Specification:
Length: 19' 3"
Beam: 6' 11"
Weight: 1300lb
Engine: Yamaha 60 FETOL
Country of Manufacture: U.K.

Report from Sue & Jeri

Following 12 years of ownership of an Orkney Strikeliner, we were often approached by Orkney at the various boat show - 'when are you going to replace the Strikeliner?'

Our frequent reply, was when we need to, and when they get a slightly larger boat that we liked; as the 19' Fastliner was an older design that we were not happy with. Having at various times during our Strikeliner ownership, we had looked at other boats, but always been critical of the weight, power requirements and lack or economy of the various makes & models we viewed, as well as the cost.

That was until we were at the London Boat Show with a stand for the Shark tagging Programme, about January 1998; when they brought out their new 19 footer- the 590TT. We climbed all over that show model, taking plenty of time to be very critical of the gains and benefits, when weighed against the cost; having as well pretty much reached the limit of the Strikeliner, in effective working range.

The 590TT was duly ordered with cuddy, Yamaha 60 FETOL, trailer and three of their standard seat boxes. We were keen to fit the boat out to our own design and layout, as we had specific plans apart from the standard inshore and coastal fishing.

'Tetsuku', our Strikeliner was taken in part exchange, and we collected the new boat in late March 1998. We had retained some of the electronics, and added to the overall package as follows:

Garmin GPS Map Plotter 210, with a Garmin Differential Unit linked, to overcome some of the then problems with variable GPS reception, thus able to retain a realistic level of accuracy.

Koden CVS105 colour sounder with a pair of transducers (200/50 Khzt) to cover both deep and shallow water situations, as we were anticipating working some fishing areas that were well over 150 m deep.

Icom M59 VHF receiver, with a 8' long GRP antenna mounted on the cuddy top, to give us maximum range while afloat.

Flares, anchors, warp, chain, fire extinguisher, radar reflector, first aid kit and a small cooker completed the general kit.

Two seat units were used in the traditional fashion, and being storage units, we used one for mounting a tackle tray system, and the other was used for the dual battery set up. The third seat unit was mounted at the rear of the deck, and had a series of large holes drilled in the upper rear edge, with a pumped supply of sea water coming from a transom mounted bilge pump, this set up served well as a live bait well, and also as fish storage for catches. The unit could never be over filled, as the holes at the top more than coped with the incoming pumped supply. We found that with frequent top-ups of fresh water, we could keep up to 8 Mackerel fresh and alive for a good period. The only reason it worked so well was the fact that the deck on the 590TT is self-draining, through rear scuppers.

Once fitted out, the boat started a fairly strenuous regime of fishing trips, with West Bay, East Solent, Ireland and Penzance being the most frequent ports of call/launch. The boat being heavier than the Strikeliner gave us a greater 'window of operations', meaning that it was still quite comfortable in seas with wind forces up to F5, and could still be fished without having to spend the entire time holding on to the gunnel rails. We were soon fishing beyond our normal range, and definitely travelling in weathers that we wouldn't have intentionally in the Strikeliner.

The 590TT turned out to be every bit as economic as the Strikeliner, but with a greater turn of speed, with average speeds being over 24 knots, but a more sedate 20 knots was the norm depending on the sea conditions. The engine returned about 5 miles to the gallon on most trips, though too much high-speed work did drop that down to 4-4½ miles per gallon. We had bought an additional fuel tank when we purchased the boat, and with our supplementary tanks could realistically work on a daily range about 50 miles, retaining a reasonable reserve for emergencies.

The GPS Map Plotter with Differential was an absolute godsend, for fishing and navigation, one of our early trips out of Lymington, saw us plot in the course through the winding entrance channel, and this was stored as a route for later use. We first used this to great effect one Christmas Day, when we arrived at Lymington to find the Solent shrouded in thick fog. We just called up the route, and followed the dotted line on the screen, almost like a video game, once out of the entrance channel, we found that the fog had cleared considerably, and could motor by sight to our marks. For wrecking the unit gave so much detail when stored, that drifts over particular sections of any wreck could be determined and repeated with reliability once a trial drift had been recorded for the day. We became so used to this unit, that we would fit the same to any subsequent boat we have.

We decided to opt away from some of the combined plotter/sounder/GPS units that were beginning to come on the market at the time, as possible reliance in one singular piece of electronics - that could fail might be a false security. With this in mind we kept the Koden CVS105 that we had previously, and although the GPS was the primary navigation tool with the compass. A sounder can always be used to get proximity to a coastline when used with a chart - a bit rough, but better than nothing. The Koden CVS105 was a sounder that we were familiar with, and very happy with the performance, though it did need positioning in a location where it was totally protected from water of any type, including fine spray. The virtue of colour sounders over ordinary recreational monochrome is tremendous, and the CRT varieties are very quick in up date to colour variations, and give superb detail. Wrecks with fish hiding close to one side are a 'doddle', and very clear in showing that type of detail.

The other instruments all performed faultlessly during the entire period of our ownership, and never failed or required more than a quick clean. We finally started to reduce our number of trips during the later part of 2002, and decided at that time to sell the boat, and concentrate on other works. We had certainly stretched the limit of range on the boat, working at times some 50 miles south west of land in Ireland, or 40 miles out into the North Sea off Whitby. During the first year we did add some smaller components like a 4hp Yamaha wing motor, and an electric winch to the trailer - these worked well.

On the whole our small boat ownership in the UK has been confined to Orkney boats, and we have found them economic, and quick enough to cover most needs, sure extra speed can be useful at times, but when balanced against cost of fuel and servicing, we probably had more fishing trips due to the cost saving. The boats are quick enough, but not too quick as to get anyone into trouble, and they are primarily designed as fishing craft and succeed.

Sue & Jeri's Boat

Disclaimer: Everything written in these reports are based on personal experience and the individual's opinion only. I have tried my best to present the facts correctly, but I/we take no responsibility for any mistakes or omissions.