FURY CUSTOM BOATS

Finally, a bowrider you’ll be proud to skipper on gamefishing operations with the boys. When the tuna blood is washed off the self-draining decks, you and your favourite deckie could be loving life aboard the smart and stylish Fury Dual Console. This svelte 28-footer is Australian-built for Aussie conditions, and when the throttles drop, the Fury will leave its European counterparts back in the canals.

We catch up with second-generation boat builder Scott Fury on a clear, cool winter’s day at the Leeuwin boat ramp on the Swan River in East Fremantle. Scott’s obviously read The Captain’s brief because the Isotherm fridge on his 8.58m dual console is well stocked with pre-mixed Bourbon and Coke. Unfortunately, he missed the memo about bringing the fishing rods. Scotty is keen to show us Perth’s watery backyard — including Cottesloe Beach, Fishing Boat Harbour where you can throw a mooring line on the jetty and chow down on some prawns, and Herring Bay, on the lee side of Garden Island, one of the islands luring boaties from the mainland on summer weekends.

BLOOD LINES

Heading down the Swan past container ships and dockside eateries, Scotty spies a 32ft (9.75m) plywood cruiser swinging in the outgoing tide. Apparently, his father built it. “He’s one of the best woodworkers I’ve ever seen,” says Scotty, reflecting on his dad’s oldschool techniques. This salty DNA was passed onto Scott, who built his first boat at age 13 — no, it wasn’t Lego — and has been building ever since. “I love to create things and put them together. Seeing the owner’s reaction when they get the boat is priceless.” Scott imagined his own Fury brand in 1999, kicking it off with a 26ft centre console model. Today, the hull length has been stretched to 28ft and the range includes a centre console, dual console and cabin option. Most days, The Captain would tick the centre console option, but after a day on the dual, we’d reconsider. It’s one of the best-configured boats we’ve stepped aboard.

Dimensions are 8.58m in length with a moderate vee just under 19 degrees. It’s no deep-vee wave slayer because Scotty wanted a vessel that could plane at less than 10 knots with the efficiency of a Tesla. He also wanted stability at rest for fishing — or craft brewing expeditions, which seem to be abundant along this stretch of coast — Little Creatures lives here, to name one. The flatter deadrise also proves handy when backing up to WA beaches, sliding through the transom door and stepping off the huge swim platform without getting your knees wet. Not too many 28-footers achieve that feat. The cockpit behind the dual console is huge. It’s not just a great fishing platform — customers are known to drop 2.5m inflatable dinghies in the cockpit for Abrolhos assaults. The rig comes in just under 2.69m in the beam, which means it can be towed day or night in WA. East coast owners will have to go through the usual rigmarole.

THE POINTY END

The bow is where the magic happens. The front section converts from a bowrider to a casting platform or vee berth for overnighters by dropping in an infill. A canvas camp cover clips from the cabin top down to the gunwales. One minute you’re popping for GTs, the next you’re sipping G&Ts with your lady friend. If that goes well, soon you’ll be under the covers, moving to the motion of the ocean.

The dual consoles can be fitted out as roomy private toilets, single beds or storage units. The seats are backwards/forwards adjustable and can be converted to bolsters for standing while driving. Unlike many European boats with the same feature, the Fury fittings don’t rattle like a bucket of bolts, and the boat is designed as a single piece of engineering, rather than an ensemble of disparate parts. The flooring is all one level from transom to the bow, splitting the dual console configuration.

It’s minimalist engineering, creating flow and efficiency. The format lends itself to a family boat or for an older couple — or even The Captain after a few too many rums at the Quokka pub. He’s not driving home, of course, just sliding into the bow section after it’s been configured to snooze mode. Every cavity on board is self-draining, including the floor and hatches. It’s complemented with a deep internal freeboard, staying true to Scotty’s safety-first mantra. The dual console has a long list of femme-friendly features including a 12/240v hot-water system, Isotherm fridge/freezer draw set-up and BBQ. Water capacity is 100L (optional) and fuel is 600L with the option for more auxiliary tanks.

THE BACK END

A pair of 250HP L6 Mercury Verado outboards sits on the moderate vee transom. Scotty tips us off as we slip behind the wheel. “She’s very responsive on the helm and lots of fun to drive. The boat is set up for cruising around the 24–26 knot mark. It loves that speed and performs really well in a travelling sea, it doesn’t do anything silly.”

The Fury has great visibility from the helm, whether sitting or standing. Scotty achieved this by designing the cab as wide as possible and extending the windows all the way to the roof, removing the need for clears. There is more than 2m of clearance between the floor and cabin roof. It’s proved a winning design, not just for driver egos, but it’s exceptionally dry as well, often a problem in dual console rigs.

ELECTRONIC ARMOURY

Scotty’s crew can fit any engines you want, but his electronic armoury is always Simrad. The demo boat is fitted with a pair of NSS12 Evo3 units. “I love the units because they’re so user-friendly and very easy to fit,” he says. “All our customers love ’em.” Scott works closely with Peter Turner from Maritime Electronics, ensuring every boat is set up to the owner’s requirements.

He designed the dash to fit around the Evos. Mounted on black carbon panelling, it creates a Bentley-like vibe. Scotty says he was inspired by airplane helms. Downstairs is a 1kW tilted element transducer, as well as structure scan. Above the cab sits a 4G radar system. The rig is running a VesselView display that talks to the Verados. A four-battery set-up, (two house and two starters) provides juice for the whole operation.

Scotty reckons easy-to-operate electronic gear is a must along this coastline. “There’s a lot of reef and boat traffic in summer — hence the radar. There are also plenty of drunken sailors returning home from Rotto you should give a wide berth to.”

BOAT NERD ALERT

We’re on Herring Beach, in the lee of Garden Island, and Scotty is sipping from a fresh bottle of Bourbon and Coke. We can tell he’s not looking forward to cameras in his face and a barrage of curly Captain questions. But he survives the ordeal, hitting the high notes on questions involving lay-up and build quality. Without breaking a sweat, Scotty takes us below decks. “There’s no plywood in the boat at all, apart from some upholstery and silky oak finish in the lockers to give the boat a nice contrasting feature,” he says. “The hull has four longitudinal backbone stringers.

They’re all PVC foam core and run the full length of the boat. They tie into the transom and each frame is in the centre of each motor, with a big supporting knee. We glass the longitudinal in then put the cross frames in. We don’t use a subframe spider set-up like a lot of guys do — because this way we get a lot more underfloor room for storage. I reckon it’s a lot stronger than any boat on the market. If you look at our thicknesses, we’re virtually bulletproof.”

At this point, The Captain reminds Scotty that the last builder who made that claim had their transom shot to pieces by an unruly mob of hunters. Scotty remains unmoved. He insists on using good-quality fibreglass materials, including UV-resistant isopthalic gelcoats. Most of the hull and deck components are built in vinyl ester resin. All the wiring is tincoated, heat-shrunk and soldered. Fuel and water tanks are grade 316 stainless steel. It’s all done by the book at Fury Road.

STORAGE KING

In case you hadn’t already noticed, Scotty is a fiend for storage. “There are 120L kill tanks in the floor with an 80L livebait well in the rear,” he says. “There are two locker doors per helm seat with plenty of storage underneath. There’s a storage locker in the centre of the boat, which is great for storing rods, and an extra hatch to get to the bow thruster in the front — as well as more storage!

The Fury Dual Console has a starting price of $250,000 and the model tested came in around the $350,000 mark — a price point that would get you into a respectable game boat. So we quiz Scotty on his value proposition. “We’re catering for the upper end of the market,” he says. “It’s for family boat owners who want a large and stable trailerable boat they can entertain on around Rotto, or tow north on adventures. The Fury is for somebody who wants to fish, but also wants a toilet, shade and somewhere to sleep over for a night or two.” Scotty enjoys a high rate of repeat customers, and based on the value of second-hand models, his boats make for a smart investment. That value is also on show in the presentation, performance and impressive functionality of his rigs.

He is utterly passionate about his job. “I take pride in everything I do,” he says. “I’m very fussy with everything. This is one of the nicest finished boats in WA. Nobody is building a boat like this in Australia.” The man is dead keen to get a few boats over to the east coast, so if you’re a dealer — or a well-paid family bloke on the hunt for a safe, sporty, sexy saltwater sled that won’t look out of place around the bait balls — give Scotty a call and get the keys to a collectable Australian classic.

WHO WANTS ONE?

Fury boats have a cult-like following in WA — and one of Scotty’s best customers is footy hero Mark LeCras. Mark played for the West Coast Eagles and won a grand final in his last game of AFL in 2018. He traded his goal-kicking boots for some jigging rods and plans to head north with the family, touring the Kimberley, Exmouth, Dirk Hartog Island and other remote hot spots.

Originally, he had dreams of a centre console, but his wife steered him toward the dual. He has a few Simrad sweets on board, including two Evo3s and a seven-inch screen above the sink, plus a Simrad autopilot and radar system. He also opted for a side door — to slide kids out and big fish in, hopefully not at the same time. Well played, Mark.