Scapa Drifter 470

I first noticed the Scapa Drifter back in March. At first glance I compartmentalised it as a loch trout fishing boat, but then at second glance changed my mind.

The Scapa Drifter was designed for lake fishing, but not the relatively calm reservoirs of middle England. This boat was built to take on the exposed freshwater and sea lochs of Orkney in the north of Scotland, and that's a different thing altogether.

Chatting to the builders, Orkney Glassfibre, it transpires that this boat was designed to go to sea as well. She achieves the EU Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/EC Category C rating for conditions where waves can reach 2-metres high and winds touch force 6.

So where would a boat like this fit in for sea fishing? I've been involved in saltwater fly-fishing for over 20 years, and particularly over the past 10 years this side of the sport has grown massively. We're at the stage now where some anglers are fishing fly only for bass in the summer months. Inevitably these guys are also working offshore over the shallow reefs, and not just for bass, but for pollack too. Going further anglers who troll for bass make do with a wide variety of boats, often limiting the ground they can fish due to having deep draft boats and also missing fish due to noisy hulls. One of the things that regularly crops up in conversation then is the lack of boats suitable for offshore fly-fishing and for very shallow water trolling. And that's where the Drifter 470 comes in.

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN
These boats are built by hand in GRP with great attention to detail. Casting an eye over the boat the overall finish is excellent, the boat in white with the deck area in a dark blue to limit light reflection.

The keel is protected by high-density polyethylene screw on keel banding. This stuff is tough and resilient and will take the knocks and bumps that are inevitable when working through shallow ground, and when launching and retrieving the boat back on the trailer.

The rubber fendering is a quality heavy-duty type with the ends covered and secured by stainless steel caps. The engine clamp protector plate is a large size and non-slip. Also as standard the boat has a engine safety eye bolted through the transom allowing a lanyard to be attached to the motor, just as an insurance policy should you ever fail to secure the engine correctly and it falls off if you hit shallow ground. It can happen!

The engine mount well is off centre positioned on the port side of the transom. This obviously offers easier steerage for the tillerman, not least when he is actually fishing himself such as trolling or casting.

The transom is same height as the gunnels giving good protection from following seas.

Going topside the bow sports a bow eye for anchor rope securing. This upper bow section is strong to accommodate anglers stepping aboard here. Underneath the bow is an anchor locker accessed from deck height. This is large and easy to work out of.

The test boat was fitted with swivel stool type seats at the stern and bow with a middle thwart seat. Obviously a sensible choice for loch fishing, but I can see offshore anglers fishing the fly maybe choosing this option too. However the builders will accommodate any arrangement you require suiting your type of fishing. I think if I was looking to fish fly and combine some trolling from the 470 at sea, then I'd go for a rear seat and bow seat leaving the centre deck area open for easy working and creating as much fishing distance between the anglers for casting as possible.

The same inside design would also work well for trolling with the angler at the helm sitting on the starboard side to steer the tiller and facing forward, and his companion facing rearward and on the port side accordingly to balance the boat.

One very important point is that the deck area is totally flat with a stipple type non-slip finish. There is nothing for loose fly-lines to snag on when you have retrieved loose coils of line at your feet and a fish decides to take it all back out again.

There is also the necessary drain compartment under the splash well with an outside bung to drain the boat after use. She is also supplied with stainless rowlocks and built in buoyancy.

The 470 is15.6ft long, has a beam of 5.6ft, stands 3.6ft at gunnel height, and weighs 278kgs without the engine. She is rated to take engines from 8 to 15hp.

ON THE WATER
Yet another test day dawned with a howling wind screeching over the top of Kirkwall in the Orkneys. Wind was a steady 5 and gusting 6 with white caps out to the horizon in Kirkwall Bay. The perfect day for a test, if not the most comfortable At least the sun was trying to break out after a very wet and misty early morning.

We bolted on a 15hp Yamaha and slipped the 470 off the trailer. It's dead easy and she's a cinch to launch on your own. She was floating in a matter of seconds.

With Brian Kynoch of Orkney Glassfibre already at the helm I gingerly stepped aboard. Frankly I could have leapt aboard as the boats generous width of beam and semi flat-bottomed design makes her sit high in the water with tremendous stability. Her draft is only about 8-inches.

Under a light throttle we headed out to open water and the mercy of the wind. Deliberately sitting up front and the hull at speed the ride is comfy and surprisingly when pushing in to a strong headwind the splash water coming in to the boat was no where near as bad as many small boats I've experienced. Granted you do get a little wetter when at the tiller and at speed, but you expect that.

Switching seats with Brian and me at the tiller I eased up the throttles slowly to get the feel of the craft. Getting more confident and piling on the power the boat comes up on the plane and skims over the surface water cutting straight through oncoming waves really cleanly and I was surprise just how comfy the ride was. We were planing at about 20-knots. Pretty impressive for an open boat in a force 6 wind!

Time to check out her fishing abilities. First off, how did she drift? With that strong wind and a fairly high lop on the sea she drifted in line with no sign of bow sheer at all. Equally importantly the 470 does not rock gunnel-to-gunnel when beam on against the oncoming waves. This boat is stable and easy to predict when setting up a precise drift to take in specific fish holding ground.

Easing off at low revs with the sea following up behind the boat retains her straight course and does not veer off at acute angles when wave pressure mounts on the transom. Keeping the low revs and turning the boat inside the wave troughs proved again just how stable she is with no appreciable lean as you deliberately go beam on to the wave as you turn. This is a critical manoeuvre in any boat, but especially in open boats.

Piling on the power again and the boat bolts straight out of the hole and on to the plane. Knock the power off and she almost instantly stops dead in the water. Back on the throttle and aiming at the waves at a quarter angle there is just a slight tendency for her to lean to one side just a fraction before she steadies and flattens back out. None of the drama evident with the 470 though, where in some boats taking waves at the quarter you feel as if you're going to get flipped out when at speed.

Back at the slipway I lifted up the fuel tank to check roughly how much fuel we'd burnt after an hour ripping up the ocean. I figured between 2 and 3 pints maybe. A miserly amount of juice that would be an accurate indicator of how much you might use on a short fly-fishing session just a few hundred yards offshore.

CONCLUSION
This boat is one of the most versatile and seaworthy open craft I've come across for some time. Yes, she'd be ideal for anglers wanting to fish the fly or troll for bass up to a mile offshore when properly equipped with suitable safety gear and in suitable weather. She is also perfect for estuaries and has the turn of speed to take on fast tides without a slow but steady plod home. This boat can really shift, and myself I'd go for the 15hp motor if you'll be working out on the bass reefs. Modern motors are quiet, but the extra power available is useful if you need to push back against strong tides.

I did mention to Brian Kynoch that a protector strip on the GRP strip above the engine mount plate would further protect the hull from potential motor damage when fitting and removing etc, but he'd already thought of that and will be adding protection on future boats.

If you go for a middle thwart seat, then I'd also consider asking Orkney Glassfibre to fully strengthen this seat as due to the width of the boat, when you're at speed and skimming across the waves, the weight of a big guy will cause a little flex that over time might just create a potential weakness. This is not a criticism of the boat, just me going for the belt and braces approach if the boat will be used mainly at sea as opposed to loch and lake fishing.

You can contact Orkney Glass Fibre through their web site for further information.