Arvor 250 shows plenty of grit for a little work boat.

I've just had the pleasure of spending half a day aboard a little Arvor 250, or the Arvor 25 as I like to call it. This one is a 2008 model and purchased as a replacement for the owner's previous work boat, an Arvor 20. It's purpose is as a work boat in a marina and occasionally as a day-tripper on Victoria's pristine Gippsland Lakes. Our 4-hour trip commenced at around 9.10 am from Blairgowrie Yacht Club and took us to the jetty and boat ramp at Rhyll, on Phillip Island.

This Arvor 25 has the red gel coat, which really suits the boat. I'm not absolutely certain about longevity in the the red or navy that you sometimes see. But with a good wax and polish, it will certainly hold up for a number of years. Aesthetically, they're good-looking for a fishing boat or work boat and Arvor are definitely working harder to provide their customers with more interior fittings and a more polished look.

 

The first feature you notice with these boats is the high gunwale. A big bonus that helps keep the boat and you that bit dryer and more secure on those days when the waves are a bit more peaky. And it's a decent width too, so that you have a secure footing if climbing up and over during docking. This boat has the polished teak tops with  inlaid rod holders on port and starboard with canvas covers. In fact the entire boat looks well built - secure in all facets of its design, which ultimately results in a very practical boat. Little wonder the Arvor boat range is creeping into marinas everywhere around Australia.

Out back there's a lot to like. The moulded swim platform - I'll call it a Marlin board here, as the Arvors are a popular choice for avid fisherman, is a decent size and thickness and sturdy under foot. There's a fold-out swim/mounting ladder and a polished teak auxiliary engine mount. The transom is set up for fishing with bait/cutting boards and rod holders ready to go. On the inside of the transom is a plumbed live bait well and a neat little compartment that has removable draws for fishing tackle. A rope locker on the port side doubles as a seat. There's adequate cleats for docking that are within an arm's length where ever you go on the boat.

What I loved was the spiral-hose transom spray gun. It is great for washing the fish blood and guts off the cleaning boards and cleaning the bait wells. But it extends long enough to walk to the front of the cabin and wash salt build-up off the windows and anchor windlass. And the pump actually has pressure! It's got enough guts to clean off some seriously nasty-smelling stuff off your boat!

There's heaps of deck space to move about for a day's fishing, where ever you go. There's room for at least four people to set up and have lunch and a beer afterwards in comfort. But fishing is where this boat will excel. Under the decks is enough locker space to go to sleep in and then some. Great for fenders, ropes, life jackets and fishing gear - whatever you like. The engine room layout is simple and uncluttered - hooray! The isolator switches are within easy reach and the engine itself looks serviceable with everything accessible. The best feature here is the high channel gutters that prevent water flooding the engine bay and bilge. I didn't measure them, but they looked a couple of inches high. The above-decks drainage is also good. Simple practical stuff that makes a great boat.

The cabin itself is also practical. Big enough for the essentials but not of a size to impede the serious job of pulling in the big ones. That's why you'd buy this boat. The moulded hard top really suits the appearance of the boat. The cabin is up forward out of the way and the big front windshield permits a great uninterrupted view over the ocean's expanse as you cruise towards your next favorite fishing spot. The Arvor 250 has plenty of interior cabin features and it is obvious that with each step up in the series, you get much more for your money.

 

The 25 has a separate head compartment down below the helm station. The vee-berth forward is quite large and spacious, due to the rounded, flared shape of the bow. There's plenty of storage here, too. The head compartment on this boat had a porta-potti chemical toilet, but its new owner intends on fitting a really good refrigeration system in there instead! Gotta keep the beers crisp! On the port side there's a sink and faucet and the boat came with a portable gas cooker ideal for warming up the Cup-a-Soups on the cooler days. All simple but practical stuff. The helm has fold-out seating, which gives you heaps of room to stand up - or you can lean back against the back rest whilst standing.

The forward dash is big enough to mount some decent sized electronics and yet keep them out of the way of the helmsman - handy. This Arvor 25 had a color chart plotter with CMAP charts on the port side away from the helm. It just allows you to retain the forward view and not have the impediment or distraction. There's an average-sized well in the dash for maps and personal belongings, although it's not deep enough and items tend to fly out of there easily with any decent swell.

The helm is practical. Everything within reach and easy view. There's a port and starboard windshield wiper, which came in handy regularly on this day in Bass Straight! There's tinted inlaid side windows that open for natural ventilation and a mix of digital and analogue controls. You can read the engine's fuel consumption rates, running temperatures and distances travelled on a single trip computer. The only thing I didn't like was the switches which are mounted lower on the vertical console front. You have to bend down to see what you're activating, which is only a small blip really!

This boat was fitted with a single Cummins Mercruiser inboard diesel (230 horse power, I think it was), shaft-drive with the propeller and shaft in a semi-tunnel format. The propeller and stainless steel rudder are protected by a skeg, but the protective support adjoining the rudder is not thick enough and looks like it would bend easily even in a light collision. Easily replaced with something more substantial, I think. The prop and shaft was a good size and the set-up underneath all solid looking.

Performance-wise this little boat is great. Once out of Port Phillip Bay and into Bass Straight, we were restricted to not much more than 13.5 knots for most of the sea journey. When we departed Blairgowrie, I noticed the fuel gauge reading half way between three-quarters and a full tank. By journey's end, it was just above the three-quarters-full mark. The tank I'm told, is holds 300 litres in diesel capacity. So that was a cheap 4 hour trip! The engine bay is insulated, but the engine is directly behind the cabin door. So if you end up taking phone calls (as the owner did several times), you'll need to close the cabin door! Overall the engine noise level was not excessive, even when we pushed her out to 21 knots closer to Phillip Island.

The Arvor 250 is very well balanced and has a nice ride. At 7.49 metres long and 2.93 metres beam, or 9 feet 6 inches, it has a beam to length ratio of 2.55:1. So she's a sturdy little unit. I wouldn't say she's high freeboard, but it's funny how the high gunwales give you that extra sense of security. The hull slides through the water and like the 20, the 25 turns in a tight circle and holds its balance remarkably well. Bass Straight was its usually bumpy self but not overly unpleasant - perfect to get the boat wet and test it's stability. We had some decent swell waves and the hull was never challenged in any aspect.

 

Draught is typically just under 1 metre but the boat displaces nearly 3 tonne, so she sits in the water well and doesn't rock uncontrollably. We only ran the trim tabs a couple of times when the wind picked up, but that was just to test that they worked! We hit some solid waves, crashed through some bigger ones and the hull sounds and feels solid underneath. A decent 'thud' with no bad vibration or shallow feel to the fibreglass work. The fully-enclosed cabins are fantastic - keep you dry and warm and out of the elements when the weather deteriorates.

This Arvor was fitted with a small bow thruster, which helped tackle the slight prop walk and wind when reversing in and out of the marina berth. There's also a neat little push-button feature that allows you to drop the boat from 5 knots down to 3 knots for trolling. This boat had a Lewmar electric windlass up forward and cabin controls for easy stress-free anchoring. Interestingly, the cabin positioning is staggered to port to allow a wide side deck access up forward. So you cannot walk up the port side. The bigger 28 foot model has a similar layout but you can walk up the port side. Front-on, it looks funny and you could definitely trick a mate (who knows none the wiser!) into thinking the boat builders did it by accident! I liked the little Arvor 20, because the cabin was centrally-mounted and I've never had trouble moving forward on that boat. The 28 has a sliding helm side-access door - brilliant for docking and trolling.

 

Overall, I think Arvor is going to do very well here in Australia. Fishing is a huge target market to focus on for boat builders. Their boats are practical, well-built and offer a reliable and stable platform for fishing that has great performance and handling characteristics. You have to walk around and in and out of the boat a number of times to try to find something to pick on! And even then, it's only something small. If they're doing well here, they deserve it. I'll be interested to see whether they bring out an Arvor 30 series, perhaps with a slightly longer cabin and with even more onboard creature comforts and features. I'm a big fan of spending nights aboard a boat, so here's hoping they bring in a cruise-range Arvor 30 or 32!!!

Some boat specifications courtesy of Arvor Australia:

• Length overall (including platform): 8.30 m
• Length of Hull: 7.49 m
• Beam: 2.93 m
• Draft: 0.93 m
• Displacement approx: 2775 kg
• Fuel tank: 300 L
• Engine: CMD (230 hp)
• CE certified: B 6632.0087 A0.9 CE RCD