stessco 450 or horizon 450!!!

[frontflip90]

So after going to the very poor tinne and tackle show at manly this year I have limited my self to two finalists for my new tinnie. As im chasing a 4.5m flat floor tinnie with pole seats etc. I've come to the conclusion of the stessco sfx450 and the horizon 450 easy fisher pro and the horizon 438/454 Stryker xps. now im looking to put the maximum hp on them which seems to be a 50hp and the 454 is a 60hp not sure if my bank roll can afford a nice Suzuki 4stroke but looking at oil injected yammy two stroke with electric start, tilt and trim, they both look very solid boats with a lot of side ribbing and all are 3mm bottom and sides, Just wondering what your opinions are on the current models im looking at if any of use have owned them and had a run in them and what advantages each one has over the other, as im swaying towards the stryker xps because it has a kill tank which is very handy for mackerel as this boat will be used in creeks and around the closer islands in Yeppoon chasing macks.

cheers Stuart

[Seahorse]

Dont know about the boats, but definately go the 4 stroke.
Have u looked at the quinny 4.2 or 4.4 renegade series.

i got the 4.2 and i use to have a 455 seajay. Same layout andvery little difference in room.

Put the 50 yammy 4 stroke on it for $16000

[waterbaby]

i have a 4.45 stessco renegade with a 60 four stroke on the back great boat love the high sides when i fish off shore on the gold coast and great in the riveres as well with heaps of room.

[StevenM]

Got a Stessco SF430 Bass Tracker tiller with a fiddy 4 stroke on the back.

happy as.

[BGG]

Polycraft 4.5. No comparison! Noisy tinny or FANTASTIC PLASTIC

[Tangles]

Recently got a Stessco SF430 with a 40 2 stroke Merc.. ( same as the SFX except no rear deck which is a personal decision for fishing style) its a very capable tinny, had Sea Jays before, went that way as its just a tinny and i reckon good value compared to the Sea jays, the Quinnies etc for what i want to use it as, a no fuss prawning crabbing estuary boat. Rides well handles the chop and is nice and stable, very wide little tinnies...

kill tank for macks id use a bin personally then into esky. If your getting it from down the Gold coast id also check out the other Coast Stessco dealer with the Tohatsu 2 strokes, if your going 4 stroke also check out those Hondas.

If your going full Yammie 2 stroke trim n tilt i personally wouldnt bother as too expensive compared to the 4 strokes, go the extra bucks, if looking at price and going 2 strokes id look at the tohatsu's, mercs and the lower end Yammie with gas assist tilt, just my opinion, sure others will disagree, cant see the value in the top spec Yammie 2 stroke anymore compared to the 4 strokes

Cant comment on the other brands, but getting good service from your dealer is a consideration...

[Firsttimefisherman]

Got a stessco 4.39 with a 40 two stroke Yamaha (all 2012 model) and cannot complain.

After months of guts aching and price comparisons I ended up picking it up at Marine Tune on the Gold Coast.

[bf90]

Got a stessco catcher sf450 2weeks ago from Bundal marine. Put a 50 hp tohatsu electric and pull start with power trim n tilt on and I could not be happier!!! Everyone said get a 4st but I wanted something nice and simple with ease of services. Drive away was $13200 complete package. If I went with a 2 st yamaha with the same specs as the tohatsu it was $15000 drive away. Both are good motors but there was no way I was going to pay $1800 more for a motor that is on par with a tohatsu. Have a look at the dead rise on the stessco!!!18 degrees!!! It cuts through moreton bay chop like a hot knife through butter. Fuel consumption is 3.4 ks to the litre at 4500rpm@ 38 kph and 3 k to the litre at 5500rpm @ 58 kph. I too looked at the horizon but the dead rise and the way the ribs and floor supports are done that sold it to me.

[gr hilly]

I got a Stessco from from Bundal to i got a boat and trailer only and got my Tohotsu from Springwood elec start and the did all the navlights and fixed my sounder in wired all up with marine battery fuse box and i saved and got the lights and batt and the work done for the same price with a Merc from the other dealer the same motor i did get looked after
cheers Hilly.

[Chong]

stessco sfx450

[fishychrissy]

Had my SFX 450 for just under a year now. Good solid tinny. Compared it to the Horizon side by side at last year's tinny and tackle show. Horizon has slightly higher sides but the SFX has about 3 or 4 more vertical stringers than the Horizon which would have to add a bit more strength.
Maximum rating is 60hp with a 125kg max. transom weight.
I went a Yamaha F60 over the packaged 40hp 3cyl 2 stroke. Extremely happy I did, cruises easily at 30 knots, and WOT at 37.
Went tiller steer version so I have plenty of room for the pots and more general fishing space.
Cuts through any kind of chop effortlessly and nice and beamy for it's size too.
Very competitvely priced compared to the other well advertised brands coming in at under 18k with a 2 tone paint job too.
Cheers