Outdoors

When sitting out isn't an option

By Terry Tomalin, Outdoors Editor
Published March 7, 2008

ST. PETE BEACH - Kingfishermen are a hardy lot. Wind, rain, cold ... doesn't matter. If the kings are biting, they are fishing.

"In a tournament, you have to be ready for anything," said Jack Penny, a St. Pete Beach dentist who fishes the Southern Kingfish Association's Yamaha Pro Tour. "You need a boat that will pretty much run in anything."

Penny and his crew aboard Pennywise had just returned from a 10th-place finish in the season opener at Key West, where they had to battle 6- to 9-foot seas outside the reef.

"You have to have confidence in your boat," he said. "The last thing you want is that thing breaking apart."

Dependability was the most important thing Penny considered when choosing his offshore machine.

"I had owned a couple of Contenders before I bought the 33-T," he said. "I think once you get into one of these boats, you would never consider anything else."

The 33-footer, built in Homestead, is one of the latest from a company that has a reputation for building the boat of choice for hard-core fishermen.

"Fifty percent of our customers have previously owned a Contender," said Wayne Collier of St. Petersburg's Central Marine. "No other boat comes close in terms of performance."

Contender has been making boats for more than 20 years, but the tournament series boats (27-T, 31-T and 33-T) are the first to be designed and built for anglers such as Penny, who don't have the option of staying in port when the seas kick up.

"If you are a working guy, you might only have one or two days that you can fish," Collier said. "If the weekend comes along and it is blowing 20 knots, you still want to go fishing or diving. A Contender will let you do that."

The 33-T, with a high-performance hull, a 9-foot, 8-inch beam and a 34-foot, 5-inch length overall, can handle triple or twin engines.

Contenders are typically equipped with Yamaha engines, so the manufacturer made the beam a little wider to handle the new 350-horsepower engines.

"These engines are proving to be real popular with fishermen," Collier said. "You can run with two instead of three, so that cuts down on the initial expense, as well as weight and fuel cost."

Penny, who has two of the new Yamaha 350s on his boat, said he has saved money without sacrificing performance.

"It uses about 33 percent less fuel," he said of the only V-8, four stroke engines on the market. "And the boat goes 8 mph faster."

But the 33-T has more than just durability, dependability and speed going for it. Small features, such as a wider console and a combined leaning post/livewell, make it easy to fish, even in rough seas.

Collier has never had difficulty convincing serious fishermen to consider a Contender. "These boats pretty much sell themselves," he said.

Fast facts

Contender 33-T

Length: 34 feet 5 inches

Weight: 6,600 pounds

Ready to fish: 13,500 pounds

Hull design: Deep vee

Draft: 24 inches

Fuel capacity: 400 gallons

Maximum horsepower: 1,050

Price as tested: $205,000

St. Petersburg's Central Marine will show its whole line of Contenders at the March 14-16 Tampa Bay Boat Sale at Tropicana Field.

[Last modified March 7, 2008, 07:53:24]