Sea Trek 59 Hundred Supersport. My new boat.

[Birdy]

Jeff ,

I seen it sitting in your yard the other day while we walked the mutt.
Looks impressive and very shiney !. Hope ya get it dirty soon .

Birdy

[Short Fuse]

Hi Mick. Nearly ready for that race after taking the boat for a big shakedown run over the past two days.

Birdy - got the boat dirty. Put some bait stains, blood and squid ink over it, and even managed to take a bit of paint off one of the skegs thanks to the Scarborough boat ramp at mid tide.

My brother Ray and I launched the boat around lunch time on Sunday loaded with a full load of fuel and water, as well as heaps of fishing gear, cooking gear and assorted bits and pieces and headed off to Moreton Island. Did not have any set fishing plans, rather just to put a few hours on the motors and to test everything out. Any fishing would be a bonus.

One of the pictures taken by Andrew (Bris31 camerman) on the day of the maiden launch. Boat running at 16 knots.


Took our time running the boat at varying speeds and revs for the first hour, and then decided to open it up and see how it ran. The motors topped out at 6200 revs with the GPS showing 36.1 knots before I dropped the revs back. With a good boat load, 4000 revs had us running at 21 knots using 30 litres per hour according to the guages. Spent an hour trolling around Cape Moreton, but no interest was shown in our lures. I ran in close to the Cape and we cast a few soft plastics around. Ray christened the boat by catching a snapper in the low 40 cms range, so after a few photos, the fish was released.


Spent the night anchored up a few hundred metres off the beach at Yellowpatch. After cooking dinner, I turned on the underwater blue lights and in no time had a heap of bait swarming around the stern. I put out a squid jig, and over the next hour caught 12 medium sized squid which went straight into the ice box for future baits. The boat was very comfortable to sleep in overnight, and daylight saw us back at Cape Moreton deploying soft plastics and we managed to catch 8 snapper to 60cms keeping 4 of them and releasing the rest. Did a lot more running around, trolling and some sounding at various speeds to test out the effectiveness of the flush mount transducer. Was able to get a very clear reading in 80 metres of water while running at 20 knots.

By the time we got back to the ramp, the sea breeze had kicked in and allowed me to give the boat a really good run in some fairly choppy water, especially outside where there was also a good swell running. All told, we put just over 8 hours on the motors, covered 154 kilometres and used 115 litres of fuel. That averages out at around 1.3 kilometres per litre, and given that I was not trying to save fuel, or run at the most efficient speeds, I am very happy with those figures. Now just waiting for a bit of good weather, and the boat will be heading for its first trip out from Sandy Cape. Hopefully the next reports will be of successful trips with some nice fish kept, and lots of others tagged and released.

Cheers

Jeff

[Dantren]

Jeff
Thanks for taking the time to update the thread. It's been a goody.
Some good numbers there and great to have confidence in the new vessel. Did you find the boat sensitive to weight distribution? Any tunnel slap in those epic conditions?
Cheers
Dan.

[Short Fuse]

Dan.

On the initial run with 2 POB, less fuel, water and other gear, the boat ran at 23 knots at 4000 revs in calm conditions. Dropped 2 knots in speed with the gear we had on board at 4000 revs on this trip. So the extra weight certainly makes a difference.

There was a bit of tunnel slap while anchored up during the night, but it certainly did not stop us getting any sleep. Mind you, I am used to sleeping on a cat having owned them for over 20 years. My Shark Cat was worse as far as noise and pitch when at anchor during the night.

Also very happy with the fuel consumption figures for the first trip. I used to work on an average of 1.4km per litre on my 5 metre SC with 70 Suzuki 4 strokes. I am thinking that when run in, I will be getting similar, or even slightly better figures with the new boat. That will give me around 500km range for trips in reasonable conditions. If I cant find a fish or two in that range, I need to take up a different sport.

Cheers

Jeff

[Bremic]

That is a good outcome with the fuel economy, going to a bigger boat, over 50% extra hp and almost identical fuel economy.

[Dean1]

What an awesome package. Perfect size. Great fuel economy same as what I was getting in my old 5.2 kc. If I had the money I would pounce on one of these. Id fit the biggest tanks in possible. Well done Seatrek!

[Short Fuse]

Hi Dean.

Thanks for those comments. I will take the time to do a quick update on the boat. Coming up on 6 months since I took delivery of the boat, and I can honestly say I am completely happy with it. I have not regretted buying it for one minute.

Now have just on 80 hours up on the motors. Sweet spot for the boat seems to be when the motors are sitting on 4200 revs. With a good load up, this gives me just over 22 knots. In the first couple of trips (in good conditions) this was giving a total fuel usage of 1.4 litres per nautical mile. The same rev range now gives 1.3 litres per NM, and I have seen it fall back to 1.2 litres on occasions. That is according to the readings on the Garmin GMI20 guages, but dipping the tanks at the end of a trip shows the guages are reading fairly accurately. On one recent trip in good conditions out off Sandy Cape, I did 280 kilometres all up and used 208 litres of fuel.

On our last trip up there in very ordinary conditions, I did 285 kilometres and used 260 litres so the economy certainly dropped back considerably thanks to having to be constantly on the throttles to drive the boat through some very ugly seas. The boat however, performed beautifully in those conditions. Like most cats it likes to be driven with a bit of authority in sloppy seas to make it perform at its best.

Just waiting now for a window of good weather so we can get back out there for a few more fish.

Cheers

Jeff

[rosco1974]

hows is it now mate,still happy with it any problems...

[Short Fuse]

G'day Rosco.

I am very happy with the boat. I have had the boat for 18 months and have not regretted buying it at any time. Got 180 hours up on the motors (2300 nautical miles traveled according to the Garmin gauges), and have not had any issues with the boat, motors or trailer. Last two trips were a 3 day trip out off 1170 and an overnighter off Cape Moreton. On the 1770 trip we fished out around Fitzroy and traveled 134nm and used 190 litres of fuel. I pretty much work out the fuel economy as averaging 1.4 kilometres per litre over a wide range of trips. I usually drive the boat around the 4200 - 4400 revs, giving me a cruise speed of 22 knots and it will comfortably sit on that speed in some fairly ordinary conditions.

If I had to be critical on the boat and offer up some not so perfect things - what could I say? The cabin hatch is a tad small. A big person would find it a bit of a squeeze going up onto the bow through the hatch while at sea. I find that I either need to turn slightly so the shoulders are corner to corner to get through comfortably, or the preferred option is to put the arms up through first and then stand up to get through. Some may also feel that there is a lack of head room in the cabin. You quickly learn not to sit up suddenly while lying in the bunks. They would be the only "negatives" I could offer on the boat.

A mate recently asked me how happy I was with the boat. He said "If the boat disappeared overnight, and I had a fist full of cash, would I buy another Sea-trek, or get a different brand and model?" I did not have to think long before I answered. I would get another Sea-trek in an instance. I am pretty confident that this boat will be the one to take me through to the end of my offshore fishing days. If you have any questions about the boat you want answered, I am happy to have a chat about the boat anytime. You are more than welcome to come up and have a look over the boat (I am on the Redcliffe Peninsula) if you want to take a good look at it and compare to your old KC.

cheers

Jeff

[rosco1974]

cheers jeff,there is one for sale up the coast...it was the first one built with twin 90 etecs...the fuel figures you are getting are way better than his...I had a look over it yesterday boat was nice trailer need some work,torsion axels looked about rooted and I think it really needed a repower as they seemed thirsty to me...wot was around 2.3ltrs /nautical mile and at cruise was 1.6lts / nautical mile...was just curious how yours was going,thanks for the update

[kaypee]

cheers jeff,there is one for sale up the coast...it was the first one built with twin 90 etecs...the fuel figures you are getting are way better than his...I had a look over it yesterday boat was nice trailer need some work,torsion axels looked about rooted and I think it really needed a repower as they seemed thirsty to me...wot was around 2.3ltrs /nautical mile and at cruise was 1.6lts / nautical mile...was just curious how yours was going,thanks for the update

You must've seemed too keen there Rosco... I see he's put the price UP!! hahaha
Word is that its had a tough life......

[rosco1974]

nah kaypee,my thoughts where it was a 60-65k boat at best,alko axles didn't look too flash has a couple of cracks in the floor and he wasn't negotiable on price..yeah did see he put the price up.think it will be a while b4 that sells

[koastal]

Good looking Cat !!

[j_man_84]

Great looking boat mate well done