When I was given the chance of producing a short video as well doing a written boat demonstration and test for the website aboard a 17 foot Wilson Flyer, I jumped at the chance. Not that I needed to go out to sea in the Wilson to prepare an objective appraisal, having already fished out of one owned by Dave Devine for a few years before we decided to team up and go with a shared boat from Warrior. I can't tell how much Dave also wanted to tag along, but was prevented from doing so by work commitments. Perhaps it was similar thoughts of a reunion that did for me. Or it might just have been the fact that having recently bought the boat, Graeme Pullen was offering me the chance to combine a ride out in the thing with some serious shark fishing at the same time. Whatever my motives, arrangements were duly made and subsequently abandoned on maybe half a dozen different occasions due to the weather. Then finally it all came together - a weekend of high pressure coinciding with a set of spring tides. Big tides are not essential for catching Porbeagle Sharks. Their importance comes from the fact that there is only usable water on the slip at Boscastle harbour in North Cornwall for around 45 minutes either side of high tide, with no other suitable launching facilities along a 40 mile stretch of coast, and to have that launch time coincide with the start of the day means it must be done on a spring tide. So it was off to Boscastle where by an uncanny and completely un-planned quirk of fate, I parked up at the side of Graeme's caravan less than five minutes before his car with the Wilson in tow came trundling down the path. What's more, the boat was yellow and white, exactly the same colour as Dave's old version 'Sidewinder'. Talk about deja vu.

Actually I was in for a bit more of a surprise. When I climbed aboard, I have to say that the experience was not quite as I thought I had remembered it. Having just spent the past several years fishing from the Warrior, I couldn't help reflecting on how low the gunnel's appeared by comparison, though I would add that it never felt like a problem at the time with Dave out there in all sorts of conditions. And to be honest, once I'd re-acclimatized myself with the feel of the Wilson, it was not, and I'm sure would not be a problem in the future. Whenever I've swapped boats over the years, particularly if the hull shape has dramatically changed, it takes a bit of time to adapt to it. And if there's one thing you can say about the Wilson it's that in terms of hull design, it and the Warrior could not be more different, as the Wilson Flyer is built on a semi-cathedral hull. Unlike boats which have a V-shaped hull and will to some extent lean to one side on the beach if the tide pulls away while waiting for the trailer, having three equal keels in contact with the ground separated by arches or tunnels, a true cathedral hull will sit bolt upright exactly as it would when floating. Or to put it another way, cathedral hulls are without doubt the most stable boat design on the market. That said, as a result of that design, they are prone to slamming and banging, particularly when motoring into a bow on choppy sea. To get around this, the designers move the two outer keels back and make them shallower in depth. This very much improves the ride, but at the cost of some of the stability. Different boat builders do this to differing degree's. The Wilson Flyer, in my opinion, is at the 'least tampered with' end of the spectrum, which for my money is a very comfortable compromise. Compared to the full cathedral, the ride has been improved sufficiently, and as we were to demonstrate later, there is still plenty of good stability.

For what it's worth, I think that offshore sea angling needs more boats like this if it is to thrive. Not particularly cathedral or semi cathedral hulls. Actual hull shape is irrelevant for the point I want to make. But more good, sea-worthy, work-horse boats at a brand new price anglers coming into small boat fishing stand a better chance of affording. So I hope that both Graeme and the Wilson team won't take offence when I say that in terms of finesse, standard fitting out, and attention to detail, there are better, though very much more expensive boats on the market. It all depends what you are looking for. If all you want to do is get out fishing in a boat that can take a bit of rough weather and are not too bothered about keeping up with the Joneses, then this could well be the version for you. It's like taking a Landrover and a Toyota Rav4 with a boat on the back of each out on a particularly difficult stretch of beach. The Rav might look more pleasing to the eye. But in terms of getting the job done, I know which I would rather have. And from what I understand of the Wilson set up, the 17 foot version is a standard boat intended to have a longer cabin than most anglers would like. As such, if you order a shorter cuddied version, then no attempt is made to hide the fact that that was never the original design intention, because a short length of inner gunnel is not so much missing, but was never there, and was never going to be there either, which while it is probably of no detriment to the boat, means there is nowhere to fix the engine controls. A plate then has to be fitted to accommodate the unit. This can be done at the Wilson workshop. In fact, a whole raft of add on's are available as optional extras, either fitted at the workshop or by you at home, which is another reason why packages like this are important as they can be better tailored to individual finances.

Graeme also had a flying bridge fitted which while it might catch a bit of wind both for anchoring and positioning to fish a precise drift, can be a Godsend in rough conditions and on cold winters days. He also chose to power his particular version with a 60 hp 4-stroke Yamaha, though I'm sure this boat could handle a bit more power. Having said that, I sometimes wonder if the extra expense, and in some cases extra weight, is worth the trouble for the small number of flat calm days on which you can really open it up. Some years ago, I had exactly the same hull but with a different top from another manufacturer with a 70 hp Yam on the back, and that felt really nice. But we didn't (couldn't) run it flat out all the time. So if you are not too bothered by speed, preferring a more comfortable, and very likely more economical life in terms of engine cost and fuel consumption, then a 60 hp is fine. At around 3500 rpm, we did the 14 mile run to the shark marks comfortably in well under an hour. And while we were there, we also gave it what I reckon was quite a punishing stability test. With me on the rod, David Lucas on the video camera, and Graeme on the trace with 170 pounds of non too happy Porbeagle shark sliding in over the gunnels all on the same side of the boat at the same time, for some boats I can think of we might have been asking for trouble. But not this particular model. And if you don't believe me, then take a look in the video vault at Shark Alley. There is also a short filmed version of this boat demonstration there too. An excellent, sea-worthy and affordable small boat.

CONTACT DETAILS

Brian Wilson Glassfibre Dinghies
The Bungalow
26 Scratchface Lane
Bedhampton
Havant
Hampshire
PO9 3NG
Tel. 023 924 73920

SEE THE VIDEO VAULT – Shark Alley & Wilson Flyer