Southland legend

IMAGE BOATS HAS been building robust, seaworthy bluewater boats at its Invercargill factory for 15 years. Founder Dean Wilkes has 35 years’ experience in designing and building alloy boats, and has developed his Image range on the testbeds of Foveaux Strait, Milford Sound and the Central Otago Lakes District. He builds eight to 10 boats per year and has a staff of eight full-timers and one part-timer.

ON THE WATER

Taking the helm was a pleasure. Respect slid onto the plane with a solid feel and ate up any bumps in the surface. Her deep-vee, full bow sections and the well positioned chines offer a two-stage dampening of what could have been slamming conditions. The vee of the bow broke the initial force of the wave and the chines offered an additional cushioning effect to this broken water.

As Dean says, “You don’t set out in bad weather, but you do come home in it occasionally.”

The chines also came in handy during some tight manoeuvring required by the team on the photo boat. Their full length and placement in sync with the reverse-sheer side panels seemed to give a noticeable bite to the hull on the corners. There was a reassuring sensation that the hull would hang on, and the two Suzukis showed no indication of cavitating; a sure sign of a well-designed motor and hull package. With no shortage of horsepower, acceleration was excellent – at one point, while I had my head in my notes, it knocked me clean off my feet.

The 21-nautical mile voyage to Pigeon Island gave us plenty of time to experiment with revs and trim. Comfortable cruise speed was around 25 knots at 4300rpm with a fuel consumption of 25 litres per hour per engine. Giving Respect the “turrrps” and taking her up to the maximum 6200rpm allowed by the limiter on the engine computer saw us achieve a comfortable 38 knots.

Our arrival at the beach at Pigeon Island met with a reassuring scrunch of well-engineered aluminum on gravel, as we nosed into the beach. It was the kind of scrunch that would have had the owner of a fibreglass boat yelling, “Mind the gelcoat,” yet Trevor was all smiles. He calmly stepped down the boarding ladder that hinges forward from the pulpit – a popular feature on South Island boats.

We stood on the beach admiring her lines and discussing the places she might go, while Tim and James thawed out. Next time, no doubt, they’ll insist on riding in the heated cab. B