Carolina flair and Florida design come together in a one-of-a-kind center-console suited for billfishing in the Gulf Stream.

This is just a test. We’ve all heard that phrase countless times. For a Florida hull-design team and a custom Carolina boat builder, however, this wasn’t just any test. Not too long ago, they accepted the challenge of constructing a 32-foot center console outboard boat that would perform like a full-blown sportfish. We thought you’d like to see the result.

“Not again,” I groaned under my breath as I prepared for Capt. Brad Durkin’s charge on Jupiter Inlet. Overnight, the ocean had jumped up a few feet spurred by 15-knot northeast winds. And, Durkin had the throttle pegged on the twin 225-hp 4-strokes. Both tachs read 6,000 rpm. Breaking swells and whitewater washed the inlet, outlining its shallow and treacherous bars. I made sure I had a secure handhold, limbered up and flexed my knees preparing for jolts…that never came. Durkin, somehow, blasted through the mess; the 32-footer glued to the ocean surface and parting five feet of whitewater like 3-inch chop. We didn’t pound, get wet or rattle the T-top and deck hardware—pretty impressive for a center-console running headlong into 5-foot seas that barreled into the bow’s port quarter.

Durkin was the skipper responsible for overseeing the custom center console’s construction and prepping it for billlfishing. Applied Concepts in Stuart drew the boat’s design and Hudson Boat Works of Washington, North Carolina built the hull. Concept boats are an interesting breed with hulls that push the envelope of innovation, like this Hudson 32 does with its cold-molded glass-over-wood hull construction, outboard power and unique running surface inspired by military seaplanes. Of course, you’ll find all the necessary bluewater fishing accoutrements aboard, too.

Once we arrived at our destination--a green-to-blue color change in 300 feet rocked by open Gulf Stream swells pushing eight feet--the boat really came into its own. This baby was made for dragging baits and billfishing.

While setting out a ballyhoo bait spread, I made another discovery—everything was within reach for anglers working the boat’s teak sole cockpit. Rupp Top Gun Outriggers mounted on the hardtop are easy to operate from the deck, without climbing the gunnels to clip into place. Equally important from a fisherman’s point of view is the lack of whitewash behind the transom. At the normal trolling speed of 4 to 7 knots that Durkin prefers to drag baits for sails off South Florida and white marlin off the Mid Atlantic, hardly any foam bubbled off the “wave-form” hull. I could see the small ballyhoo baits clearly from flatline to long ’rigger baits with no foamy, churned-up water obscuring the view. Likewise with the mullet dredge teasers that Durkin runs when white marlin and sailfishing.

“When we came up with the idea to build this boat, we wanted a small boat that could fish on par with our other boat, a 50-foot Hatteras convertible. Our goal was to build the nicest center console ever.”

Paramount for a billfish boat is the ability to back down on hooked fish. It’s a task most outboard-powered hulls perform only nominally. Yet, this 32-footer handles the task admirably, even with twin outboards. “We ran several newer center consoles to test their back-down abilities,” Durkin said. “Most dug into the seas, swamping the motors and filling the cockpit with water. Maneuvering in reverse or backing down on a fish were not options.”

Applied Concepts’ Wave Form bottom combined with a custom twin outboard bracket manufactured by Armstrong Nautical Products in Stuart produced an opposite effect. “This boat can back down with the best of hulls,” Durkin exclaimed. “She’ll do 11 knots in reverse and spin on a dime. The bracket and bottom setup actually lifts the stern instead of digging in.” Exactly the function Durkin desired. He wanted to fish this boat from the stern, not from the bow like anglers do while aboard many center consoles.

Durkin had plenty of opportunities to hone his back-down skills on the boat’s shakedown fishing trip. “As soon as we splashed the hull, we beelined it for Poorman’s Canyon off New Jersey,” the skipper explained. “On our shakedown cruise we enjoyed a dream day. We released two blue marlin and three whites. Not bad for our first time out on the new boat.”

Not only did the hull raise fish, it cut the seas in economical fashion. Fuel consumption data supplied by Flo-Scan gauges indicated that at the boat’s everyday 32-knot cruising speed, the twin 225-hp powerplants burned 25 gallons per hour or 12 ½ gallons each. With the tanks topped off at 300 gallons that equates to roughly a 400-mile range at 32 knots.

Upon stepping aboard I noticed the boat’s copious fishing room. It’s huge, for a 30-something center console. The bow has that typical flair, albeit tuned down just a tad. Interestingly, builder Victor Hudson offered an insight regarding pronounced flair rarely heard from Carolina boat builders.

“The best custom boats utilize a blend of what builders do in Florida and Carolina. Boats should have a bow point like hulls built in Florida,” Hudson opined. “Sometimes Carolina flair can be too radical. The only thing excessive flair accomplishes is robbing you of interior volume. That and putting a round bow on the boat.” Hudson also mentioned that the first drawing he saw of a Garlington 44 impressed and inspired him immensely. For the record, Garlington boats, which were designed by French and Dan McCarthy, have a running surface similar to the Applied Concepts Unleashed Wave Form hull--a convex deep-V entry, which transitions into a concave shape toward the chine. The hull’s variable deadrise occurs in this transition, the key Applied Concepts’ engineers say, that gives the hull its soft ride, stability and top-end performance.

Although getting to prime billfish grounds is important, this boat centers on fishability. One characteristic I noticed immediately once Durkin let off the throttle and slowed to trolling speed was the hull’s stability. No unpredicted snap-rolls here. The teak cockpit sole also caught my eye. Since Durkin wanted anglers to fish off the hull’s transom, he insisted on teak floorboards. “Besides looking sharp, teak decks are the most comfortable to fish day-in and day-out,” Durkin explained. “You don’t slip and they’re more forgiving. They really shine when it’s rough—perfect for stand-up fishing, which is how we fight billfish.” We put the deck to the test on the day we fished off Jupiter. When we crossed the western edge of the Gulf Stream, seas jumped up to eight feet. Not once did anyone lose his footing—even in the sketchy conditions. Hudson said the decks were built with old-world craftsmanship. He laid the ½-inch thick teak strips one at a time, before caulking and hand-sanding the deck.

Deploying the boat’s typical billfish spread--two flatlines, two short ’riggers and two long ’riggers—is a cinch for several reasons. For outriggers, the skipper chose standard Rupp Top Guns. Mounted onto the boat’s hardtop, the Top Guns allow Durkin to put riggers out or pull them in without leaving the helm. No climbing up the gunnels required. Just pop the handle levers out of place, rotate the rigger and lock the lever back into position. Outrigger halyard eyelets are out of the way, but within easy reach at eye level on the aft outboard corners of the T-top. With 18-foot outrigger poles, the boat has about 40 feet of spread between the ’rigger tips. For hardware, Durkin chose standard Black’s Release Clips citing they fit his needs for light-tackle billfishing. He can adjust the tension by turning a setscrew and, he says, that Black’s clips rarely chafe fishing lines. He mounted the same clips for flatlines on the stainless steel rub rail behind the transom.