| When
you have tested as many Stabi-Crafts as I have you sort of know what
to expect when you are presented with a new model. In this case it
was the 759HT, the largest in the Stabi-Craft range to date. Great
finish, great handling and an overall sensible design are part of
the heritage that is Stabi-Craft. In 15 years the company has gone
from building rugged no-nonsense workboats to highly sophisticated,
smart and impeccably finished boats for the leisure market. |
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| Being
a big hardtop designed unpretentiously for offshore fishing and diving,
the real test had to be a day on the water doing both. Waiting for
a fine day in Auckland took some time but when a weather window appeared
I took it and along with a team from Gulfland Marine - supplier of
the boat for the test - we headed for Little Barrier Island. While
I had expected some rough weather further out, it was complete opposite.
A 10-knot shore breeze in the early morning dropped to less than 5
knots as we went further out. The plans changed and we opted to fish
first at Anchorite Rock, before heading the to the top of the Coromandel
Peninsula. We covered the 21 nautical miles from Gulf Harbour to Anchorite in less than an hour and it didn't take long to find this isolated pinnacle as craypot floats surrounded it. The Lowrance sounder showed the fish were plentiful at around 80 to 10Oft, but try as we might they weren't biting. |
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| Being impatient fishermen we cruised on to Port Jackson, tried a few more spots and dropped a couple of divers over for a cray dive. Their results were better than our fishing .... but not a lot. We blamed the cloudless sky, direct sunlight and full moon. Well, you have to blame something when the catch bin's empty! Despite a stiff Northerly breeze having now risen in Colville Channel, by the time we had rounded Cape Colville for the trip back, the water returned to its oily state. |  |
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| So
as not to return home completely devoid of fresh fish, we decided
to try one more spot around the back of Tiri Tiri Matangi Island.
My last visit the there a few months previously had produced the limit
for three of us, so I was somewhat hopeful. But again nothing much
was happening and we arrived back at the Gulf Harbour ramp exactly
seven hours after leaving, with our catch bin virtually empty. Total
distance covered was 65 nautical miles. When it comes to handling, the 759HT drove like it was on rails and there was nothing to do but watch the water rush past as we lapped up every mile. For trolling we lifted one engine out of the water and got the speed down to around 3 rnph and with both in the water @ 700rpm this increased to 4.5 mph. The transition onto the plane at around 2500 rpm was quick and without much bowlift. For most of the trip we had the tachos at 4700 rpm @ 35 mph. Maximum speed was 41 mph for the 759HT with a five aboard, 280 litres of fuel, five sets of fishing gear and two sets of diving equipment, plus all the rest of the stuff you need for a day on the water. A single V6 225hp outboard will push the 759HT at better than 50 mph. |
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| A week later Gulfland Marine had the759HT on the water for a photo shoot and Tiri Channel was pumping. The waves were over a metre and the tide was running against the wind. This time I found what the 759HT was really like. In the shorter harbour chop it was fine. However, the rougher it got the better it felt and I found I could push the boat faster in the deep swells both in the following and head seas. There's a feeling of security under the hardtop and when matched with positive hydraulic steering and a well-balanced boat I could have retraced the 65 nautical mile trip and really enjoyed the experience. |  |
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| The
Generation 2 pontoons were first introduced in 1996 with the 530 and
it has been a feature of all new models since. For 2002 the entire
range, from the 429 dinghy through to the 759HT incorporate Generation
2 technology. Stabi-Craft's 759HT features the Generation 2 flat sided extruded pontoons with an underwater shape that provides wide stepped chines that run parallel for over 2/3rds of the hull and a deep 22 degree deadrise at the transom. This provides substantial lift and the stepped chine reacts more like a conventional chined boat when cornering. |
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| Winter
Comfort There are four models in the Stabi-Craft hardtop range: 595HT, 609HT, 659HT and the newest, 759H1 The three larger models all feature fibreglass hardtops and rear pillars, with sliding side windows and glass front screens. While the 659HT is available with either open or lockable rear bulkhead, the 759HT is standard with lockable cabin and offset door. Stabi-Craft do offer an extensive custom service for all models and changes can be made to suit most individual requirements. |
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| The cabin area of the 759HT is split into two distinctive areas, the helm or wheel-house and forward cabin. The cabin provides sitting headroom, but the berths are not long enough for overnighting, something that I found quite strange in a boat this size. A separate infill turns the whole area into a large berth, but it's still a tight fit for two people. A portable head is optional and the three vinyl covered squabs have deep storage lockers beneath. Wide side trays run down either side, with the port one extending right into the back of the wheelhouse. |  |
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| The
cabin, like the rest of the interior, is fully fabric lined and there
is a Weaver hatch providing both light and ventilation. You don't
need to use this for fore-deck access as the wide side decks on the
759HT have been especially designed for that purpose. The wheelhouse is neat. Our first test day may have been calm and sunny but there was a chill in the air and late in the afternoon it was pleasant to be tucked away, warm and wind free with-in the enclosed helm area. |
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| While there is a large area, any more than four people and you need to think about screwing on a few more handrails. The driver has a soft rider pedestal seat and there are a couple of flat bin seats to port, but that's it. If the crew is going to stand, which is more probable if it's a rough trip home, then they need something more than the back of the seat to hang onto. |  |
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| The
layout has the helm to starboard with a fibreglass two tier fascia,
with instruments on the upper level and a Lowrance Map 2400 GPS Plotter
and Lowrance X71 Fishfinder below. Surrounded by further instruments
and switches, the dash area is well laid-out and functional. The Maxwell
500 Freedom winch can be operated from the helm and you have excellent
visibility to the bollard so you can see when the anchor is coming
over the roller.
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| Visibility
is also excellent from the helm to the corners of the transom when
backing up on a marlin or reversing into a dock. Sliding side windows
provide extra ventilation for the wheelhouse and a large sweep wiper
clears any spray from the screen. Our test boat had an optional two-burner cooker and there was room also for a small fridge, all hidden away under the rear bin seat squabs. Provision has been made in the cockpit for the gas bottle. There are more storage lockers behind So-Pac hatches in the hardtop pillars. The chequerplate cabin, wheelhouse and cockpit floor has been finished with removable tube matting and all three distinctive areas can be drained into the aft bilge. The cockpit is open and functional providing a good working space. The Stabi- Craft 759HT is virtually unsinkable and has 3250 litres of reserve buoyancy. As quite a lot of that is under the floor, there are no storage lockers and apart from the underfloor fuel tank, the rest is a sealed compartment. However, there are ultra-wide side trays above the side pontoons, which proved a great place for our rods. The four-rack rocket launcher wasn't big enough for our collection of rods and with only two rod holders provided, the side compartments proved the perfect place. Adding extra rod holders or the optional l0 rod rack is a customers choice. There is a small sink built-into the star-boar d coaming and with a raised shelf for the batteries and oil tanks (not required in this case) across the transom, spare tote tanks or fish bins can be slid under and out of the way. We had the optional live bait tank built into the port side transom step-through, which leads down to the large divers' ladder. The 759HT doesn't have a full-width boarding platform with the central pod being used to mount the twin outboards. With a single V6 there is obviously a smaller pod and space either side for platforms. Since its establishment in 1987, Stabi-Craft Marine has developed into a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high technology, high quality rigid hull pontoon boats. The company is respected internationally for its innovative approach to the design and construction of rigid pontoon trailer boats, and offers a wide range of boats for both recreational and commercial use. The 759HT is another superb model from Stabi-Craft and is certain to further enhance the name both locally and overseas. |
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 Deep vee hull shape with Generation II pontoons provie a great ride in the rough water. 
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