Stejcaft 580C 2010 - what are they like as an off shore

[JollyDave]

Hi Guys, going to have a look at a 2010 Stejcraft 580C, welcome any thoughts on these, fitted with 90 hp 4 stroke.

Cheers
Dave
JollyDave

:P

[JollyDave]

Had a look at the boat - great condition on tandem axle trailer, white hull not the black or blue (colour you get used to), agreed a price subject to run on the water - probably this Saturday. Hull weight is 800 kG, 20 deg dead rise with double chines - should be fairly good, stable and reasonably dry, quite beamy at 2.4 M. Finish is really good compared to some of the other boats I have looked at.

Cheers
Dave
JollyDave

[ozynorts]

Is that the one for sale in Halls Head? Nice boat if it is. Never been in one but looks good.

[Angryant]

My only concern would be if the 90hp motor is powerful enough to push a 5.8m boat along?

[JollyDave]

Hi Guys, thanks for the comments,
Yes it is the one in Halls Head and as a novice it looks great to me, only has 27 meg radio so will need to fit a VHF at some stage - also will need to look at getting clears for it, the bimini has the zip fitted to accept clears - not sure what they will cost???
On calm water no wind he said he has seen 40 Kn, seems a bit high to me, but cruise mid 20's, Looking forward to seeing this stuff on the test run.
I don't want a rocket ship, just a good lookin, comfortable, economical, reliable, safe boat for river/bay cruising with wife and fishing with a mate.

Cheers
Dave

[Andy56]

You wont see 40kn with that size motor and that hull weight. 60km/hr is probably more realistic. There are lots of nice boats out there with under sized motors! If you find its a bit sluggish, just drop the prop size. You will drop top speed but it will feel a lot better through the mid range and you will probably gain economy because it doesn't have to work as hard.

[JollyDave]

Hi Andy, even though I am a real amature I would have to agree with your thoughts on speed. Will see on Saturday. If all goes well will have to get some advise on props etc. as believe in havin a spare on board.

Cheers
Dave

[fisho8]

Underpowered all I will say when I bought my 1750 (5.2mtrs) it had a 90hp on the back which was not enough for what I wanted so I upped it to a 115. Load that thing up with 3 blokes gear etc and it will be a very slow ride anywhere and it will guzzle fuel like nothing else..

[Still_Dreamin]

Jolly Dave sent u a pm the other day. The side pockets on the stejcraft are hard to access. I have a 1750 tournament with 90 etec. No problems with two blokes (100kg each) full tank bait gear etc. Wot 54km/hrs approx 34 knots- cruise 26knots at 0.4 litres /km. I think they lose a lot of important storage area for my liking

[Jarrah Jack]

Take some heavy mates out with you on the test and it may be worth checking that the fuel tank is full and see how the boat performs. Seems underpowered to me. You don't want the motor ringing its neck out to get any reasonable performance. I've got a 5.2 mtr boat with a 115 and its fine.

[mercmech]

Hi Jolly Dave, I have had a lot to do with the stejcraft fitting them out and test running them, the 580c isnt a bad boat but have a good look around the transom and floor between the bunks for cracks, particularly around the engine mounting bolts and top of the transom, this boat would have been built in china and fitted out here,what breed of motor does it have,we found the suzuki slugish as compared to the mercury optimax. Dont trust speedos for true speed most tell lies turn on the GPS if it has one. all the best Warren

[JollyDave]

Thanks Warren, Fitted with 90 HP 4 stroke Merc. will check all the points you suggested as best I can. It will mainly be used for my wife and myself in shore (Cockburn Sound and Estuary at Mandurah) and on the river in WA. Going off shore would only be me and one other on board. Will post after test run and insure that I take at least another heavey weight with us. Boat looks in beautiful condition.

Thanks
Regards
Dave
JollyDave

[Jarrah Jack]

Hi Jolly Dave, I have had a lot to do with the stejcraft fitting them out and test running them, the 580c isnt a bad boat but have a good look around the transom and floor between the bunks for cracks, particularly around the engine mounting bolts and top of the transom, this boat would have been built in china and fitted out here,what breed of motor does it have,we found the suzuki slugish as compared to the mercury optimax. Dont trust speedos for true speed most tell lies turn on the GPS if it has one. all the best Warren

Very good advice Warren, I didn't know they were built in China now. Pity they cut so many corners in quality control.

[Hossfish]

Hi Dave

We have the 640 C Nereyda offshore. We have only had it since last November so i am still getting used to it but so far no major problems.

Last outing a mate and i decided we woulod see what the beast could do so we set sail from Scarborough harbour and headed for Hutchys reef. It was funny weather that day because the water was as flat as a sh.. carters hat when we left but got progressively lumpy the further east we traveled. the boat handled it very well and we felt completely safe.

When we got to somewhere near cape Moreton we estimated the swell have risen to about 2 metres.

There were no waves breaking of the tops of the swell so at that stage we were not unduley concerned. None the less we decided it wasn't going to be very pleasant so we headed for Curtin reef. Long story short it was starting to rain reasonably heavy so we headed for home. And as for our departure the further west we traveled the smoother the water became to the point i was able to run with WOT for the last 5 or 6 km's. I guess the point i am making is that we encountered a reasonable varity of water action that day and at no stage did i feel unsafe.

As other posters have suggested there may be an issue with the number of ponies roaming at the back of the boat but a decent water test may sort out some of ithose issues. There are some variables without knowing any details of the prop currently fitted.

In another post regarding horeshpower i posted some details of a trip from Sscarborough to Tangalooma and return which you may find useful.

Sorry Dave just realised you may be located in WA so some of the geography in my post may not make sense but ou will get the picture i'm sure.

I would be happy to talk to you if you like. Just PM me and we may be able to organise something.

Hope everything goes well with the water test and the boat meets your needs. I know what its like to get excited ablout something and have it fall short of the mark.

Safe boating.

Regards Greg

[Hossfish]

Hi Dave, this was a post of mine on another thread regarding how much horsepower is enough

Good day Mick

My new boat is a 6.4m glass job. Recommended power range is 115hp to 225 hp. It came equipped with a 130hp yamaha saltwater series 2 as a package deal at the Brissy boat show last year.

I was a bit apprehensive as to wheather i had enought ponies on the back however the sales folk i spoke to said there would be no problems.

Now admittedly i have only had the boat out about 8 times andi am still getting used to it but one trip was from Scarborought to Tangalooma and return.

We had 5 adults, 2 kids, food,drinks and picinic gear for the day, about 100 litres of fuel and about 60 litres of water. i estimated our weight to be about 1800-2000kg all up. So far it looks like i am getting about 1kph of speed for each 100rpm. So we did the run each way at about 4800-4900rpm and that yeilded about 48-49 kph.

Now i think someone else asked the question of how fast do you want to go. The speed i can achieve more than meet my requirements and i still have about 1000rpm up my sleeve if i am feeling really reckless and the price of fuel is not an issue (we all wish). Some of the answer will depend on how many $$$ you want to spend on the motor and how much you want to spend on fuel, maintanance, etc.

Not sure where you are based Mick but I have been out on the Moreton bay enough times to realise that a lot of the time you cant use all the power at your disposal with a big donk.

Hope everyone enjoys their boating.

Regards Greg

[JollyDave]

Hi All, Know that I will probably get shot down but wanted to question the issue of weight that keeps getting raised to indicate the Chinese hulls don't have much glass. I really rate the haines Signature boat range and as they also have a 580 (580F) I thought I would check the weights etc.



Haines Signature 580F = dry weight 800 kg's - from their site
Stejcraft 580C = dry weight 800 kg's
I know the finish is probably not to the level of the haines but dont see how there can be an issue regarding amount of glass in hull.
Both of these boats have very similar length and beam.
Also understand that Haines have a great hull design that rides well and is very dry and stable - so I am not trying to knock the Haines just looking at some facts before I spend my $$$$$.

Cheers
and thanks for all the info to date - keep it coming.
Dave
:P

[AnthonyL]

I am concerned about any boats made in china, have heard some horror stories.

I liked the stejcraft at the boat show and they were a good price but when I did some research I found a lot of unhappy purchasers and then found out they were made in china which explained it.

I asked the dealer about it and he said those problems had been fixed but too many other boats to choose from for me to take the risk.

[JollyDave]

Hi Anthony, thanks for the reply, like you I had heard many stories, but always from some one who had a mate who had a mate. I went about chasing up some owners of the 580C and got good reports from them with honest feedback in regards 2 issues - one with fuel line and the other had some blistering on the gelcoat. I have not been able to get any feed back from an owner that was unhappy - and have tried on many different forums ? You may also be surprised as to what hulls are actually done in China now.
If you actually know of an owner that has one or had one I would really be interested in talking to them.

Cheers
Dave

[JollyDave]

What can I say, mate who has a 6.1 aly loved it, 4 on board lightest 87 kg's, over half a tank fuel (130 litre tank), on ocean swell at 1.5 M with about 300 mm chop blowing at angle to swell, very dry and very stable, hole shot no problem, 50 kph at 5000 in estuary probably more with better trim.
Thanks to all for feedback and info, Pick up boat Monday arvo. Will post some photo's later.

Cheers
Dave

;D;D;D

[Angryant]

Congratulations mate; I'm sure you'll enjoy it!!

[JollyDave]

Picked the boat up today, all transfered, can't wait to get on the water - would be in the morning but can't get out of a long term arranged game of golf. Insured with ClubMarine - RAC WA wanted all sorts of anti theft devices - when asked where to get them they knew nothing!!!!!!!!!!! ClubMarine was a simple on line process.

Cheers
Dave

[rumy1]

My favourite boat at the Brisbane Tinnie and Tackle show this year was a Stejcraft ... it was a great boat and I should have bought it. I would not have bought the boat you bought with a 90 hp motor on it, I would want a 150 on that and in time so will you. Hope you enjoy the boat but you really need a larger motor.

[JollyDave]

Rumy1, PM sent re motor HP etc.

Thanks
Dave