AFTER more than 12 months of R and D, Integra Marine Solutions are extremely excited with the release of their 385 Escape Car Topper tinnie.
“Having been in the boating game for close to 15 years, I have always had a desire to produce a boat of my own,” said Director Scott Brough. “After having built lightweight boats for customers in recent years then moving onto carbon fibre outrigger canoes, I figured a lightweight car topper was the go.
“We looked at what was on offer and took in a lot of feedback from boats and travellers alike to come up with a boat that is a manageable size but packed full of useful features.
“The biggest attribute is the weight, or in this case the lack of weight. Typically car toppers have been aluminium and due to the nature of the material, layout options and features are limited”.
What sets the 385 apart from a traditional tinnie is not only the foam sandwich construction but the ability to have a more usable layout without having to remove multiple pieces to comply with roof load limits on vehicles.
The standard layout boasts large moulded hatches front and rear with the aft casting deck at 750mm in length and forward casting deck at 1500mm in length, allowing easy access to loads of dry storage, as well as a versatile anchor locker come storage compartment forward.
A full length integral floor throughout the cockpit and forward lockers provides stable footing without the hinderance of the “v” hull for storing boxes and batteries etc.
Seadek is standard to both casting decks with the option to customise with the use of CNC routing for logos, borders and patterns.
“We are very happy with the ride comfort of the 385,” says Brough. “This was one of the main criteria for the design, as majority of our customers are Grey Nomads and perhaps not as nimble as they used to be. The ability to go out in the morning and head back to the ramp in the afternoon chop, in comfort and without the pounding, was a major point raised with a lot of people.
“With a variable deadrise of 12 to 8 degrees at the transom and a fine entry close to that of some of the larger vessels on the market, we have found that there isn’t any issue with pounding in rougher conditions. Add to that the foam sandwich which buffers a lot of discomfort anyway.
“We have incorporated a planing plank into the hull design to aid lift and paling efficiency. Moving forward, a deeper forefoot allows reserve buoyancy for higher load capacity such as larger batteries for electrical systems, bow mount motors and gear.
“We have seen great performance results from the Suzuki df20 outboard with phenomenal fuel economy any top speed of around 20knots with two people and gear.
“A 15hp Yamaha 2 stroke provides a good value option with a very slight reduction in speeds but a reduced handling weight also”.
For further information contact Scott Brough on 0408 887 416.
