In the Australian marine industry the name Markham has been around since 1976. Company founder Mark Hookham is a qualified shipwright with experience in traditional timber boatbuilding right through to using the latest high-tech laminates. His first range of boats were called Markham Whalers, but since 1991 all models in the range have been upgraded and marketed under the name Markham Dominator. This branding still exists today.

The Markham Dominator 5600 Canyon Runner is the latest boat in the Markham line-up that features the asymmetrical hull design for which the company has become renowned. Throw one of these boats into a tight turn and you will realise why - because unlike other powered catamarans, Markhams lean into a corner rather than awkwardly outwards.

TAKE A BOW
The bow section is square-fronted with a bowsprit of about 300mm featuring a hinged bowroller. The central hatch has gas struts and a large handle that pushes the hatch open and lays it back, allowing access to the short foredeck. Within this large hatch, a smaller transparent hatch allows the cabin to be aired while remaining reasonably dry when underway. When standing in the hatch aperture and working the ground tackle, lockers situated under hatches in each forequarter of the foredeck are within easy reach. These lockers will hold a Danforth anchor, rope and chain, but a large fixed reef pick will have trouble fitting here. A quick fix is to install an anchor sleeve on the bowrail to hold reef anchors. A recess in the foredeck aft of the bowsprit holds rope and chain when hauling ground tackle until it can be safely stored before getting underway.

LET THERE BE LIGHT
Fixed tinted windows allow some light into the cabin, the floor of which is raised about 100mm above the cockpit. There is enough room to sleep two adults in this area but not enough room to sit up. It is more a storage area and a companionway to the forward hatch than a comfortable sleeping proposition. You have to crawl through the squat cabin to get your torso through the hatch and work the ground tackle.

A large fibreglass module fixed against the portside liner and against the cabin bulkhead replaces a passenger seat. It comfortably seats two people on its long side and one on the aft end or one person lounging on top. The lid lifts up to reveal a small sink and freshwater tap with push button electric operation as well as an insulated storage area for food or bait.

The skipper has a swivel seat, with forward and aft slide, mounted on a narrow fibreglass module that has an access hole in the aft end to allow storage within. Expansive underdeck storage is accessed via a hatch between the passenger seat module and the helmseat.

At the helm are Seastar hydraulic steering and twin binnacle mount Yamaha controls for the pair of 90hp carburetted two-stroke outboards. Also flush mounted in the dash are Furuno's Navigator GP-31 GPS and FCV-600L colour sounder.

A pocket on the portside runs from the galley module to near the transom bulkhead - interrupted by a vertical hatch for a single battery elevated off the deck level and neatly concealed. The deckwash is tucked under the transom coaming. Also flush mounted in the coaming is a hinged cutting board that lifts to reveal a shallow tackle tray for wet lures or rigged deadbaits, knives, pliers and other accessories.

WALK THE PLANK
A raised gangway runs between the two engines, with a fold-down stainless steel safety gate at its end that converts into a boarding ladder. The door for access onto that gangway is made of heavy-duty nylon and opens into the cockpit, so that even if you fall against it in rough seas, it remains closed.

The cockpit floor drains via a scupper into the enginewell that has lipped coamings protecting the fuel filters and looms going to the outboards. That water in turn runs overboard via a permanently open port. The deck on the testboat was carpeted. Due to the haste in getting it to Port Stephens for the test, four underdeck hatches were yet to be installed to provide kill tanks and further storage space. With these completed, the cockpit would be transformed into a well laid out workstation.

Another shallow bait tray is situated in the starboard coaming as well as a Bermuda baitboard fixed nearby. Four flush-mounted rodholders in the transom coaming and the eight stainless steel rodholders in the rocket launcher fixed to the back of the hardtop provide more rigged rod storage.

A console for radios and speakers is installed under the brow of the hardtop, which provides plenty of shade for those standing or sitting in the forward section of the cockpit.

PACKS A PUNCH
The conditions offshore from Nelson Bay were ideal for boat testing. Southeasterlies gusting to 25kmh stacked up plenty of chop inside the bay, and near the bar the swell coming through made the water more interesting.

At trolling speed into a windy chop, the Dominator was very stable.

Some shuddering could be felt due to the amount of hull in contact with the rough surface, but the noise of steep chop punching through the tunnel did not translate into a rough ride.

Running up to its comfortable cruise speed of around 35kmh, both engines showed 3500rpm. Throwing the Dominator into a hard lock with plenty of breeze on the forequarter was a non-event, with no spray coming onto the windscreen let alone onboard. We tried hard to get wet, throwing the boat around in the confused sea at this speed, but to no avail. Although we braced for the landing when the boat hit a wave and became airborne, the water could be heard frothing in the tunnel and supporting the boat as it nestled in without a bone-jarring jolt. Pushed to its limit of 5200rpm, we thought it could get a bit more pace with a re-prop, but it still showed a top speed of around 70kmh on the GPS.

While there are a couple of sacrifices to be made with a catamaran, such as minimal cabin room and the need to run two engines, the pluses are its stability in big seas, the extra cockpit space available to work in and the bigger than normal auxiliary motor should the other break down.

The Dominator proved to be an exceptionally dry boat that behaved like a monohull when manoeuvring at speed. It gets 10 out of 10 for its gentle landings off big waves and scores well in the cockpit space department. It is a boat that in physical dimensions is at the lower end of the scale for those looking for a serious offshore sportsfishing boat, but put it in that environment and it will leave many of its peers behind.