| Hooking up with Stabi-Craft | |
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| The 659SC is Stabi-Craft's latest offering and it already has its own television show. It belongs to Matt Watson, producer and presenter of the Fishing Show. He worked closely with the invercargill factory to option this boat and it's likely we'll see some of the innovations on the other boats in the Stabi-Craft range. | |
| According to Stabi-Craft's MD, Paul Adams,
hooking up with Watson was a logical step. Last season, Watson's boat,
a Stabi-Craft 508HT, was unofficial star of the show. This year, Stabi-Craft
is an official show sponsor, contributing the white painted 659 Super
Cab - Stabi-Craft's newest model, designed using the latest computer
software, CAD cut and precision welded. Watson wanted a boat of at least 6.5m to ensure sufficient space and the range to fulfil his intentions. Stabi-Craft had a couple of new models on the drawing board and the 6.7m 659SC (Super Cab) fitted the bill perfectly. |
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| Watson's input is visible throughout the boat's fitout.
One innovation is the ability to support a person on the hardtop roof
- not something you would normally contemplate on a conventional trailer
boat. A large Weaver hatch over the helm seat, or a ladder on the
port side cabin exterior, give access to the cabin's roof, equipped
with foldaway supporting frame and non-slip surface for security.
The frame supports the cameraman so he can shoot into the cockpit
from a high angle, but it will also be handy for spotting fish out
wide on calm days. And, the boat will be travelling out wide. Under the floor is a 280 litre fuel tank, The Super Cab offers all weather protection and benefits from Stabi-Craft's legendary stability and in built buoyancy, which totals 2450 litres in the 659, offering a margin of safety few trailer boats can match. Watson anticipates regularly venturing 40 and 50 miles off both coasts in pursuit of game fish, including overnight sorties for broadbill in the winter months. He may also make trips to the Three Kings Islands - an area Watson knows well after years as a commercial fisherman and fishing master with top game fishing boats Prime Time an Ultimate Lady. The 659SC is not a radical departure from the rest of Stabi-Craft's big boat range, though the cabin styling has an edgier look. Like other models in the Super Cab range, it carries a generous, fully enclosed hardtop, the sides taken all the way to the outside edge of the pontoons to maximise exterior walkways welded either side of the cabin. |
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| The boat's 20 degree deadrise is moderate
- less than Watson's old boat, which he says had a slight edge on
the new boat into a head sea - but the hull is a good load carrier
which works with the pontoons, to easily support the weight and windage
of an aluminium hardtop. Downhill and beam on, the hull is superior,
says Watson, and the extra length and beam mean a much roomier craft
inside. Power is courtesy of a pair of Evinrude 90hp E-TEC's. The motors run relatively large propellers, so there's plenty of purchase on the water, reflected in strong acceleration, little tendency to ventilate in the turns and an ability to hold the boat on the plane at low speed. The boat's transom is new, featuring a Super Pod, offering superior buoyancy aft for larger, heavier four stroke engines. It's been modified to accept twin engines, but the E-TEC's are so compact they hardly seem to fill the transom. They do provide plenty of performance though. We cruised happily at around 30 knots with the engines spinning at 4600 rpm. They're not synchronised, though easy to read BRP gauges and user-friendly dual controls make matching engine revs a cinch. At 5000 rpm we were scooting along through a reasonable harbour chop at 34 knots and Watson reports a top speed of 37 knots with new engines. |
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| I particularly liked the placement of trim controls
for both engines on the inboard throttle lever. Watson hasn't fitted
trim tabs, maintaining the boat can be trimmed using the engines to
compensate for beam seas, wind and other factors. This proved the
case during our run where trimming one engine or the other corrected
any wind or sea induced hell. The only downside is that tucking in
one engine drops the revs on that motor, but trim tabs also affect
engine revs. The main reason Watson went for twin engines is safety, With plenty of offshore work on the cards, he wanted the security of a second engine should one break down. The big Stabi-Craft will still plane on one engine, though it takes a while to get up on top. |
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Redundancy features throughout the boat's systems. Watson runs
2 batteries, one is the house and starting battery, the other is
the back-up start battery that is always charged first. An inverter
allows Watson and his crew to charge cell phone and camera batteries
and view digital footage in the field. The cockpit floor is covered with tube mat, which also lines the side pockets. A great deal of thought went into positioning and angling the rod holders. The boat features a Scotty electric down rigger on the starboard transom corner, fully adjustable outrigger mounts off each rear corner of the hardtop roof and a new rocket launcher design. It's lower and angled further aft than Stabi-Craft's usual model, so it's easier to access the rods, and Watson has insisted on lanyard holes so he can secure his big gear. |
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| Inside the sliding allow and glass door, which, when
closed, does an excellent job of further quietening the already quiet
Evinrudes, the wheel house and cabin are conventional enough. A pair
of pedestal seats with foldout footrests, plus a dashboard, sides
and ceiling all well endowed with handholds, support the occupants.
The cabin is fully lined with carpet to come. The stylish, half moon
fascia is a new departure for Stabi-Craft and the boat will get a
new, curved 270-degrees visibility, two piece safety glass screen
to replace the temporary one currently fitted. The latest Furuno GP700F GPS-chartplotter /sounder supplies navigational data and a Coursemaster autopilot, the pump housed right aft in the transom locker to minimise hydraulic flex, steers the boat with Watson's not. The only apparently frivolous piece of kit is a four-speaker Fusion marine stereo. But no, even though he admits he loves music, Watson insists the stereo has a pragmatic function. Apparently, loud music, particularly Bob Marley, attracts game fish - something to do with the low frequency sounds produced by the bass, compensating for a small boat's lack of throaty diesel exhaust. Just to be sure, he's about to augment the system with a really serious amplifier and subwoofer. Sliding side windows and the Weaver hatch overhead let in light and air, and there's enough room up forward to sleep at a pinch. Watson has commissioned a couple of footlockers for extra in-cabin storage, which will extend the bunk lengths. New, longer squabs are also on order, so overnighting will be more comfortable. |
 
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| Other changes will include carpet under
the squabs to top stored objects rattling around. Watson also plans
a storage locker beside the helm seat on top of the pontoon. The forward hatch is huge, so access to the bow should never be a problem. In a departure from Stabi-Craft's normal practice, Watson has the winch mounted under the forward hatch, inside the boat out of the weather. He's chosen a winch, rather than an automatic capstan, for simplicity and so he can use it for other purposes. The winch drum is in a direct line with the transom door so Watson can winch a fish into the cockpit if necessary. The driving position is good, though I like the footlocker idea as it will act as a second footrest and make it easier to stop the seat swivelling when you don't want it to. Visibility from the helm is excellent in all directions. Plenty of glass and a sloping foredeck make it easy to read the water and the boat remained dry, only taking the odd bit of spray onto the windscreen when the wind and sea was on the quarter. Hydraulic steering is light ad the hull responsive to the helm. The 659 rides well. The hull can be hustled along, feeling safe and surefooted, but it's equally happy plugging along comfortably at 26-27 knots where the boat and its occupants are relaxed and fuel consumption is moderate. We did the photos fro this story in reasonably lumpy seas, but the 659 took them in its stride, remaining composed through every sort of manoeuvre and speed we could devise. It feels reasonably lively for a large boat, but Stabi-Craft insists - like all its boats - the 659 will go even better with some weight aboard. Despite its big water pretensions, the 659SC is easily towed, which was important as Watson wants to film fishing all over the country. On the road the big Stabi-Craft sits on a galvanised, tandem-axle, multi roller Mudgway trailer, equipped with over-run brakes on one axle. With an all up weight of 1500kg, the rig is easily towed behind Watson's Jeep Grand Cherokee. The trailer is an important part of the rig because the boat will be regularly beach launched from Watson's home at Takou Bay, Northland and from other inaccessible locations around the country. Drive on retrieves will be the norm rather than the exception. While this boat is heavily optioned, the standard Stabi-Craft 659 Super Cab is already well equipped. Like all Stabi-Craft bots, it can be optioned to suit whatever the customer requires. The new model is a genuine offshore contender, with the range and performance to tackle big fish out wide. The Fishing Show Stabi-Craft 659 Super Cab is likely to become a familiar sight around the coast of New Zealand and on our television screens as Watson and his crew gather material for another series. Sky TV subscribers can catch Watson's show on Sky Sports One and Two. |
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