This is the first Surtees I’ve ever been in. The New Zealand built hull is made from plate aluminium and boasts a water ballast system that floods while at rest - offering extra weight for cutting through waves and pulling the hull down onto the chines while at rest. You can keep the water ballast in the chamber when you manually lock down the rear chamber door.
We took the Game Fisher 650 model out for a run with Mark Golden from Brisbane’s Northside Marine. Mark’s a great advocate of these hulls - he sells them and loves both the build quality and the ride that these boats offer.
Paired with a 150HP Yamaha 4-stroke outboard, it’s not just a good looking rig, it’s economical and practical as well. Let us take you through some of the features.
“They don’t run any strakes or chines underneath the hull apart from the 50mm reverse chine right at the edge of the hull,” Mark said, “giving you a clean skin and a great ride. Also, the narrower hull gives it a really good ride while underway, but when you stop, the flooded keel takes in water and pulls the boat a little deeper in the water, giving you great stability.”
Surtees has a manual system that can lock the ballast water in place, offering an even smoother ride while the boat is running and it seems as though the Surtees designer is a fan of keeping that water there while running.
Mark was also happy to demonstrate the stability while at rest. While dropping a line and standing in the port rear corner, listing was imperceptible. Box ticked.
Powered by Yamaha’s F150HP outboard, the 650 was quick onto the plane and delivered a top speed of 69km/h at 5,900rpm. At this pace, it yielded 1.1km/L, but this stretched out to 1.87km/L at a more moderate 3,500rpm. AT those cruising revs, the Game Fisher travelled at 34 km/h.
Unfortunately, the calm day didn’t let us really test the 20° of transom deadrise built into this hull. The theory is that the steeper this angle, the more the hull will cut the water rather than pound down on it.
Beautifully welded, the Surtees boasts a 5mm bottom sheet and 4mm side sheets, ensuring a durable and long lasting shell.
Supplied on an Australian built, twin axle aluminium I-beam trailer, this boat falls into the zone of twin-cab ute or larger to really tow it effectively. The twin axles, initially a legal necessity, become a real advantage when towing longer distances to better fishing spots. They dampen some of the instability of a loaded single axle and provide a little peace-of-mind when it comes to dealing with any potential blowouts.
“The Surtees is very easy to maintain. Most of the raw aluminium surfaces are coated with Nyalic, which helps to limit oxidation and keeps these surfaces looking brand new,” says Mark.
This is handy, because the 650 boasts a huge cockpit area that primarily made up of unpainted, aluminium. This workspace can be easily maintained with a garden hose and you don’t need to be scared when the action becomes thick and fast and the bait and fish are flying.
Northside Marine are proud to be able to package a local outboard and trailer with this imported hull and offer full warranties on all of the gear. As tested, this rig came in at $91,933, however packages start from $81,356.
Make sure you visit Northside Marine’s yard - or online at www.northsidemarine.com.au for more information. Their Facebook page is “Northside Marine - your boating partners for life”.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length 6.50m
Beam 2.375m
Water ballast 300L
Bottom sheet 5mm
Side sheet 4mm
Max HP 200
Fuel 250L
Dry hull weight 890kg
Transom deadrise 20°
Capacity 6 persons
Tow weight (approx) 1,690kg
PERFORMANCE
RPM Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L)
1000 7 2.6
2000 12 1.6
3000 24 1.7
3500 34 1.87
4000 42 1.8
5000 56 1.5
5900 69 1.1
* running a 15” Yamaha SDS propeller
