Luke takes fishing to the Outer Limits with Australian Master Marine

by John Daffy on 13 May 2017 Queensland earthworks business owner, Luke Doyle loves pushing his recreational fishing to the Outer Limits. A round trip of 200 nautical miles pursuing his favourite reds - (red emperors, not wines) - is nothing unusual for Luke. But he now will be making the trip in an Australian Master Marine-designed and built Weekender 7800 plate alloy boat powered by twin Suzuki 175 outboards.

Named Outer Limits and with a huge compass rose graphic splayed down its flanks, Luke likes exploring the boundaries:

“You’re always pushing yourself to the Outer Limits - hence the compass. It gives a sense of direction and encourages you to always push to new boundaries to get to those outer reefs,” Luke explained.

The compass rose was a creative idea from his wife, Sammie.

“She loves her fishing - just as much as us boys.”

Luke’s AMM Weekender boasts a string of “firsts” - the most significant of which is that it is the first time the Weekender series has been created in a 7.8 metre length. AMM has traditionally built Weekenders in 6.1, 6.4, 6.8, 7.0 and 7.4 metre lengths.

(AMM does have its Tournament series in a 7.8 metre version which allowed the company to carry across the naval architect-certified below water hull geometry).

Obviously Luke is no novice when it comes to boating. His last boat was a Kevlacat 2400 and he previously has owned a Tabs and various Haines Hunters, among others.

And as if the 40 rod holders, (yes, that’s another ‘first’ - 40 separate built-in rod holders) weren’t a big enough clue, Luke remarks in typical understatement: “We built her for fishing.”

“If there are four of us on the boat and we’ve all got a variety of rods - we have storage for them on the roof, then we have the rod holders around the bait station in the centre area for rigging up. That way you don’t have rods hanging over the side while rigging.”

“It really gets the rods you are not using out of the way,” Luke said.

“Outer Limits is built for fishing, but there’s plenty of room to have a bit of fun as well. That’s why we included the midge screens for camping at Wathumba Creek.”

(Wathumba Creek is a sheltered area on the western side of Fraser Island with no shortage of midges which are an unwelcome biting insect).

“The back station is a big ice box as well as a tackle locker,” Luke said.

“We haven’t got a sink or fancy kitchen- we don’t need them. A portable cooker is all the luxury we need.”

Luke chose to supply his own selection of Simrad gear - an Evo2 12 inch MFD, S2009 sounder paired with a 1kW 265 LH transducer, structure scan and 4G radar.

“I’ve always had Simrad and found it to be a pretty good bang for the buck.”
Outer Limits includes a number of “special build” items as well as the full catalogue of options.

The AMM Weekender’s standard 240 litre underfloor fuel tank has been replaced with three, 220 litre tanks with separate deck top fillers, giving a total of 660 litres.

And there are other customised features like a solar panel and two underfloor deep cycle storage batteries; a hardtop that has been extended 400mm; seat box eskies extended by 500mm which drain to the outside of the hull; rear facing Hella Seahawk LED light bars; forward facing Lightforce LED light bar; LED lighting under the gunnels and underwater lighting on the transom; a cabin that is 150mm longer; two Hella oscillating cabin fans (for those summer nights); water diverters on the side decks; extended side cabin clears; 12 volt and USB sockets; extra side pocket storage; a Lone Star Marine GX3 anchor drum winch; Reelax helm seats; stabiliser legs for low tide beach anchorage, as well as a customised alloy trailer with stone guards.

Even the cushion on the front tackle station has been customised - it has been tapered to allow a wider opening to the storage area below it.
The Weekender series’ standard equipment already had included a fully welded, plate alloy self-draining floor; battery locker; bow and side rails; boarding steps, keel bar and keel cap; bowsprit; foot locker between the bunks; self-draining scuppers, a cleaning tray and polyurethane painting inside and out from the chines up as well as the optional twin outboards pod with duckboards set up.