A new multipurpose fishing vessel for owners in Western Australia has taken a year to build and is set to be the largest rock lobster boat in Australia when it starts fishing as the season opens in mid-January.
‘It’s on the water now and the sea trials have all been finished. The next step is to fine-tune the electronics,’ said rock lobster fisherman Clay Bass.
Poppa G brought together the skills and expertise of local businesses for the design and build.
‘The aluminium hull was built in Geraldton which was then trucked down to Dongara where the wheelhouse, engineering, hydraulics, plumbing and wiring was all completed in Port Denison. It’s the largest lobster boat in Australia in terms of beam and capacity – the length stretches to 24 metres,’ he said.
‘24 metres is generally the longest that most lobster boats go to because of the manning and survey requirements.’
Clay Bass commented that upsizing was a no-brainer as they needed a vessel capable of carrying more live product.
‘The boat can hold up to 200+ crates of lobster which amounts to in excess of six tonnes. Everything is all to do with quality of lobster these days. We have put the latest technology we can into the vessel to ensure that we have a very high-quality standard of product coming ashore.’
Poppa G comes fitted with the latest technology including control systems, sounders and radars.
‘Poppa G is also multipurpose vessel easily adapted to various marine industries. It includes a wet line licence and shortly – a tourist charter licence. Our wet line licence allows us to service a fresh seafood shop as well. Our store Seaz has been in operation since March and gives the community the opportunity to enjoy fresh local seafood from their local fishers.’
