I am stoked to be the first owner in Sth Australia of the new model StabiCraft 1550 F.
I’m also very happy to write a review on this tough little boat purchased at the Adelaide Boat Show from Christies Beach Marine.
A bit of background – I have owned and fished out of tinnies for many years but was more recently fishing from a 5-metre fibreglass boat. For reasons of my own I wanted to go back to a tinnie, however I had been enjoying the stability and ride in the heavier fibreglass boat. I won’t put a brand to the boat out of fairness to the manufacturer as the fibreglass boat in was itself a really great boat; just not suited to my stage of fishing/life.
My wife and I went to the boat show wondering if we could find something to suit our needs. Lo and behold we were pleasantly surprised to come across the StabiCraft 1550 F.
We headed off to Streaky Bay to launch our new boat, as we hadn’t had an opportunity to try it out in Adelaide due to the weather conditions and we were pretty keen to see how it would perform. I must admit to having a few nerves about the maiden voyage but I am pleased to report they were completely unfounded.
On the trip to Streaky the boat towed like it wasn’t there. Quite the bonus considering the fuel saved compared to our last trip over to Streaky towing the heavier fibreglass boat. I also found the smaller boat easier to back into the narrow area that the caravan park had allotted us for the boat.
After unpacking and getting set up we couldn’t wait to launch the Stabi. If you’re familiar with Streaky you’ll know the afternoons usually come with quite a stiff breeze. We launched in perfect conditions and the boat as one would expect performed brilliantly! I steered in all directions cutting across my wake and the Stabi simply leaned into the turns with the utmost ease.
After a quick (and successful fish) the wind started to blow a fairly strong south westerly. As the brand name suggests the StabiCraft was just that. Extremely stable, my wife Jeannie who has fished with me for years remarked on the comfort in the conditions comparing it to the old days of tinnies when we thumped back to the ramp with the noise, bumps and wet ride all tinnie owners know.
It was a similar ride to what we experienced with the fibreglass boat and to top it off we were dry. That’s a huge plus for the Stabi, to me it’s built for driving and as tough as nails.
Back on the ramp a number of people admired the boat and questioned us about the ride etc. We remarked how stable it was at rest fishing and on the ride back. The Stabi is equipped with reasonably high sides (internal freeboard) and really wide gunwales, great for sitting on when fishing (they really double as seats) and as I mentioned it was really stable. The grab rail on the windscreen which is also a bit of a hinge for the lift up front hatch, another great feature.
My boat was matched with a 60HP 4 stroke Mercury and it provided easily enough power for this boat which I believe is rated for motors 50 – 70 HP. We had 3 trips out before I felt the need to top up the fuel and although I can’t accurately say what the litres per are, in similar trips last year I used a lot more fuel. The 60-litre under floor fuel tank is another great feature.
When a few old mates rolled up we went out a bit wider one day. These blokes could be in a Weight Watchers commercial (for what not to do) and after a bit of BS they owned up to their weight. We had close to 400kg of lard in the boat and on occasions when 3 of them were on one side of the boat it just leaned over about an inch or so. Amazingly stable and comfortable compared to other tinnies I’ve had.
The boat also comes with a rear ladder and as I was over the side collecting razor fish this made climbing back in a cinch. They could use another cleat at the rear though as I had to grab the arm of the motor to climb back in.
On the way back in we really experienced a quite nasty Streaky afternoon blow. One of the guys remarked when we got back in, that he had fully expected to be drenched and couldn’t believe how well it travelled in his words “this little boat punched through a 2-foot plus chop and all of us remained dry. Very impressive compared to my own boat”. He has an older 5 metre fibreglass boat.
To summarise this new offering from StabiCraft is a beauty. It’s stable under way and at rest. It has great features like wide gunwales, pleasantly deep freeboard for a 4.72 metre boat. The seating position is great to drive from, comfortable seats and easily enough room to stand up and drive if you choose to do so. Tons of storage around the boat, the dash is very well set up with all dials visible at a glance.
I chose to have Southern Trim (they do fine quality work) put a bimini cover with a front clear and rocket launcher on the boat which proved to be a very suitable addition to the package offered by Christies Beach Marine.
The stabi comes equipped with a 70-litre split lid chilly bin which doubles as a back seat behind the front passenger seat and is ideal for storing your catch.
Even though the boat performed brilliantly carrying 4 adults it’s really best suited in its current form to fishing a maximum of 3. We fish on occasions with my daughters and sons in law and if we take out the chilli bin there is easily enough room for four to fish.
This is not a boat that I’d chase tuna out of but for the fishing I do, snapper, whiting, gar, squid, crabs etc it’s the ideal boat for families or just out by myself.
All in all, a lot of thought has gone into the production and features of this boat. It has something like 1000 litres of air trapped in the hull. Try sinking that!!! It’s a very comfortable, easy to use, safe boat ideal for the market segment they’ve aimed it at.
One of the best things about this boat is that my wife loves fishing from it.
I just want to add that I have dealt with the team at CBM for a number of years and have found them to be very accommodating. I haven’t received remuneration of any sort for this review; when you find a gem like this you’re just happy to share it with your fishing fraternity.
Craig Peace