It’s been a long and involved process – close to 6 months deciding on a new boat and motor.
Ausfish readers might remember my initial ideas were for a centre console – a hard core fishing machine.
But… after I made a list of all my requirements on paper – it was hard to justify a centre console.
If you’re trying to decide on a boat, it is worthwhile writing down a list of wants and needs on paper, it might surprise you.
Often the wants are swaying the decision, not the needs.
I need protection for camera gear, and I do a lot of overnight trips that would be a lot more comfortable with some form of shelter.
Another concern I’ve always had in the back of my mind with centre consoles is when crossing bars – it is nice to have some form of cab to break a green one if it comes over the bow.
So while I preferred the look and hard core fishability of a centre console, I bowed to needs over wants and chose a cuddy cab.
Next decision was glass or alloy.
I preferred the ride of glass but the toughness of alloy.
If only I could find an alloy boat that performed as good as a glass boat… or a glass boat that was as tough as an alloy – I think I did, more on this later.
Alloy Boats:
There are a lot of very good plate alloy manufacturers in Australia and in particular Queensland.
Every manufacturer excels in different and yet overlapping areas – some in the quality of build, some design and some on price.
The secret is to find a feature, design or company attitude that suits you.
The big advantage of plate alloy is that most manufacturers let you modify the design to your needs and wants.
I have to take my hat off to some of the better designs born from spending time on the water with a rod in hand – Fisher Boats come to mind as one of the best and most innovative fishing layouts there is – A boat I would be proud to own.
Noble Super V boats also impressed me – they are built like a Sherman tank – I doubt there are many stronger built plate boat in Oz and the Super V design gives them good stability at rest.
In the end it comes down to your own personal priorities and finding a boat that best meets them.
Fibreglass Boats:
The big disappointment in glass boats for me was that most manufacturers’ were not keen to modify their standard designs.
In fact most refused point blank – you buy the boat as it sits on the showroom floor.
Others offered minor changes to their standard configuration, beefing up infrastructure etc, but definitely no design changes to the layout.
While I found no ‘bad boats’ in the bigger established and reputable glass boat manufacturers – they work on proven designs and do their homework before spending money on a new design – the few glass boats I did find fault with were built to a price.
The bottom line in glass boats – all boats in fact – is that you get what you pay for.
My Boat:
I’m sure some of you, by now, are wondering what my new boat will be…
The package I’m looking at is valued at somewhere between 40 – 50 grand, so this was no light decision.
Let’s just recap my requirements:
I wanted a boat that was sharp on the plane – cut through the water like a knife.
The problem is, boats of this design are inherently unstable at rest.
I also wanted a boat that had unsurpassed stability at rest – both for shooting video and fishing comfort.
The problem is, to get stability at rest you need a flatter hull which means a pounding on the plane.
Safety was also of major importance to me – if I got into trouble, I want the thing to stay afloat regardless – unsinkable.
There is something very satisfying, knowing that your boat is unsinkable.
I looked at many many boats and put them through all manner of tests before I made my decision.
In the end I chose a boat that was as good, if not a better ride than any other boat I have tested in my 30 plus years as a boat owner (this is my 12th boat in 30 years).
It also had the best stability at rest of any mono hull I have ever fished out of - bar none.
Meeting my final criteria, it was also safe – virtually unsinkable.
In the end I went to New Zealand – a boat born from some of the toughest waters on earth and the first choice of many rescue organisations around the world… a Stabicraft.
My new boat is a 5.59 Stabicraft.
It has the cut through the water of a fine deadrise while on the plane and yet it has the stability of an inflatable at rest as a result of the rigid sponsons.
With 7 airtight sealed chambers, it is also virtually unsinkable - the best there is in boating safety.
Ok… they may not be pretty – but look who’s talking, pretty I aint!
To be perfectly honest, all boats are a compromise in one way or another.
No the Stabi is not perfect.
On the down side, the Stabi does not have an underfloor kill tank, the anchor well is too small and I do not like how far the motor sticks out past the transom on the pod.
But for my application, the Stabi had more of the features I wanted and was less of a compromise than the rest.
The Motor:
I looked at many many motors - read specification after specification before I made my decision.
I came to the conclusion that, other than a few cheap unknown brand imports, there are almost no lemons on the market these days.
I asked lots of question from people that had motor complaints and most were a result of the fit up, prop pitch or wrong advice on horsepower.
Of those that had mechanical problems, it was usually with a new model and sorted out pretty quickly.
My priorities were: high performance for horsepower, cheap running costs, low maintenance costs and reliability.
I looked very hard at 4 strokes.
Their big advantage is low emissions, low fuel consumption and quiet running.
However, all those I tested in the 90hp range lacked something in low down, get out of the hole, grunt.
On this point, I also noted many NSW bar crossing instructors, as well as Queensland’s Bill Corten, went to 4 strokes initially but then went back to 2 strokes because they were not happy with the power band of 4 strokes.
What I wanted was a motor that had the power of a 2-stroke but with the fuel consumption of a 4-stroke.
I think I found that…
My new motor is a 90hp Evinrude E-Tech.
They are a 2-stroke – with all the power advantages of a 2-stroke and the lightest in their class in most cases, but they use as little fuel as a 4-stroke and are as quiet running.
In my opinion, the Evinrude E-Techs are years ahead of their time.
They come with a 3 year, 300 hour warranty – that’s when their first service is due.
Think about that, for most users their first service is 3 years after they buy the motor!
There is no run in period either – flat out from day one!
Oil consumption is miniscule – so little that it is hardly worth considering in the running costs.
I did my research and sums and I couldn’t go past them for performance, reliability or running costs.
It’s taking a while to build up, but they are getting a very very good reputation amongst users – so much so that I could not find anyone that had a bad word to say about the E-Techs.
So that’s it folks – a 559 Stabicraft cuddy cab and 90hp E-Tech outboard.
All things going well I should have it by the end of this month.
We will be modifying it - adding accessories, as a weekly project on 4BC.
Should make for interesting listening as we discuss and choose the accessories - dual batteries and management system, lighting, electronics and all the other gadgets that make boating fun!
Mine will be like this one but blue – see you on the water.
Dave ><>
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Originally Posted by gelsec
