Reviews

VIDEO: White Pointer 750 Targa Top

What do you get when you cross a beauty and a rampaging beast? Well, her name’s Haviti and she’s a brand new custom-built Targa Top model from White Pointer Boats. Matthew Jones took her for a blast before she was shipped off to bite the fertile fishing grounds of New Caledonia.

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Like Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider character Lara Croft, a White Pointer boat is curvaceous yet packs a punch. There’s more to the curves than meets the eye, as the lack of hard edges is one of the reasons a White Pointer boat rides so well, allowing water to be gently turned away rather than slamming.

Naval architects expertly pen their designs, which are then CNC cut and built from the inside out on jigs — this allows the curves to be created and ensures the utmost in accuracy is achieved. A 6mm plate alloy outer skin (with pressure tested buoyancy chambers within) completes this smooth-riding, wave-defying and titanium-tough battleship.

With a brief weather window and Haviti ready for export, a last minute flight to Gisborne was booked to take her for a blast before her departure. Conditions on the test day were rather pleasant, with only a metre of lazy swell and some slight wind chop — while not ideal for a testing White Pointer boat review, it did allow the twin throttles to be fully engaged.

No complaints

For safety and peace of mind while fishing offshore, Haviti has two counter-rotating DF175hp Suzuki four-stroke outboards bolted to the back. White Pointer has added additional buoyancy to the outboard pods to cater for the abundance of refined grunt and additional weight, and with 350hp on tap she flies out of the hole and delivers mouth-watering performance. With the twin outboards set close together for maximum speed she needs plenty of revs each way to spin on the spot but will be hard to beat to offshore fishing grounds.

The boat does 46 knots and gets there in scintillating fashion. There are no complaints from the unyielding hull, which provides a smooth, well-mannered and sure-footed ride. Your eyes will water with the clears off at this speed, but I can now see why dogs are so fond of sticking their heads out of car windows. With the clears on there’s plenty of protection at the helm, but on a nice day they can be easily removed for an abundance of fresh air — very handy for the tropics or for enjoying a Kiwi summer.

Helm ergonomics are commendable and the fully-adjustable leather bolster seats (on soft-rider pedestals) are both classy and seriously comfortable. They allow both the skipper and passenger to enjoy back of the leg support while standing, or a comfortable seat while looking through (or above) the protection of the curved safety glass windscreen. Haviti has been pre-wired so the owner can fit his own electronics and radar on delivery, with a decent space available on the large horizontal dash.

Cockpit heaven

Step on board and the first thing that will capture any fisherman’s attention is the massive cockpit-to-hull-length ratio. While I wasn’t standing there with a calculator and measuring tape at the time, I’ve admired a lot of cockpits and this one’s well endowed. What lies beneath is an equally impressive amount of catch storage in the trophy-capable underfloor compartments, with custom-made plastic fish bins to be fitted prior to shipment.

White Pointer has gone the extra mile to ensure a few clever custom features make fishing in the tropics a breeze. As her owner does a lot of mahi mahi fishing, the fuel lines have been fully protected for extra safety when these beautiful fish turn nasty once on board. For safety while spear fishing or casting poppers for giant trevally from the bow, a removable stand up T-bar grab rail mounts into two ports just aft of the anchor. An expansive array of lures can be kept in easy reach, with lure racks on either side of the cockpit.

The custom bait board features a food grade cutting board, cup/tackle holders and handy knife holders. Live baits can be kept close by in the easy access live-well in the transom walk-through. A full LED lighting system (including deck spotlights and blue underwater lights) means fishing can be extended outside daylight hours.

There are six rod holders in the rocket launcher, six in the gunwales and a further four on the bait board. While the canvas shade extension blocks access to the overhead rocket launcher while extended, it cleverly slides back into the rooftop grab rails when you want it out of the way.

Clean up should almost be fun: the boat’s triple batteries and VSR are safely housed up high behind hatches, the large self-draining cockpit’s treadplate floor and Nyalic-coated interior surfaces will be easily cleaned with the saltwater wash-down system, and the automatic bilge pump will take care of the rest.

Family friendly

Making sure the family is as comfortable as possible out on the water is the key to good times and happy memories. Alloy box seats, with storage beneath, allow the kids to have a cushioned spot while fishing — simple yet effective. There’s also a boarding ladder on the bow for nosing into a beach, underberth and side-shelf storage in the cabin for stowing gear and an automatic capstan for easy anchoring.

A pull-out shower nozzle on the transom and 80 litres of freshwater will allow for a refreshing rinse after wet-activities while tube-floor matting increases comfort underfoot. Full-length vee-berths and a roll-out pipe berth afford sleeping accommodation for three.

At the ramp, White Pointer’s custom-built tandem-axle trailer (with disc brakes, skids and snub-block catch) allowed Haviti to be driven off and on for a straight-forward launch and retrieve. At 2700kg on the trailer (with 100 litres of fuel on board) she’ll need a capable tow vehicle, but the ocean will be at your mercy.

The last word

White Pointer’s new 750 Targa Top model adds a versatile element to this range of ocean predators. With her stunning metallic gold paint finish, complementary leather upholstery and curvaceous figure, Haviti (beautiful) is certainly a fitting name.

Expert customisation, functionality and exemplary build quality are evident throughout and there’s certain to be a few anxious fish and a happy family on her arrival in New Caledonia.

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Photography: Matthew Jones

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