P34 - FISH & BOAT, April 2019 Boating Tested: 300 Tuffy The redesigned 300 Tuffy is there were whitecaps clearly visible. ter and on the test day, Jason was able sure to be a big hit for the This is where I really noticed how to very easily move about the entire hard core anglers. good the newly designed entry onboat, from bow to stern without any the bow was. Rather than hitting the concern whatsoever. Again, I know water and splashing up, and out, this from personal experience just how new design seemed to containstable these boats are, as I have regu- the water and throw it back larly fished with up to three anglers down and away from the boat, in my boat, and at no time have I allowing less spray to come ever been caught off-balance. In my across the boat. Now, we spent mind, this is a considerable advan- the best part of 4 hours on the tage that the 300 Tuffy would have water that day, and we coveredover the vast majority of the ‘smaller’ nearly all areas of this particular boats currently on the market. In- impoundment and only once, on terestingly, I was recently speaking the way back to the ramp did with the owner of a yacht, who was the spray come up, and Jason moored in Townsville. He explained got wet. Keep in mind, I was that he had just purchased a 3m Tuff in the 4.1 Challenger (as the Tender on the sole basis that this camera boat), and I also got boat was far more stable than his last wet on that same leg. tender, a tinnie, which had tipped Moving back to the newly add- as he was pulling up alongside his ed features. All three of the re- yacht, throwing him into the water. I cessed storage areas boast a friction am confident that this will not hap- style latch so that the lids will stay pen to him anymore. locked down, once closed. Further- This newly designed 300 Tuffy is, more, even though this is a relatively without doubt, a very welcomed re- small boat, each of the three stor- lease and I can see a huge potential It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of areas from Cape York, right through and it was very obvious that a lot of age areas boasts quite a bit of room, for this boat in both the impound- the Polycraft boats, and out ofto Arnhemland. When I say as closetime and thought had gone into thiswhich allows you to store everythingment fishing but also in the estuary the six boats that I’ve owned, two as possible to being the ultimate new design. Not only did the newyou need underfloor, keeping the re-and inshore regions as well. Don’t get of these have been Polycraft boats. car topper, there were a few things 300 Tuffy boast underfloor storage mainder of the boat clutter free. As fooled by its’ small size as this little My first was the 4.1 Challenger, and that I would have liked on my lit- on both the port and starboard but I mentioned before, we spent quite guy punches well above its’ weight. I enjoyed fishing this great rig from tle Tuff Tender. Things like hatches also towards the bow, but there was a bit of time on the water, and Ja- As an owner of a couple Polycraft Weipa, Cairns, Townsville and Arn- and some underfloor storage, but I more to it than just that. It wasn’t son Medcalf (who was driving theboats, I can honestly say that these hemland without a single complaint made do. You could understand myuntil I had finished inspecting these300 Tuffy) was there to fish, so heboats are as close to being the ulti- about the boat. In fact, this very boat excitement when I received an email welcomed new modifications that I had a full arsenal of fishing gear, mate fishing platform as I have seen. is still in the family and is now proud- from the guys at Polycraft, telling started to notice a few other tweaks plus drinks, and safety gear and the They are basically a maintenance ly owned by my brother-in-law whome that they had re-designed theto the boat. The overall finish was aonly things that weren’t stored un-free boat. There is absolutely no is- lives in Cairns. My second Polycraft Tuff Tender, and with feedback from lot ‘cleaner’, and after speaking with derfloor where his two fishing rods. sue with rust or corrosion, and they boat was the 3m Tuff Tender, which the public, they were about to release Steve Cooper from Polycraft, he ex- As an owner of the previous model, are built super tough. I’ve run my I have had for the past 12 years.a new 3metre model that was fo-plained that they had completely re-this alone is a massive selling pointboats up onto rocks and other ugly While these were initially marketed cused specifically on the angler, not vamped how the 300 Tuffy was built, to me. stuff on a regular basis, and you re- towards being used as a tender, I had the yachtie. I had to get my hands including the mould, which now al- Before moving onto the stabil-ally can’t hurt them. My current Tuff other ideas for mine. To me, it was on one of these, and shortly after, I lowed the boat to come out of the ity and performance, I think it also Tender has been skull-dragged up as close as possible to being the ul- was standing in the Polycraft fac- oven looking very clean and sleek. needs to be noted that, if you were the rocky, inaccessible banks of many timate go-anywhere car topper, and tory in Bundaberg. First impressions The hull itself has also undergone to choose to use this boat as a car- Cape York and Arnhemland rivers I fished in some pretty rough, crazy far exceeded what I had in mind,a few little changes and improve-topper (as I would) then there isand creeks with just a snatch strap ments on the bow, which will be a no need to be concerned about the and has never had to be ‘repaired’. In very welcomed change - this became storage lids coming loose as it takes fact, it has given me even more con- apparent once we got the boat on a good amount of pressure to close fidence to get into areas that you just the water. Speaking of which, at the them down tight and the designcan’t get in to, with the added advan- time I was standing in the factory, alone on the friction lock deserves a tage of knowing that I can always Tropical Cyclone Oma was just offbig ‘high five’. get back out again. In my opinion, the coast of Bundaberg. To say there Stability and performance on the the original Tuff Tender was an awe- was a little bit of wind around was new 300 Tuffy is kind of a no brain- some fishing rig. The new 300 Tuffy an understatement. It was certainly er. We had a 15hp Yamaha on thejust got a whole lot better. not a good day for any boat to be on back, and this boat was up and on Would I change anything on this the water, let alone a little 3 metre. the plane in no time flat. My person- boat? Not really, but maybe next Even though our test location was al 3m Polycraft boat also has a 15hp time on the water, I’d have a few cold an impoundment, just down theoutboard, and I have no trouble withbeers on ice in that storage hatch road from the factory, the conditions performance, even with three adults rather than just water and soft drink. The new internal layout, with heaps of underfloor were still not what I would call any- on board. While still focusing on storage leaves the remainder of the boat clutter free. where near ideal. Putting the boat performance, let’s not forget the bow in, and glancing out across the water, mount electric motor - an absolute must-have item for anyone even half This versatile, tuff little boat lets you fish keen on their lure and fly fishing. We had the 54lb Minn Kota fitted to the with confidence in amongst the timber sobow of the 300 Tuffy, and this obvi- that you can focus completely on the fishingously moved the Tuffy through the and not on damaging your boat. water with complete ease. The added benefit of having an electric motor of this size on the small hull is that the motor is not working very hard at all, allowing less drain on the bat- tery which means more time on the water. Something I am sure every angler would agree to. This then leaves us with the stabil- These new storage areas ity, which is once again, a no brainer. are a real winner. This little boat sits solidly in the wa- The redesigned bow provides a nice way to round out all the new features, while allowing a much better ride.