grinner2

Hi Grinner i will be picking mine up on Tuesday i will let you know as i am taking it out Thursday cheers Pete

A review as promised. First impressions were great the boat is a great size welding was good but there were a couple of spots were they forgot to polish. If you had a painted hull you wouldnt have noticed. I did find a couple of spots on the outer hull which still had a bit of black on them. The fit out is very neat with no ugly surprises and the storage under the front is massive. Mine came fitted with a rear folding bimini which looks great up but it is near impossible with only one person to get enough tension to put the horizontal brace arms up. We took the boat which is mated with a 90 horse power command thrust with the 115 leg out for an island run in keppel bay. we left into a 10 to 15 knot SE wind with a 1 meter short sharp chop. We were dead into it at first and i couldnt get the nose down enough for my own preference probably due to the large motor. Trim Tabs or more weight at the front could resolve this. The ride was surprisingly good but after a couple of good old spine rattlers we proceeded to a 60 degree tack to the waves and the ride was much better.We never got off the plane though the whole trip. Note to anyone buying, the seats look good but after a couple of thumps your arse is sitting on the base and you will feel every bump. I would get some good high density foam seats if you are doing a lot of rough stuff. We stopped frequently and turned the boat at a number of angles to the waves. The boat is remarkably stable and i could easily walk around even side on to the swell. I found that it was also easy to stand and drive the boat if required. I had spray chimes installed on the boat and they worked well and i only copped a little bit of spray. Behind the Keppels the swell picked up to abour 1.5 meters and we trolled at about six to eight knots the boat stability was a real stand out and it felt sure footed in any angle. We were lucky enough to snag a large spanish and while reversing up hard we had no water enter over the back. I would have liked a couple of rod holder at the front of the boat which i [didnt ask for i just assumed they would be there. The kill tank was effective and did its job and was conveniently placed beside the helm. We returned to Rossely Bay with a following sea between 1.5 to a meter and the boat was exceptional in a following sea. With a retreating tide and a shallow bay i never got hit with any spray and it was a very comfortable trip home at about 18 knots. The motor after 4 hours running used 8.2 litres an hour which is impressive. The big Merc was a good match and was very very quiet. Retrieving the boat should have been easy with the dunbar trailer due to its self aligning design but we found the spray chimes would come in contact with the slide bars and push the nose either way. I sank the trailer deeper and that seemed to resolve this. Overall i was very happy with the boat it was exceptional in open water and in a following sea. I will get the trim right on an incoming sea or weight the front a bit and the head on ride will improve dramatically. It drives like a much bigger boat than the 490 and because i stepped down from a 610 i was expecting less than it is. It certainly created a lot of interest and favourable comments at the boat ramp from other fishos who have been waiting to see one in the flesh. I picked up my package from Southern Fish Marine, Anthony and Wendy did a fantastic package and really set it up for fishing. I hope this helps guys