Boat test: Arvor 705 Sportsfish

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au There is no doubt that European styled and imported boats are gaining traction in Australian waters. Over the last couple of years we have seen several large European brands hit Australian shores and find a loyal customer base. Nearly universally these rigs are cruising-style boats, with some made specifically for fishing. They are beamy, deep and not a hull designed for high speed, but they do offer lots of comfort for their users.

Brisbane’s John Crawford Marine has specialised in used boats for the last 55 years in the eastern suburbs. Matt Hodson and the team have a reputation for taking the time to explain – especially to new boaties – the intricacies of owning a boat. What I didn’t know was that they

600..................................4 ....................... 1.75 1000................................7 ....................... 1.84 2000.............................. 12 ....................... 1.18 3000.............................. 20 ...................... 1.10 3500.............................. 31 ....................... 1.35 4000.............................. 41 ....................... 1.37 4500.............................. 48 ....................... 1.29 5000.............................. 55 ....................... 1.06 5500.............................. 63 ....................... 0.89 Main: The Arvor 705 is a distinctive European hull, but boasts selfdraining decks, high gunwales and fantastic stability. It’s well worth checking out as a serious fishing boat in Australian waters. Above: Powered by Mercury’s V6 225hp outboard, the rig reached 63km/h at wide open throttle and 5500rpm.

225hp is the maximum rated engine for this boat. Anecdotally, it performs very well with a 150hp as well. The hulls are designed to work with lower horsepower than we would expect in Australia.

have been the Arvor dealer in my part of the country for a long time as well.

Matt arrived at the ramp at Manly on Brisbane’s Moreton Bay with a brand new Arvor 705 Sportsfish. Powered by a V6 Mercury 225hp outboard and carried on a Redco aluminium I Beam trailer, it sure looked the part behind his Landcruiser.

This hull has been built especially for fishing and features self-draining decks, high gunwales and some neat, underfloor, plumbed tanks that keep your catch from messing up the deck.

The hero of this boat, though, is the lockable cabin with three doors – one at the rear and one on each side. Apart from the security advantages of being fully lockable, the three doors allow you to manage airflow in the cabin.

And having enclosed cabin is important because of the hull design. The Arvors feature a blunt bow and do throw spray in any sort of a sea. The best place to be when you’re quartering it? Inside the cabin.

In the video of this boat test, Matt explains the advantages of this hull design.

“The design team from Arvor make absolutely no excuses about the design… there’s no way that we have the softest riding hull. What we do have is a hull that at rest has superior stability, which is what you need when you’re fishing, jigging or having lunch,” he said.

“The fully-enclosed wheelhouse has dual windscreen wipers and can deal with any spray the If you are a purist sight angler, this may not be the boat for you; the front casting deck isn’t huge. But if you’re after a stable platform with high gunwales, the Arvor may well be your boat.

Top Left: There is a small seat in the middle of the front casting deck. Top Right: The anchor winch is neatly located under a flush hatch. Anchoring is push button. Bottom Left: The hard top is solid and has rails to grab in the right places when moving from bow to stern. There is a sunroof and plenty of other room for mounting radars or extra storage. Bottom Right: The addition of a bow thruster is pretty neat and lets you manoeuvre around docks with ease. blunt hull throws up. The beam that carries forward gives us more volume, and what that means is that the toilet can have a holding tank and we can take some environmental responsibility rather than pumping it out,” he continued.

Indeed, there’s lot of boat for its length. Although called a 705, the actual hull length is 6.45m. We haven’t seen many boats with more crammed into them than this Arvor.

The rig is powered by the maximum horsepower, 225 Mercury V6 4-stroke. Spinning a 15” Enertia, 3-blade stainless steel propeller, it got to 63km/h at 5500rpm achieving 0.89km/L. The best cruising speed was at 4,000rpm where it delivered 1.37km/L at 41km/h.

Couple that with a 200L fuel tank and you have a theoretical range of around 250km at economical cruising speeds. Is this enough for your purposes?

Driving the rig was a breeze, especially with Mercury’s Active Trim engaged. This takes over boat trimming for you and although most experienced boaties’ first impressions would be that they don’t need the motor to do that for them, the fact is that it’s like an automatic car. Once you stop reaching for the trim button, you can appreciate that it makes driving easier.

You do need to be careful of the side sliding doors and to latch them in place – whether closed or open. They can slam shut if you forget to do this and they are built solidly.

Back to the transom, and there are transom doors on either side and a 4-rung sliding ladder on the starboard side. This is essential for getting in and out of the boat when it’s on the trailer. It’s just too high to get in any other way.

The Aussie-built bait station is mounted on top of the live bait well and folds forward on the centre section when the motor needs to be trimmed all of the way up.

The cockpit boasts a couple of folding seats that

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The 4-rung ladder is essential for getting in and out of the boat while on the trailer. Matt points out it’s useful while swimming as well. to the ocean. This would be great for bleeding fish and packing your catch. It pumps water in with the switches mounted near it.

These hatches are all heavy, and thankfully supported by gas struts.

The cabin is slightly offset to give more space on the starboard side, where you’ll do most of your berthing. I didn’t notice this until I did the full walk around and had to squeeze around on the port side. Both sides have rails on the hard top to let you move easily between the bow and stern.

You can open and close the cabin doors in a variety of ways to maximise ventilation while underway.

The cabin itself is designed to maximise utility. The test boat features a fridge and area for food preparation. Small luxuries like this make this fishing boat very family-friendly.

The helm features great visibility, which never With lockable external doors, the need for a hard cabin door is questionable, however it does allow privacy for going to the toilet, and taking some time out on the short bunks. Dashboard wiring is neatly tucked away behind a screen.

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are mounted in delightfully strong and easy to deploy stainless steel frames. Under the cockpit floor, there’s a large centre hatch that holds the table and leg underfloor as well as giving access to the bilge.

Alongside this is a pair of kill boxes, one of which is plumbed and drains directly

Length (hull) ...... 6.45m Length (overall) . 6.63m Beam................. 2.54m Draft.................. 0.53m Dry weight .......1,825kg Capacity (weight) 830kg Capacity........7 persons Fuel .....................200L Max HP ................. 225

The stainless steel, folding seat mechanism is amongst the strongest we’ve seen. Matt says that a 10-year-old can fold them out and stow them with ease.

Top Left: The black bait board is a John Crawford Marine addition. You need to fold it down, though, to trim the motor all the way up. Top Right: That’s the table stowed under the deck and the table leg mounted underneath the lid. Bottom Left: As well as the speakers and various lighting, there is an air transfer system between the inside and outside of the cabin built into the hard top. Bottom Right: Anglers will like these – plumbed kill-wells with pumps that drain straight to the hull exterior. seems to be a problem in the hard-topped boats I have tested, and the layout means everything is visible and accessible.

We thought that the solid cabin door was a little bit of an overkill; it never really needs to be locked with the outside doors. The toilet was offset and well located. It gives you a little more privacy than sitting facing the stern.

It’s definitely not a 2-berth cabin where you and your mate can stretch out for a good night’s sleep. It is too short for that. It’s more a place to get out of the bustle or give the kids a nap.

For’ard the front deck is small, but still large enough for a single angler to fish from. Under it, the anchor winch is housed.

This rig is at the limits of what you’d tow with a twin-cab ute. You’d have to make sure that you manage your combined vehicle masses on a big trip away, but it can be done. Also, with a beam

The helm is neatly set out and uses Mercury’s digital throttle and shift. Integration with the Simrad is cool, too. We love that you can control the sounder screen brightness with a button on the motor controls. That’s what happens when one company owns all of the component manufacturers. Brunswick is big on integration.

of 2.54m, you’ll need to run an OVERSIZE flag for towing, but it’s not as difficult as it seems.

You can expect to pay $174,000 for this rig as tested on the Redco trailer, although make the motor 150hp and ditch the trailer and you can start at around $120,000.

Thanks to Queensland’s Arvor dealer, Matthew Hodson of John Crawford Marine for the opportunity to test this amazing new model from Arvor. To find your state dealer, head to www. arvor.com.au