From The Helm: 1977 Harris 36 Sportfisherman

My father, Capt. Dick Bellavance, and I have been operating the Priority Too as a six-pack charter boat out of Point Judith, Rhode Island for the past 15 seasons. We operate the Priority Too primarily as a day charter, with typical half-day and full-day inshore trips and full-day offshore trips of 10 hours and 12 hours. We run under 100 trips a season. Prior to her duties in Point Judith, the Priority Too was the Nancy B, operated by Captain Howard Beers from Niantic, Connecticut.

The cockpit is 10 feet by 11 feet with two custom fighting chairs. The cabin is appointed with a four-seat dinette to port, a full bench to starboard and windows all around. Down below in the foc’sle, a v-birth sleeps two. A fully enclosed head to port and a crew locker to starboard complete the layout below.
Above the cabin is a doghouse-style bridge with a center helm and electronics mounted to the starboard. I prefer to run a boat from the bridge above, and this is how the Priority Too is set up. While I get bounced around on some days, the vantage point I gain from being up higher has proven helpful more often than not. Spotting debris, lobster gear, gill nets, fish pots, bait, birds, rips and breaking fish is all easier from up top.

There are many nice features found on the 36-foot Harris that make her a great charter boat. For starters, she is a heavy boat, built very solid. The hull is solid fiberglass and laid up a full 5/4 thick in many places. The spacious cockpit affords tons of room for folks to gather as we pull in the big catches. The cabin is fully enclosed and gives our clients a place to escape when Mother Nature acts up or they need to escape the sun. Lots of big windows add to the airy, open feeling inside.

The big 430 HP Cummins 6C8.3TA diesel engine with a twin disc 507 gear and 23×23 four blade propeller on a 1¾-inch stainless shaft will push her along at 15 knots while turning 2100 RPMs. At 2400 RPMs, she will do 18 knots but burn a lot of fuel. I run her at 2100 and burn about 1 gallon per nautical mile while steaming. At idle she will troll at 5 knots, a bit too fast for striped bass, so we installed a trolling valve on the twin disc gear and I can fully control my troll speed based on any conditions. A wet exhaust, complete with a giant muffler, keep her fairly quiet.

When we drift-fish, I have noticed that she tends to drift a little bit forward, so I will account for that when positioning a drift over structure. On the hook, she is a dream. Her solid construction keeps her nice and steady when we anchor up.

I have always used Furuno Electronics and you will find Furuno radars, fishfinders and plotters on the bridge of the Priority Too. A couple laptop computers support my P-Sea WindPlot and Olfish reporting software.

The Harris is a solid fiberglass hull with balsa-cored decks and gunwales, built in Portsmouth, New Hampsire. She has a full keel, and is a tremendous sea boat. I can personally attest to her performance in less than ideal conditions. Rhode Island Sound and the waters surrounding Block Island can get pretty nautical at times, and we have put this 36 Harris through the paces over the past 15 seasons. She is better into a sea than following,  takes a quartering sea just fine, and with last season’s addition of some longer PVC spray rails set right on the chine, she is pretty dry. Those spray rails also helped reduce her yaw in a following sea and keep her on track when we take it on the beam. She is very maneuverable in tight spots, but you must be aware of the tide and its effect on her full keel. The Priority Too has a right-handed propeller, and she will back to port as a rule. You will not find a bow thruster on this Harris, and I seldom wish I had one. Her smooth control cables and hydraulic steering help to make docking a snap.

A neat idea I borrowed from Capt. John Parente of the charter boat Patty J is a super-sized fish box built into the transom. I lifted the box off the deck 4 inches so the mate can get his feet under it to help facilitate gaffing, netting or harpooning fish along the stern. The box is insulated and holds four totes of ice. A drain and removable standpipe quickly turn the fish box into a livewell that will keep several bluefish alive all day. The top features an offset hinge and a fillet table rests right on top so the mate has easy access to the day’s bounty for filleting on the way back to port, while keeping the mess to a minimum.

Through the years we have worked to update and maintain the Priority Too. We work her fairly hard, and I have to say, she is a good boat. We receive compliments frequently from our clients stating how comfortable the boat is and all seem to like the spacious layout. She is economical to run, and I see them for sale from time to time for about $40,000. I spend a lot of time on the Priority Too, and I can report with confidence that she is a well designed and constructed boat. The 36 Harris can be a great pleasure boat as well as a charter boat, and they are available in twin screw or single screw.