A catamaran isn’t an unusual sight in Danish ports, where this type of boat is widely used by windfarms – but a catamaran rigged for fishing isn’t something you see every day.
Skipper Lars Hejlesen and Sebastian Duncan found what they had been looking for at Audacious Marine, based at Ramsgate in the south-east of England, and at the end of last year they took delivery of Famous Grouse HG-38.
Now alongside in Hirtshals after collecting the new boat and steaming it across from Ramsgate, they are completing the fitting out to comply with Danish regulations and expect to be fishing by February.
Famous Grouse has options for netting in the Skagerrak, potting for crab and lobster, plus some jigging for mackerel and possibilities for non-quota fisheries.
The 10 metre Famous Grouse has a 4.50 metre beam, providing plenty of working deck space, and according to Lars Hejlesen, he could have expected to pay 20-30% more for a conventional vessel of the same size, plus the fluctuating pound over the 14 months since the boat was ordered has also been in their favour.
The twin Iveco main engines can push Famous Grouse to a top speed of 23 knots, although a more economic service speed of 14-18 knots is preferable. There’s plenty of tank space on board, with capacity for 1400 litres of fuel, 250 litres of hydraulic oil, 100 litres of fresh water and a 50 litre waste tank. The heavy-duty hydraulics and pot hauler were fitted by Solent Engineering, while the net hauler and net stacker are from Netop.
Facilities on board are comfortable, with a toilet and shower, and ergonomic working arrangements, with the net hauler mounted with a sorting table on the starboard side and a set of duplicate controls at the starboard gunwale.
The wheelhouse has been fitted out with mainly Furuno electronics, as well as a MaxSea TZ Time Zero plotter.
