Haines Signature 543RF BIG BOAT IN A SMALL PACKAGE 1 OWNER FROM NEW !!! ** NOW SOLD **

HITTING THE MARKET WITH LESS THAN 50HOURS ON THE CLOCK!!

The cockpit is all important in any fishing boat and in this respect the Haines Signature 543RF starts out well and truly on the right foot, with uninterrupted leg support along both sides and across the transom.

Step back from the sides and your foot encounters one or the other of a pair of long and skinny iceboxes set into the deck. Because they're set into the hull's foam filling, they should be mighty effective at keeping your catch fresh.

Your eye can't miss a very-well-thought-out workbench perched atop our test boat's aft bulkhead. Mysteriously, this is an option. Few serious fishos would do without it, so the baitboard could almost be considered part of the deal, as would the stainless steel-framed, bimini-top-cum-rod-rack above the helm. With a full set of clears closing off the gap between the bimini and windscreen, this provided excellent shelter from the chill winter's day that fate had served up.

From here, (fishing) life only gets better. In big pockets along each side of the cockpit we find rodracks holding a minimum of two rods each side... Whoa, let's back up and take a count here. Four rigged rods stowed horizontally in out-of-the-way racks, with another four across the rack supporting the bimini top. That's eight rods, with nothing yet in any of four rodholders in the sidedecks - plus another three in holders set into the workbench.

So, here's a boat you can fish from without laying any of your precious (not to mention hideously expensive) rigs on the deck. No wonder I'm happy - and it doesn't need engraved measuring boards in each sidepocket to keep me that way. The more time I spent going over Signature's 543RF, the happier I got...

As in all good contemporary runabouts, the centre of this boat's windscreen opens, as does the centre of the foredeck. This allows you to get to the anchorhatch or unload gear onto a beach or dock. An indication of how extravagantly optioned our test boat was could be found in the anchorwell, where a power-anchorwinch resided.

While stepping forward, you'll have to look down to notice a long hatch accessing underfloor stowage and a double-storey stowage bin each side of the walkway under the foredeck. Stowage on a trailerboat is always at a premium and this one has heaps. It's not just fishermen who need stowage though, just as fishing is rarely the sole reason for buying a boat, so let's look at what else the 543RF has to offer.

A comfortable lounge seat folds away into the aft bulkhead while you're fishing and adds two more seats for family or social outings, while on the portside of the lounge is a transom door accessing a foldaway boarding ladder set into a swim step. To starboard, in the covering board beside the workbench, is a wet boxl that could just as easily serve as drinks storage. The ladder and plumbing are both options.

Everything else about the boat, from the sheltered helm seating and glovebox in front of the passenger seat (with dash space for a radio and/or stereo) to the convenience of the walkthrough screen and foredeck, sets the 543RF up as a boat that's just as great for social outings as it is for serious fishing.

- ALL OF OUR BOATS ADVERTISED SIT INDOORS IN OUR SHOWROOM
LOCATED ON OSBORNE PARK 10MINS FROM CBD, WHY LEAVE YOUR BOAT
ANYWHERE ELSE?

- FINANCE OPTIONS AVAILABLE AND TRADE INS WELCOME