A Navy flattop bristling with fighter jets glided into San Diego Bay on a rare early spring morning when the sun was bright, offshore winds
pushing the last of the fog offshore to bedevil the bluefin fleet. A perfect day for a boat ride, and what a boat!
It was easy to pick out the Tuna Can in the lineup of boats along the Shelter Island Marina docks – a 36- by 13-foot aluminum catamaran with an 18-foot tower wrapped in vivid dorado and tuna images can’t hide anywhere. Owner Bachir Saade literally had ACI Boats – a Port
Townsend, WA builder of all-welded aluminum catamarans for all kinds of commercial and recreational pursuits – create his vision of the perfect vessel with which to hunt down offshore species. Local bluefin and yellowfin tuna are at the top of Bachir’s offshore targets, and he’s been on the big bluefin bite for years now.
“I’ve fished all kinds of boats and I just really like the way the twin hulls perform, so I decided to get a catamaran,” he said. “And aluminum seemed the way to go, it’s so easy to take care of, just wash it down. I was watching a YouTube video and I saw an aluminum hull boat I liked, but I could only see the name of the boat and an A on the side. I did a search and found ACI Boats up in Washington. full article