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Designing and building a boat that will suit every anglers needs is nigh on impossible.
But for those who pursue their passion in unprotected waters there are a few non-negotiables like ride comfort, deck space, stability and storage. The LeisureCat 9000 Kingfisher delivers in all those areas. But when it comes to deciding on the layout and features the guys at LeisureCat provide the owner with an array of options so they can customise the boat to suit their personal requirements.
BoatAdvice Managing Editor, Steve Lague, took this big cat for a test off the WA coast and while the weather conditions were not exactly testing there is was enough chop on the water to provide a good indication of its blue-water credentials.
But even before we took the boat out on the water it was hard not to be impressed by the size of the cockpit area, and the set-up of this boat. As I said earlier, deck space is an important component of any fishing boat and the self-draining back deck on the 9000 Kingfisher is huge. On this boat the owner has made a Gamex game chair the central component. He has also added this large live bait tank that sits under the settee lounge under the hardtop roof. And when he does hook onto something big there is plenty of room for his catch. How is this for a kill tank, and there is another one on the other side. The tubs also lift out, which makes getting your catch off the boat an easy, no-mess, operation, to expose a massive storage area that will swallow a heap of gear, even craypots.
Sitting here at the helm you have an uninterrupted view ahead thanks to the one-piece glass windscreen. All of the controls are well placed, all the switches are easy to get to and this massive 16-inch Garmin multi-function display provides all the information you need. And the skipper seats has a bolster so you can drive either sitting down or standing up.
The massive hardtop, windscreen and sliding windows protect you and your crew, protection from the elements. The settee on the port side provides seating for passengers and there is a massive grab rail hanging from the hardtop for those who prefer to stand.
The LeisureCat 9000 Kingfisher we are testing today has been fitted with twin 250hp Suzuki four-stroke outboards, you can opt for a diesel stern drive configuration.
While this might be a big cat that is nearly 30ft long and over 12ft wide and weighs a hefty 4500kg it drives like a trailer boat and I don’t mean that as a negative. I was really surprised at how responsive it was to any input on the throttles and with a top speed of 42 knots it is going to get you where you want to be very quickly.
This is a great boat that will suit any serious offshore fisherman.