Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 3, 1995 TAG: 9507040011
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The craft carry the brand names of Bullet and Allison, and they often cause people driving to nearby Claytor Lake State Park to slow and gawk, and sometimes stop.
We aren't talking about racing boats. What Debbie and Sam Phillips, the owners of the boat dealership, are selling are the bad boys of bass boats.
``If some guy says he is going to steal your fishing hole,'' Sam Phillips said, ``if you have one of these, you can tell him you will see him when he gets there.''
How fast will they go?
Well, when you climb into any modern bass boat, you wear your billed cap backward to keep the wind from ripping it off your skull. With the Bullet and Allison, you sit on your cap and you hope your hair is well-rooted.
As for the actual speed, Phillips said the Allison V-bottom hull holds a world record of 128 mph. The same hull set up as a bass boat has been clocked at 115 mph. The Allison is slightly faster than a speeding Bullet, but not by much, Phillips said.
The Phillipses, best know as johnboat dealers, got into the high-performance bass boat business a year ago, when they took on the Allison line. They added the Bullet in the fall.
``These boats aren't for everybody,'' Sam Phillips said. ``They are top-of-the-line. I don't expect to sell many. They are for people who want performance for their money.''
That leaves behind fishermen who have a faint heart or a skinny wallet, which appears to be a pretty reliable description of many boat buyers.
In fact, the Phillipses have yet to sell an Allison.
``A lot of people have filled out papers on it that couldn't buy it, and the guy who can buy it, he ain't bought it yet,'' Sam Phillips said. ``It is here waiting on him.''
The performance bass-boat buyer likely has owned several bass boats, is an experienced tournament fisherman and is willing to hock his house to get what he wants.
``They aren't cheap,'' Phillips said. ``You are looking at the mid $20,000 and up.''
Then, Phillips waves an arm toward a red 20-foot Bullet carrying a black, 2.5-litre Super Magnum Mariner outboard that churns out 260 horsepower.
``The big red one over there with the 2.5 on it lists with everything on it - loaded up - for around $35,000. It will run 91 [mph].''
The high-performance prop costs $895. The engine requires a 36-to-1 mix of synthetic racing oil packaged in 21/2-gallon containers that sell for $90.
Tim McCoy of Pulaski owns a Bullet with the name ``Wild Thing'' painted on the gunwale. Phillips remembers the day McCoy, a noted New River muskie fisherman, came into the marina to talk about chasing a different species in a high-performance bass boat.
``I'm turning 50 years old, and I'm starting my second childhood,'' McCoy said. ``I want the biggest, baddest, purplest boat you have.''
The weapon of choice for McCoy was a Bullet with the console set in the center for better control and balance at high speeds. He and Tod Hamby, the mechanic at Lakeside Marine, took it to a tournament on Smith Mountain Lake in the fall. Hamby had never fished Smith Mountain, and McCoy said he knew only one spot where he consistently could catch bass. That happened to be at the other end of the lake.
``So they left there running 75 mph and went all the way to the other end of the lake where Tim knew where to fish,'' Phillips said. ``They took fifth place, where in a smaller boat you couldn't have done it. With a boat like this, you can get there faster and stay longer. If you need it, you have the speed.''
The question, do you have too much speed?
``All my guys are safe,'' Phillips said. ``I really go over about being safe. You can't just turn around and let your buddy jump into one of these boats and say, `I'll take that boat and run 80 or 90 mph.' You have to build up to it. You have to get used to it, or it will scare you to death. Once you do, it is the easiest-driving boat you've ever driven.''
Allison Boats has the long-held reputation of being the builder of craft that have swept the competition aside in the racing world. In the 1960s and early '70s, when racing was popular on Claytor and Smith Mountain, Allisons were the winners.
``My dad took six-tenths of a second off the world record in 1968, and it was 63 mph with a 125-hp outboard,'' Phillips said. ``Now we are going fishing at 70 and 80.''
The limited-production Allison bass boat is lightweight, just 975 pounds. It is built of steel, Kevlar, fiberglass and foam - no wood.
The Bullet has more beam, which adds to its storage space and casting decks, features Phillips favors. Both craft are made in Tennessee.
by CNB