Several Steps Above
High above the bridge in the custom designed tower of the Bad Company Edition visibility is concern number one. You can see for miles in any direction, while at the same time comfort for long days of sight fishing and complete control of the boat are maintained as a top priority. Antennas, hardware, and tower structure itself is all moved to the back so that crewmembers can scan unobstructed to the sides, covering as wide a swath of water as is possible. Captain Lassley made the advantage clear, stating "I want my crew scanning the water to the sides, if the fish are in front of us we'll run into them anyway." With the miles of visibility, tools like the Fraser-Volpe stabilized binoculars offer and an unobstructed view, a crew can cover a track which is miles wide.
Long days of looking for surfaced fish and telltale fins through high-power stabilized binoculars can be tough on the guys spotting from up high. The Bad Company Team knew this all too well and designed innovative ergonomic features into the tower design. The crewmembers on either side of the three man tower have locking seats and bolster padding around the tower frame looking them into a comfortable position to scan miles of open water looking for the bite.
When the time comes to get into the game, easy access from the top of the tower to the cockpit is key. On the Bad Company's custom designed tower, the crew seating on either side drops away with the soft kick of a strut under each. The seat hinges down allowing the spotters to get onto the ladder in an instant. Lassley showed me the feature and explained how these small refinements are the things that come from having over 100 years of experience involved in the design. Along the tower, oversized grab rails and non-skid rungs offer a secure drop into the cockpit and into action. For an angler descending to jump into a hot bite, the tower allows perfect comfort while dropping from skyscraper-like heights.
The custom tower offers most of the traditional advantages along with the great new features. The boat can be run from the tower which is furnished with full controls and an independent electronics interface and display. Visibility aft while trolling is also accommodated by a center position with an unobstructed view of everything happening in the spread and cockpit. A final detail sure to be a crew favorite is a freshwater washdown piped into the tower to make cleaning the high perch a breeze.
