Surtees 650

[billfisher]

Yeah if I have to "lock" water inside a boat to make it sit and ride acceptably I'll give it a miss thanks....and if they want to make the boat too narrow that you cant even walk along the gunnel to get around a boat when a Spaniard starts circling then whats the point..

I just quite simply think Barcrusher and Surtees are overrated and for the money there are heaps of better options out there for the money...

I was in a BC 575 yesterday ..All I have to say is it looked well built and from what I can see the resale value is good, which makes it so much easier to get rid of when you realise you can do better...….

A lot of boats with any sort of cabin are difficult to walk around. Also they do ride acceptably without the ballast - it just helps in rough water. You don't actually have to do anything to make them sit better either - the water just flows into the ballast at rest.

PS: I think you can do better by getting a fiberglass boat for offshore fishing.

[disorderly]

PS: I think you can do better by getting a fiberglass boat for offshore fishing.

At least we agree on something...

cheers Scott

[boatrower]

So it seems that there are arguments for both glass and Ali. Apart from the seafarer vagabond with twin outboard what other mono hull brands are up there

[billfisher]

So it seems that there are arguments for both glass and Ali. Apart from the seafarer vagabond with twin outboard what other mono hull brands are up there

I like the look of the Haines Signature range - I'm not sure about twin motors though. Is that a deal breaker?

[RayLamp]

[Ashtom]

Hi All
I have a Surtees 650 gamefisher and it is excellent for me.
I too thought it would be lighter from the spec sheets. However mine comes in about 2080kg with 2/3 tank of fuel.
It has a 24v minn Kota and 2 batteries for that unit, plus normal start and house battery. I think the minn Kota and batteries adds about 80-100kg. Have a 200 Yami 4 cylinder, and a few options. With full fuel, ice in eskies and gear it goes 2100-2200kg BMT. Trailer is electric over hydraulic redco I think about 600kg. So really it is the rig that's about 1500-1600kg. With twin oatboards it would weigh a bit more.

Rides beautifully, rarely bangs and when conditions are ordinary I can lock in ballast water to smooth ride out more.
Not sure how it compares to other custom plate boats. I'm sure some are better and some worse but it suits me.

Sent from my Moto Z2 Play using Ausfish mobile app

[boatrower]

I like the look of the Haines Signature range - I'm not sure about twin motors though. Is that a deal breaker?

Mate had a look at the haines at tghe boat show... finish was shiiiit house to say the least and I asked them if they were using HD foam for stringers and they said no they still use timber cause of its strength, so when I told them HD foam was twice as strong they then said timber was used for its weight. No idea what goes on in building their boats now

[billfisher]

Mate had a look at the haines at tghe boat show... finish was shiiiit house to say the least and I asked them if they were using HD foam for stringers and they said no they still use timber cause of its strength, so when I told them HD foam was twice as strong they then said timber was used for its weight. No idea what goes on in building their boats now

Are you sure foam is stronger than timber? What was wrong with the 'finish'. The ones I saw at the Sydney boat show looked well finished. They offer thermolite construction as an option but interestingly they give only 5 years warranty on these boats compared to 10 years for wood. Apparently they think wood is stronger. They are supposed to be very soft riding with the variable deadrise and look like better value for money than some of the plate boats I saw at the boat show such as Barcrusher, Quintrex Yellowfin.

[gazza2006au]

Yeah if I have to "lock" water inside a boat to make it sit and ride acceptably I'll give it a miss thanks....and if they want to make the boat too narrow that you cant even walk along the gunnel to get around a boat when a Spaniard starts circling then whats the point..

I just quite simply think Barcrusher and Surtees are overrated and for the money there are heaps of better options out there in terms of value for money..

I was in a BC 575 yesterday ..How about that fold down hardtop only fit for habitation by a very small family of hobbits....and apart from not having much fishing space, all I have to say is it looked well built and from what I can see the resale value is good, which makes it so much easier to get rid of when you realise you can do better...….

Look, I'm not trying to start a war here...but if you have that much money to spend on a new boat why wouldn't you go to one of a half dozen highly reputable custom builders who have fine credentials and have years of fantastic builds behind them and have a hand made boat built to you exact specifications ...I just don't get it...

Disorderly i think your going down the wrong track whatever the capacity of water that locks in under the floor is free of charge in weight it doesn't cost the owner each time he or she fills it up if u were to calculate that capacity of water in aluminium your talking couple hundred kilos of material than the cost of installing it and welding it in

I was under the assumption the fold down top was for storage and not actually placed down while your using it i think your bashing the design for all the wrong reasons

[billfisher]

Disorderly i think your going down the wrong track whatever the capacity of water that locks in under the floor is free of charge in weight it doesn't cost the owner each time he or she fills it up if u were to calculate that capacity of water in aluminium your talking couple hundred kilos of material than the cost of installing it and welding it in

I was under the assumption the fold down top was for storage and not actually placed down while your using it i think your bashing the design for all the wrong reasons

Yes, they are really quite a clever design. And low towing weight shouldn't be discounted. I had had to do a sudden stop from 80 km/hr coming home on the M5 last trip. Fortunately I pulled up OK but I/m glad my rig wasn't a few hundred kg's heavier!

[gazza2006au]

Mate had a look at the haines at tghe boat show... finish was shiiiit house to say the least and I asked them if they were using HD foam for stringers and they said no they still use timber cause of its strength, so when I told them HD foam was twice as strong they then said timber was used for its weight. No idea what goes on in building their boats now

This is just what i think when u approach the marine market and your dealing with a bunch of people some with huge boating experience and some picking out there first boat now the experience guys will know Haines will have there calculations all done and down for using foam as stringers but if u mention to a first time boat buyer "all under the floor is built with foam" a new guy is going to say WTF! and walk away who wants to pay $75000 for a foam? but in fact the foam, thermolite or plywood is just a filler its the laminates over the core or filler material that add all the strength, foam cores i have never calculated but i would bet they need a really thick laminate u cannot rely on the filleting as we all know foam just flakes off or in a chunk have u ever tried to tear plywood a part plywood is laminated 0 and 90 degrees in grain its super strong because as your pulling one way your stretching a grain and trying to pull apart the other grain and its laminated over and over to make the thickness marine plywood i think uses hardwood verniers too it may be the exterior layers only or the whole laminated sheet, have u ever tried screwing a screw directly into hard wood timber without pre drilling or even nailing a nail into hardwood with a hammer the nail bends

i was working for this company in Sydney it was kind of a mixed place they done a lot of work with plywood i wasn't there a long time but while i was there i was building plywood security doors they were a bit dodgy in there process but i guess they were making the most of there verniers we had a big steel jig kind of like a big empty table frame we had to layer the laminates one at a time and applying the glue between the verniers the other bloke was calculating the thicknesses and when to dry back to back the sheets as not to glue one whole mass together sometimes the verniers would come in half sheets and we would still use them just two half sheets joint to make the full sheet there were some sheets tossed a side ones with defects, once the laminates were cured we had to lift them up and out of the jig and boy were they f..... incredibly heavy i was only about 22 at the time so i was just a skinny little kid but it gave me a in site as to how plywood sheets were made never knew i would be using plywood later on in life as much as i have

[stevej]

Yeah if I have to "lock" water inside a boat to make it sit and ride acceptably I'll give it a miss thanks....and if they want to make the boat too narrow that you cant even walk along the gunnel to get around a boat when a Spaniard starts circling then whats the point..

Look, I'm not trying to start a war here...but if you have that much money to spend on a new boat why wouldn't you go to one of a half dozen highly reputable custom builders who have fine credentials and have years of fantastic builds behind them and have a hand made boat built to you exact specifications ...I just don't get it...

you can have gunnels to walk around or a cabin and a electric winch, with a winch who cares about side access

you can also order a surtees /barcrusher with minimal deposit and minimal risk of losing it, unlike the various smaller boat operators who disappear and then reappear again.
small guys cant fund the builds and relay on you to take the risk

[BigE]

Mate had a look at the haines at tghe boat show... finish was shiiiit house to say the least and I asked them if they were using HD foam for stringers and they said no they still use timber cause of its strength, so when I told them HD foam was twice as strong they then said timber was used for its weight. No idea what goes on in building their boats now

Glass and foam stringers ......are all there "cracked" to be, alot of skill required to make this technique work long term ..... certainly not the level of skill found in mass production.

[disorderly]

Hi All
I have a Surtees 650 gamefisher and it is excellent for me.
I too thought it would be lighter from the spec sheets. However mine comes in about 2080kg with 2/3 tank of fuel.
It has a 24v minn Kota and 2 batteries for that unit, plus normal start and house battery. I think the minn Kota and batteries adds about 80-100kg. Have a 200 Yami 4 cylinder, and a few options. With full fuel, ice in eskies and gear it goes 2100-2200kg BMT. Trailer is electric over hydraulic redco I think about 600kg. So really it is the rig that's about 1500-1600kg. With twin oatboards it would weigh a bit more.

Rides beautifully, rarely bangs and when conditions are ordinary I can lock in ballast water to smooth ride out more.
Not sure how it compares to other custom plate boats. I'm sure some are better and some worse but it suits me.

Sent from my Moto Z2 Play using Ausfish mobile app

Yeah mate I think they have stuffed up on the spec sheets..I have also noticed lately some builders with boats around the 6m mark have been publishing dry weights with the minimum sized motor to be able to sell on 2000kg trailers so the boat comes in a few K cheaper...but as soon as the new owner fuels up and add esky, ice and gear than they are towing overweight and for legal and safety reasons should have been advised to go for a 2500KG trailer with extra brakes and breakaway...…

Sounds like a well set up boat you have...does the 80lb Minn kota hold Ok when the breeze comes up..?

[disorderly]

you can have gunnels to walk around or a cabin and a electric winch, with a winch who cares about side access

Different style of fishing in QLD Steve...you would lose heaps of fish without being able to get around the cab....

My new boat is a centre cab..it will make life a whole lot easier..no more climbing over the windscreen when the Spanish are doing their laps..I certainly wont miss that...