It’s a sunny morning on the Gold Coast and Nautilus Marine team members Chris Dobson, Sarah Ranawake and Keri Kahler have arrived at Maritimo’s pre-delivery docks at Hope Island.
We’re greeted by two key Maritimo team members, Ross ‘Rossco’ Willaton and head skipper Isaac Marshall. We’re lucky enough to be going out for a test ride on the new S600 Offshore Sedan Motor Yacht, fresh from its global launch at the 2022 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. “The S600 is a luxury long-range cruiser that you can do serious offshore fishing with as well,” says Rossco as he shows us around the enclosed cockpit of the S600. After pointing out a few key cockpit features which make this vessel perfect for serious fishing and family entertaining, we then venture inside to check out the generous saloon and impressive staterooms. Afterwards, Rossco gives us a look ‘under the hood’ with an engine room tour. This particular S600 was equipped with twin Di13 Scania 900 engines. Before taking the S600 out for a test on the Coomera River, we sat down with Rossco to chat about the S600 and how Maritimo maximises the performance of their magnificent vessels.
Can you talk us through some of the features that give the S600 serious fishing credentials?
The cockpit of the S600 has been designed to suit serious sports fishing. You can put your feet underneath the coaming, so you can get right to the edge of the boat. The whole cockpit on the S600 Offshore can also be optioned up to suit whatever the owner wants for their fishing needs. The Offshore Series also still carries our Maritimo heritage and long-range cruising is what Maritimo is famous for. We do beautiful design and styling at Maritimo, but a lot of effort goes into the hull, the balance of our boats and engineering set up to make them serious blue water boats.
What response have you been getting from customers to the S600?
I talked to a lot of customers at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Some customers want serious fishing cockpits and to option in deck wells and live wells. But a lot of customers just really like the extra cockpit space of the S600. It’s a great space to enjoy the outdoors, sit at the table, perhaps even have a bit of a party. Some of the customers who are looking at the Offshore series aren’t necessarily diehard fishermen, they just like the extra cockpit space. They also enjoy all the great accommodation space we’ve got downstairs, with the three cabins – especially the big full beam master cabin. They’ve got all that, with the bonus of the cockpit space. [Maritimo Managing Director] Tom Barry-Cotter is very innovative and clever like his dad. Tom has designed the S600 to offer the best of both worlds.
Can you give us a bit of insight into your role at Maritimo? What work goes into preparing vessels like this S600?
I’ve got a long history with the Barry-Cotters and I have been with Maritimo since the beginning. I’m an engineer by trade and I work closely with [Maritimo Founder] Bill BarryCotter, focusing on all the propellers and the performance of the boats. At Maritimo, we fine tune each individual boat to make sure we get the most out of the engine package. You’ve got different engines, plus different gear ratios depending on the vessel. So, there’s a lot of homework that goes into making sure that we get the optimum performance out of these boats. A big factor in giving you optimum performance is the propellers. That’s why I spend a lot of time getting the propellers right for these boats.
To find out more about the S600 Offshore visit www.maritimo.com.au or call +61 7 5588 6000.
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