Boat test courtesy of Boat Angler, Sept 1998

Orkney's smart new 520 takes a bow

Orkney's 16ft Strikeliners must be one of boat-building's success stories. Literally hundreds built for a whole fleet of happy owners ... but there is now a smart new model, the completely re-designed 520. A boat that maintains the same superb build quality but more fishing space, less deck clutter and a smidge more speed. Editor Mel Russ tests the boat after kitting it out for the magazine's use...

There she stood, gleaming white and yellow in Orkney's Arundel yard. Out of the water she looked huge, but that's a landsman's view of a boat out of the water - at sea the space can shrink to the size of a postage stamp. But the new 520 is still a big little boat and the ideal fishing tool for the two-angler team.

Peering over the gunnel the design changes became instantly apparent. Gone is the huge gunnel-to-gunnel seat which swallowed up deckspace and barred easy access to the cuddy and anchor. Gone are the exposed fuel tanks and lines... yes, the 520 has a lot of uncluttered space for such a little boat.

With the huge plank-like thwart seat gone, you get dedicated skipper and pilot seat boxes. More on them later! To make the boat easier to work, Orkney have moulded a flip-up seat and haul the pick.

Those of you familiar with earlier Strikeliners will know you had to kneel on the front seat and haul the warp. Not always easy and definitely hard work, especially in a working sea. Now, at near 6ft 2in, I can stand up and give the anchor rope the stick it sometimes needs.

If, like me, you like a clear deck, then you will love the 520. In the starboard locker, which has a flip-up seat moulded in the op, goes the 5 gallon tank, with the fuel line running directly off the engine and into the back of the locker. So there's no fuel feeds anywhere near the working and fishing area.

I like the stern seat box idea because it keeps water, and especially airborne sea spray and salt, away from the tank vent which should mean no fuel contamination. The locker is also big enough to hold a 5 litre back-up plastic fuel tank, which holds a petrol/oil mix for the 3.3hp Mariner auxiliary.

And there's more. Also stored out of the way goes the spare two-stoke oil and a funnel, which isn't used at sea but is useful ashore for moving fuel about. So, all in one place is the stuff needed to power the boat. Perhaps the only little disappointment is that I have to have a 5 gallon tank reserve stored up in the front of the cockpit - the only plus point being it moves some of the weight well forward.

The port locker, which again is a box seat, holds the battery and bilge pump. I could put a 21/2 gallon spare tank in here but I am loathe to mix petrol with electrics! You could store spare boat gear in here, but you would have to watch for a stern-heavy situation which could affect trim and performance.

More internal changes...

The individual seats already mentioned are brilliant! I don't use the actual seat to sit on when the boat is underway, I prefer the stand and look ahead, but I use it for fishing when I am facing astern. It has also become my bosun's locker with all kit needed to keep the boat functioning stored in it.

Lifting the lid it holds more two-stroke oil, T-bar, wash-down sponges, spare chain shackles, WD-40, priest, spotlight, spare mooring lines and I don't know what else.

The pilot seat is dedicated for fishing tackle, holding lines, lures, leads and all the other bits in need. It's so useful you don't need a tackle box aboard unless you are carrying specialist gear.

The console and wheel on the 520 has been changed and now has a flat top to take electronics. I have placed an Eagle Ultra Classic fish-finder to the right and at the back of the console I have sited an Eagle View GPS lower down in front of it, angling it back on the slope so that I have both in direct line of sight. The fuse control panel sits below the wheel. Orkney have moulded in a compass housing which takes a big backlit model that I can see while standing at the wheel.

This is a smart stainless-steel spoked model with thick padded rubber outer grip ring. Using the console as a center point, I have attached a Sowester fire extinguisher and Sowester Coastal flare pack to the side. The reasoning is I can grab them quick!

Using heavy-duty Velcro, I have since attached a Sowester first-aid kit to the back of the console. I can now 'rip it off' and take it anywhere in the boat in an emergency or pass it to another boat if need be. Using the same method I have also attached a plastic box measuring around two inches deep above the flare pack. This holds folded charts and the back up hand-held VHF radio.

Bench seats line the cockpit. They don't have lids because they are filled with buoyancy foam which helps keep the 520 afloat if she gets holed or swamped. There's plenty of all-round vision with big windows each side of the cabin and three small ones along the front. The hatch flips up and out of the way, so you can work the anchor and there is a small anchor well which I don't use, bringing all the warp, chain and anchor back inboard when underway.

The small foredeck has a large anchoring cleat fixed to it and a bow roller completes the forward tackle. I must have been unlucky because my bow roller doesn't roll, despite trying to free it with WD40 and oil. A few hefty whacks with a hammer hasn't freed it, which means hauling anchor is a chore.

I measured the gap when the front seat flap is lifted up and purchased a large kid's plastic toy storage box to fit the hole. It now holds the bulk of the cable tidily out of the way, although storing the anchor is a headache and I carry that, and the chain, in the fish box while on the road to prevent it bouncing about and wrecking the GRP.

Orkney have done away with the tricky job of feeding steering cables and electrics between hull and internal moulding by fitting an unobtrusive trunking panel down each side of the inside gunnel. Now a job that was a nightmare, even for professionals, is a doddle.

Hull and engines

The 520 is designed around a tough and sea-proven semi-displacement hull which gives a top speed, in ideal sea conditions, of 22 knots, driven by a more powerful 35hp long shaft outboard. The previous hull was rated to take engines to 25hp, so there is now more power to call on.

A standard 16ft 11in, 6ft 1in beam boat is built in heavy-duty laminated GRP and the hull and deck are wet bonded with a GRP girder system under the cockpit sole for additional strength. Of course, the craft has full built-in buoyancy. A new feature is a self-bailing cockpit when the craft is underway, the drain hole being stopped with an expandable rubber snap-over plug between the rear seats.

Hull fittings include anodized alloy mooring cleats, inner and outer transom plates, heavy-duty fender, stainless steel winch eye and galvanized keelband bringing the complete weight of the boat, without the engine, to a very manageable and trailerable 750lb (340kg).

Engine options are wide and varied depending on pocket and preference ranging from Yamahas to Mariners, Johnson and Hondas. Our boat is fitted with a Mariner 30ELO two-stroke, with a back-up 3.3 Marine auxiliary and the combination, considering weigh, works very well.

Personal impressions

As you know, our previous boat was a 19ft Fastliner in center console Bass Hunter guise - a great boat, very fast and superb fun to drive. But she was wet and heavy to launch-and-retrieve with a two partner crew. The 520 is far easier to handle and slips off the trailer like a dream and even the missus can winch her back on the cradle!

A fine sea boat. I have tried her here, in the calm waters of a Scottish sea loch and opened he up in the choppy seas off Mull and she behaved like a dream. Not a big boat, but easy to handle, stacks of room for two anglers but you must be careful about overloading the hull with kit... too much gets in the way anyway!

Put the 520 behind a car and you won't know it's there - I have a 2 litre Mondeo and can take the boat anywhere with minimal gear shuffling to keep the revs up. Minimum fuss means some great fuel returns, especially on long hauls.

I see the Orkney 520 as a 'keep-at-home-take-anywhere' two-man angling boat that is designed and capable of handling most inshore angling situations with the option of pushing offshore up to maybe 12/14 miles in suitable sea conditions, especially if fishing with a buddy boat.