Buccaneer Boats managing director Gerry Gerrand describes the 485 Classic XL as "a big-volume little boat" - his exact philosophy when he set about designing this new model, released at the 1996 IMTEC Boat Show.
The people Gerrand sees as buyers of the 485 are grass roots, entry-level boat owners, small-family men who want a little something extra in their boat. It is also aimed at the older couple or single boatie who has trouble handling a bigger vessel, or simply where changed circumstances dictate a smaller boat.
It is ideal too for teenage children, who love to get out in the family boat to pursue their interest in skiing, knee-boarding, diving or fishing. It is a boat that is easily handled by the less experienced.
The design concept was to give owners all the creature comforts in an alternative to aluminium, at an affordable price."It is very easy to be deceived by the sheer volume and beam of the vessel, and to forget that it is still a small boat, at 4.85m long," says Gerrand.
"It is these boats, however, that most people start out in, and we at Buccaneer feel it is important to look after this segment of the market. While other dealers tend to build and develop bigger and bigger hulls, we don't forget that other people with different ideals and situations want smaller boats."
Hull and Mechanicals
Developing the tried and proven Buccaneer 480 hull, designer Gerrand added an extra step to the chine to give the 485 increased beam and volume, increased the deadrise to 21 degrees, added windows to the front, and modified the portofino and transom configuration at the stern.

Items now standard on the 485 are the for'ard cabin sidelinings, bucket seats and pedestals, upholstery, graphics, carpet, rotary cable steering, the BEP wiring loom and switch panel, navigation lights, bilge pump and rear lift-out seats.
The only extras on the model I tested were the headlining, bow-rail, canopy and the underfloor tank (which Buccaneer very strongly recommends to it's clients, as it further enhances stability, and extends range).

As a further bonus to owners, Buccaneer hulls are now built to the soon-to-be-released CPC, a compliance plate programme of minimum standards for New Zealand boats which is far more stringent than those of other countries, even American Coast Guard standards. New Zealand conditions are often worse than those of the United States and other boating nations around the world, so the industry here, rather than being regulated by legislation, has drafted its own set of minimum standards for hull construction.
Always an industry leader, Buccaneer quickly adopted the criteria.

At 5.19m in overall length, 4.85m in hull length, 2.155m in beam and with an all-up towing weight of 1000kg, the 485 hull is built of hand-laid and gun-stocked solid GRP. Underfloor, two longitudinal beams and cross-bracing separate the floor into four separate chambers, the rear two of which are filled with foam buoyancy for safety as well as strength.
As mentioned, stepped chines add beam to the original design as well as stability, and two lifting strakes each side aid planing ability. With this in mind, the maximum recommended horsepower rating was raised from 90hp to 115hp. The minimum rating is 60hp, although Gerrand suggests 70hp is probably a more sensible lower level.
Power for our test boat, supplied kindly by Waikato dealers Roger Gill Marine, is a mid-range 90hp, three cylinder Yamaha outboard, running a standard aluminium three-blade Yamaha propeller. Steering is Seastar rotary helm and cable, and remote throttle and gear control is standard Yamaha 703, as is the comprehensive instrumentation package of rev counter, mph speedo, fuel, trim and hour gauges.
The BEP switch panel operates the nav lights, cabin lights bilge pump and the anchoring light.
The Buccaneer 486 Classic XL comes on to the market at $15,495, but all-up, including the Voyager Trailer, Yamaha outboard and all the extras, this particular vessel has an on-the water price of $32,995.

Layout
The portofino on the 485 is a compact little affair, more a combination of features that tie together the rear of the vessel than an outboard platform. The transom angles up to the portofino quite sharply on pods each side of the outboard bracket, to retain as much waterline length as possible, while still having an angle to create lift when reversing. Cleats, handgrips, rod holders and a sheath to cover the engine cables and loom complement this part of the boat.
The portofino upright is step-over rather than through, over the lift-out rear seats each side of the outboard well.
Cockpit size is quite acceptable, especially as there are rear seats as well as front pedestal seats - there is ample room to move about in or to fish, if you are that way inclined.
Both the battery (in a battery box) and an extra tote tank fit under the portofino platform, and other gear can be stored either up front under front squabs, in the back rests in for'ard cabin (phones, wallets, keys and the like have to be stored here, as there are no dry pockets outside), in the side shelving in the cockpit, in the pedestal seat bases (big enough for a fishing tackle box), or underfloor aft of the 90 litre stainless fuel tank. The latter would store two dive bottles.
The helm area is well designed, with remotes out of the way of the wheel, enough height to see over the top of the screen when standing and through it when sitting, good visibility when seated, enough gauges to keep the driver in touch with the state of play in the engine department, footrests each side, and enough room between helm and seat to stand in comfort.
The front seats, which swivel but don't adjust back and forward or up and down, lock the driver into place and don't flop around the place.
The area up for'ard is very pleasant, and quite upmarket. The front port bulkhead is omitted, and the dash is carried well forward so everyone in the cabin is in touch with the cockpit. The area is side and roof-lined and carpeted. There is also an interior light.

The wiring and rotary helm are concealed behind a dash panel, and most important of all, the area is well lit and non-claustrophobic.
The front and side windows, rare in a "hump-front" cabin configuration (designed to maximise cabin space in a small boat), allow up to four passengers in this area to see out - and therefore reduce toe potential for seasickness.
The centre front window is in fact a hatch, which lifts up to give to access to the anchor hatch for'ard. You can actually walk around the outside of the coaming tops to the bow, but it makes sense on a vessel this size to utilise the safety of the bow-rail and the easy step inside the cabin (lower than the squab level, so you don't have to step on the squabs). The reach to the bowsprit is easy, so anchoring and retrieving is no backbreaking chore.

Let's Go Fishing
"Mr Buccaneer" is a very keen fisherman, and as the waters around Motiti Island have an enviable reputation with local fisherman, it doesn't take an Albert Einstein to work out what we would be doing for at least part of the test.
First of all, however, I had to get myself prepared for what I thought was going to be the beating of my life - the open ocean is never calm, especially in a 4.85m cabin runabout.
Stepping aboard, the first obvious feature was the stability. The extra beam and extra chine step counter-acted the 21-degree deadrise very effectively, and the Classic was as steady as a rock as I stepped aboard.
The trip up Tauranga Habour was pleasant enough. The 485 took off well (I wonder what the performance would be like with a 115hp power plant?), and we were soon out onto bigger water.
Immediately Gerrand backed off, his earlier words coming back to me: "People tend to misjudge the size of this boat, thinking it is bigger and therefore more capable of handling bigger seas-drive to the conditions."
The seating position of the classic is just right, gauges and throttles to hand. For the passenger, there is a substantial and surprisingly strong windscreen frame, which, with the lack of a nearby hand grip, becomes the sensible place to hang onto in rough conditions.
Balance was yet another Gerrand comment which immediately came back to haunt me; with her low centre of gravity and weight perfectly amidships, flew off the waves at a near-level attitude, and landed nicely just on her stern each time. The 21-degree stern took the brunt of the impact, without then cantilevering the front down like a shot out of a gun.
This characteristic, and the foam in the hull which deadened sound as well as impact, meant the trip across to Motiti, in under an hour from Tauranga Marina was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
We got a little spray over us at times - a fact of life, I'm afraid, in a small boat, but only once in all that way did the hull give out anything even approaching a decent bang.
Just to see what the XL would do at full speed, we opened it up, and although the ride was lively and a little hairy in the conditions, it was still very safe.
Back we went to our sedate 3500rpm at 20mph, with just quarter trim, and trundled on.
Once into the lee of Motiti Island, we were able to increase the speed 5mph, not on the throttles but just by adjusting to half trim- amazing. I could tell the hull was efficient, because we did not have to go up and down on the throttles as we went up some of the "hills" on the way out, but I didn't quite expect that much response from a relatively small adjustment of trim angle.
Into even calmer waters, and we managed a top speed of 43mph at 5500rpm.
Lunch, aboard a "mother ship" was a chance to catch up on all the gossip and future plans of Buccaneer, and then it was time to go catch some fish. Kingfish were high on the list of priorities for Gerrand.
The wind had come up somewhat, and it was decidedly rougher as we poked our heads round the corner of the island, heading out to the Astrolabe, a reef five miles or so off Motiti Island.
A bar-type situation evolved over this reef, just below the surface, creating a situation akin to being locked on the wrong side of a washing machine door, as it was turned on.
Round and over this reef we motored, for a good hour and a half, without the slightest hint of a kingi strike. We did get second prize though - huge kahawai had been rounded up into two great meatballs, proved exciting to catch.
All the time, motoring around, I took the Buccaneer completely for granted. Only when we made the decision to go in and get some photos, then head for home, did I fully realise and begin to appreciate what we had just put the boat through. Backing up in 2m-plus seas, running along the tops of the waves beam-on, and chasing the roaming pack back and forward, there was not even the slightest hint that the boat was not handling the conditions well. We were both able to stand and fight our kahawai in complete safety.
Only once we were away from the main part of the reef and into slightly calmer and more uniform wave patterns, and with our minds off fishing and back on test, did I have the chance to look back and appreciate the size of the water. Can you have such a thing as a bluewater 4.85m boat?
The trip back, running with the sea, was understandably a big call for such a little hull. She rode up and down the waves with ease, again without riding the throttles more than just a few times through the worst of it. It was just a long drive down some of the waves, with a right angle at the bottom.
The agonisingly obvious point was, just as when running into the sea and "driving to the conditions", the Buccaneer yet again performed well, and coped with the conditions safely and with consummate ease.

The Vitals.
Specifications

Boat type Trailerable cabin runabout
Designer Gerry Gerrand
Builder Buccaneer Pleasurecraft Ltd
Construction Solid GRP
LOA 5.19m
LWL 4.845m
Beam 2.155m
Draft 300mm
Towing weight 1000kg
Fuel capacity 90 litres underfloor
Engine 90hp, three cylinder Yamaha outboard
Propeller Yamaha three-blade aluminium
Top speed 69.19kph (43mph)
Cruising speed 48-56kph (30-35mph)
Boat supplied by Roger Gill Marine