) and I would have liked to
have seen more horsepower with a better power weight ratio on
the transom on this particular boat.
Having said that, if I lived in Sydney and went boating on the
Hawkesbury River most weekends, then the 130hp Honda would be
just about the perfect choice. It turned in a top speed of just
on 28 knots, and we thought that was good for a heavily laden
boat. Without all the bodies onboard, I've no doubt whatsoever
we'd be pulling a clear 30 knots very easily.
In answer to the BIG question; does it thump? Then the answer
is a qualified "yes" but "no". Okay, what does that mean?
It means that for the bulk of the offshore work we undertook
the boat was fantastic. There was scarcely any thump or bump to
speak off, lateral stability is unreal (as you would expect) and
it doesn't have anything like the fore and aft peaking or sensitivity
that you get in cats where you have to be very careful not to
load up the corners too much because the displacement isn't there
to carry too much weight.
In this case, it doesn't really make that much difference -
there's plenty of buoyancy down the bum of this boat and more
than enough to carry two 4 strokes, let alone one. In fact, I
suspect the boat's handling would be even better if it had the
weight of two 4 strokes on the transom because then that would
in turn lift the bow up even more than it is now and promote (I
suspect) an even softer, bang-free ride.
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| Construction values are very
high; no wood is used in the GRP construction. |
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Okay, back to the thumps and bumps. The boat still does bang
a little bit inshore funnily enough, especially in waters around
450-600mm tall in the bay. It was difficult to establish that
one speed was actually better than another so as a result, we
tended to travel across the chop flat stick in order to minimise
the wetted area - this is a good technique usually, and it works
well here, too.
I don't want you to take this out of perspective. The ride is
more than acceptable in all the mid-range speeds, and I don't
think it's all that much harder riding than many of the top brand
monohulls that we've tested.
Offshore, working in the seaway, it's a very confidence building
boat. As noted, the stability is excellent; it's very comfortable
to walk around and it doesn't have nearly as much 'rock and roll'
on the pick as many monos.
We're able to confirm that the Lifestyle 6700 is a very good
compromise between the advantages of a cat and the advantages
of a mono, with minimal disadvantages of either strain.
In the safety department, the Lifestyle 6700 is a clear winner
amongst its GRP peers.
It has one of the highest levels of inherent boat safety we've
ever encountered, with multiple glassed-in air compartments ("positive"
foam floatation is an optional extra), a self draining cockpit
- and is genuinely unsinkable without cutting it up with a chain
saw.
And on top of all this, it only needs one engine. So it gets
very close to that dream situation where you are approaching the
ride and stability levels of a cat, with the performance, handling
and economy of a mono.
We found it was an unusually dry boat too, and especially so
for a tri.
Usually, the slabby sides of a tri (or some cats) doesn't engender
dryness in a seaway, but it was pleasing to note that such is
the bow lift of the centre hull, the two outer sponsons are mostly
out of the water anyway. It's only in really rough and choppy
conditions that they engage the water surface. Even then, the
curved chine on the outer sponsons rolls the water back down to
the sea, thus deflecting most of the loose spray.
Summarising the performance is easy - offshore handling and
ride we'd score it 7.5-8.0 out of a possible 10, with 9.5 for
safety with the positive foam floatation installed, and 7.5-8.0
for style and intrinsic appeal. I liked it - it looks really good
in the flesh.
Application
Well, there's not much you can't do in this boat. Obviously
it's going to be a fabulous fishing boat with the addition of
a bait board and the usual toys such as outriggers, downriggers,
depth sounder etc. As a fishing boat it's a ripper because it's
very comfortable underfoot, the cockpit is a particularly nice
size - not too big, not too small, and it's nicely uncluttered
- no rear seats or squabs although I daresay a lounge could be
added if you needed one for the rellos.
It's also a boat with terrific family appeal and potential,
especially from the safety viewpoint. I keep hammering this issue
of safety because it's one of the very, very rare boats in Australia
that can be purchased with either sealed air tanks right through
the chassis sub structure, and/or positive foam buoyancy to make
it completely unsinkable. Given the publicity around the need
for boats to become unsinkable, it's true to say that the Lifestyle
6700 is one of the first cabs off the safety rank. And for many
family people that is a terrific advantage. Full stop.
In cruising mode, this could easily be converted into a wonderful
weekend cruiser for a couple, and with the addition of cockpit
curtains and canopies, the whole rear cockpit could be made into
a snug tent or cabin that's folded away during the day. Lot's
of potential here, be it a fishing boat, a family cruising machine
or an island hopper for an escapist couple, there's no doubt the
Lifestyle 6700 is well named.
Construction
Steve Peake has built this boat without a splinter of wood.
An all fibreglass construction, it will still be working hard
when most of us are pushing up the daisies.
Steve and Chris are deservedly proud of their very high construction
standard. Utilising fibreglass stringers, bearers, GRP cockpit
sole, cupboards and dash arrangement, it really is a very fine
example of the plug maker's art.
Conclusion
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| Cabin area is surprisingly
roomy - and nearly as wide as it is long. |
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One of the better boats we've tested in a long while. Easily
one of the most interesting, and one of the most practical. I'd
love to see more people in a boat like this because small manufacturers
like the Lifestyle Boats' team deserve to be supported if only
to reward them for the courage, initiative and skill they've shown
in developing such a fine craft.
I think it's going to make a wonderful fishing boat, and you
can see half a dozen of these plying their way out of the far
NSW South Coast ports such as Bermagui and Eden with two or three
anglers onboard.
Personally, I'd prefer a bit more horsepower than we had with
the 130hp Honda, but please keep in mind we did have five big
adults onboard during the test, and this no doubt impacted on
the boat's handling and performance.
That said, I think it is a pretty big ask for 130hp to push
a big 20' long full beamed fibreglass cruiser, so I'm not casting
aspersions at Honda so much as reminding readers that if they
live and work in areas with a strong river barred entrance (Port
Macquarie, Narooma, the Tweed, etc) then definitely, I'd order
this boat with up to 175hp on the transom - or my other preference
would be for twin 80-100 hp Yamahas.
But as noted earlier, if you live and work in flat water areas
such as the Pittwater, Brisbane Waters, Port Phillip Bay, Moreton
Bay etc, and there are only two or three of you onboard usually,
then the 130hp Honda as fitted here is more than ample for quite
pleasing 28 knot performance.
All in all, an excellent new addition to the recreational fleet
and one we believe is destined to achieve a real measure of success
this summer.
For further enquiries please ring Chris
Reynolds.
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