THINK SMART
Looking for an easy to use 17ft boat, then the Smart liner 17 Cabin could be just right…
A wide range of different size boats are used by sea anglers throughout the UK, and if there were a common denominator, then it would be something along the lines of a 17ft hull with an open cuddy.
Such a boat is easy to launch and retrieve from both hard slipways and the beach, will fish two or three anglers in absolute comfort, and is ideal for fishing both inshore and, obviously depending on conditions, offshore marks.
The Smart liner 17 Cabin is exactly the sort of boat I am talking about. With an overall length of 5m and a 2.25m beam, she draws 0.38m, while displacing 600kg. She has a nominal trailing weight of 850kg, conforms to CE Category C, and is rated for use with outboard engines up to 60hp, while carrying up to five persons. Of course, attempting to fish five would be highly impractical; ideally, this is a two to three-person boat.
KEY FEATURES
The cuddy features large, tinted windows that offer excellent all-round visibility, and which have been bonded in for maximum strength. The cuddy also features a large opening fore hatch, providing easy, safe access to the bow to set or haul the anchor, which is stored in a spacious bow locker.
There are three individual stowage hatches incorporated within the cuddy, the forward one is massive; perfect for stowing large and bulky items such as flotation suits, lifejackets or waders used for launching and recovery. The port locker is designed to stow fishing rods. The console is sited to starboard and is typical for boats in this class.
The Smartliner 17 Cabin is marketed as a fishing/day boat and, with this in mind, her designers have included a, thankfully, removable table, as an optional extra. In situ this completely dominates the space beneath the cuddy, and I cannot imagine any anglers actually using this. Fixed pedestal seating is provided for both the helmsman and one crew.
The aft cockpit is self-draining, and features a moulded non-slip finish. Inboard freeboard is excellent, and grab handles are provided at strategic locations to enhance safety. A key feature is an aerated livebait well incorporated within the starboard quarter seat. Another especially practical feature is a removable transom section that allows the engine to be fully trimmed when removed and stowed vertically, effectively boxing off the space beneath the transom. Repositioned, this serves as a useful fill-in section to create a full-beam transom seat.
A transom boarding ladder, something I consider essential aboard every boat, is included to port.
I like the clear 75-litre fuel tank, which is located to port beneath the transom. This allows you to check at a glance exactly how much fuel is left, which is more reliable than any fuel gauge.
All necessary deck hardware, including four rod holders, is provided fitted as standard, and a comprehensive range of optional extras including the cuddy table, cushions, mooring cover, Bimini top, and various items of safety equipment and electronics are available.
The Smartliner 17 Cabin is rated for use with engines up to a maximum of 60hp, the test boat was fitted with a Tohatsu 50hp four-stroke.
MANUFACTURER’S OBJECTIVES
When designing this range of boats, one of the manufacturer’s objectives was to offer a range of hulls that plane at low speed, in addition to providing sufficient running speed when fitted with relatively small engines. Obviously, this equates to cash savings both at the time of purchase, along with day-to-day running and maintenance.
In this it has clearly been successful; when fitted with a 50hp engine, speeds up to 23 knots are achievable, 28 knots with a larger 60hp, and 17 knots with just 40hp.
My brief sea trial aboard the Smartliner 17 Cabin had been arranged by the range’s UK importers, South West Yacht Brokers Ltd, of Plymouth, Devon.
Conditions within Plymouth Sound were pretty much flat calm, which allowed this fine boat to really show her capabilities. Run at various speeds and pushed hard into a range of testing manoeuvres, she handled impeccably. The hull cut cleanly through the wake from passing boats, with no spray getting thrown aboard. Even when driven hard into the tightest high-speed turns, she tracked true, without displaying the slightest hint of cavitation.
Over the years I have tested various other models from the extensive Smartliner range, and these trials have included days during which we experienced far more demanding sea conditions, and always I have gone away impressed by the experience.
Had I been able to experience rougher conditions on this day, I have no reason to believe I would be any less impressed.