I must admit, I’ve only ever been in one Surtees before. We tested the bigger brother of this rig - the 650 Game Fisher - couple of years ago in the same location. It was Clontarf in Moreton Bay, Queensland.
That day was glassy calm, hot and sunny, which is perfect for fishing, yet frustrating when you want to see how the water ballast system that this brand is famous for, rides.
Fast forward a couple of years and we have a forecast for a 20 knot northerly. This time in winter. Everyone knows a stinkin’ nor-wester sucks, so we could finally fill the ballast tanks and bust some chop.
Day dawns glassy. Insert facepalm emoji.
So if Surtees claim to actually flatten the sea instead of taking the edge off a rough ride, I’m all for that. Seems like it does to me.
Regardless, we met the team from Northside Marine at the ramp, led by Bill Hull, their appropriately named head salesman.
“We’ve been doing Surtees boats for 11 years now and from Day 1, we had sold the first shipment before it even landed and have never looked back. We’ve enjoyed this product immensely,” he said.
But let’s backtrack a little. Surtees is a New Zealand built, plate aluminium hull that features a ‘water ballast system’. This means that at rest and with the ballast door open, it taken in over 300 litres of water. This drops the chines lower in the water and makes the hull more stable at rest by doing so.
And although the water can drain out in just a few seconds after you power on, you can choose to retain the water in there to add mass to the boat and to have it ride like a heavier hull. And we all know that a heavy hull with a steep V will cut through chop better than a light, flat bottomed rig.
That’s the theory anyway. FYI, it rode beautifully on the glassed-out bay. Like everything.
That aside, the Surtees is a beautifully finished boat that’s fitted onto a locally built trailer. Northside then adds a locally sourced Yamaha and you’re ready to go. They’ll back the 10 year hull warranty 100%.
The test rig was fitted with the maximum sized outboard - an F150 Yamaha 4-stroke that delivered a top speed on 70km/h at 5,900rpm while achieving 1.2km for each litre of fuel burned. The rig was most efficient at 3,500rpm where that economy jumped by around 50% and delivered 1.9km/L at 36km/h. With a 200L fuel tank, that’s well over 350km of theoretical range and appropriate for a hull that’s named a “Game Fisher”.
The boat features an innovative bait station that has both inbuilt sliding trays and the ability to securely hold standard sized plastic tackle trays in easy reach. Under it, there’s dry storage space and isolation switches behind a cupboard door. Under that, there’s easy access to the batteries under a false floor.
All of the deck is covered with EVA foam that looks the part and feels great underfoot. The cockpit also features wide gunwales with rod holders and shelves underneath to hold your gear that needs to be readily accessed.
Moving forward, the helm seats are comfortable with storage options underneath. In the test boat’s case, these are a cooler box and some additional tackle storage.
Surtees’ helm has evolved to a point that’s functional and capable of holding all of the electronics you’d be likely to fit your rig out with.
The cabin isn’t the biggest in its class but does offer a balance between cockpit space and shelter. It’s separated with a zip-up canvas door and when locked in, the infill bunks complete an area to get away from the elements.
Supplied on a twin axle trailer, this rig will tow easily with any dual cab ute.
As tested, you’ll be looking at $115,687 with all of the options fitted, although BMT package prices start from around the $88,000 mark. Give Bill and the team at Northside Marine if you want to organise a test ride or to get a quote for a version that will suit your style of fishing.
Also, make sure you check out the video version of this boat test by scanning the QR code hereby. Subscribers to the channel may well have already seen it.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length 6.1m
Beam 2.26m
Bottom 5mm
Sides 4mm
Fuel 200L
Transom Deadrise 19°
Capacity 6 persons
Max HP 150HP
Tow weight 1,450kg
PERFORMANCE
RPM km/h km/L
600 5 2.8
1000 7 2.5
2000 11 1.8
3000 20 1.5
3500 36 1.9
4000 44 1.8
4500 50 1.7
5000 58 1.6
6100 70 1.2
