Old and new

GAVIN CHILDS’ LAZERCRAFT plate aluminium trailer boats began life in Dunedin during the 1980s. Rugged little boats with soft riding hulls, they quickly gained a following amongst divers and fishers.

During the nineties and noughties Lazercraft extended its model range to include 7m boats and larger, and pioneered the mating of fibreglass cabins and hardtops with aluminium hulls.

Production ceased some years ago, shortly after Lazercraft was acquired by Southern Sportz Boats to become Southern-lazer in 2009. In 2013 business partners Peter Carlson and Noel Davies bought Southern-lazer, which was renamed Southern Boats.

The Lazercraft 640 GT Sport is the second model in a new range of Lazercraft boats manufactured by Southern Boats.

tackle easy and a power windlass can be fitted, but Lazercraft is redesigning the anchor locker to better accommodate modern, remote-controlled electric capstans.

The moulded helmstation layout is conventional with enough space for a multifunction display of modest size, plus engine gauges and perhaps a switch panel. The test boat was fitted with a Garmin Echomap 95sv and a GME G.com VHF radio bracket-mounted under the dashboard.

The 640 GT Sport’s curved acrylic widescreen has a blackpainted aluminium frame with integral grab rail. The cabin top is reasonably tall to give seated headroom inside the cabin, so the correspondingly tall windscreen provides good protection from wind and spray. Clears are normally fitted between the soft top and screen when the weather cuts up.

LIKES TO BE DRIVEN

A windy morning supplied plenty of Hauraki Gulf short chop to assess the Lazercraft’s soft riding credentials. It didn’t disappoint, making light of the choppy seas. Into a head sea the best tactic was to trim down the nose and attack the waves with plenty of throttle.

Indeed, the 640 GT Sport likes to be driven; the ride smoothed out with more speed as the hull did its job quietly and efficiently. Running with the wind and sea behind us, the 640 was unperturbed, tracking