Offshore Marine Master 575 – Tested – March 2016
Buying Australian made, awesome. Buying QLD made, even better. There is no doubt about it, QLD boat manufacturers are up there with the best and I never cease to be impressed by the handy work of local boat builders.
After all, building a boat for QLD conditions is best done by someone who knows QLD conditions.
Enter Offshore Marine Master (OMM). Based in Caloundra QLD, the OMM crew knock out about 15 boats per year, all built from scratch, to customer specifications.
I recently enjoyed a run in a new Offshore Marine Master 575 WA (Walk Around Cuddy) prior to its delivery (to what I suspect would have been a very happy customer).
A few specs for the techs:
The 575 is built utilising a true plate construction.
A 5mm 5083 bottom and 4mm floor and sides were noted.
Total dry weight is roughly 1750kgs.
The hull is specifically designed to be a swell slicing machine with the variable deadrise moving from 18 to 22degrees.
The hull is also foam filled with survey approved buoyancy foam.
The 575 is certified to carry 6 people and can be coupled with a maximum 175HP.
At test the 575 was fitted with a Suzuki DF150.
The layout:
The first thing you should know is that even though this boat is a 575, the overall length measures in at 6.1m (Beam 2.45).
Essentially, the bowsprit and duckboard are not included in the 575 length.
So, for a “sub 6” category boat, the OMM 575 is a monster.
It looks big and it feels big when on board! Woohoo, value for money.
The walk around cuddy is a great feature.
It felt like the right compromise between a cabin and a centre console.
There was plenty of room to walk around and access the hull area.
The cabin was big and spacious so the retreat area for the family day-out box can be ticked off.
In short, the layout of this boat is very smart. It felt open, yet safe. It ticks both family and fishing boxes.
The features:
The fit-out was equally as impressive. The first thing I noticed when I stepped on was the SeaDek flooring. It really is a master-stroke.
No burnt feet, no carpet snagged trebles, easy wash off at day’s end, seems like a no-brainer.
No transom door was noted, although this can be added on request.
I am personally not a fan of fishing over a door so I was quite happy with the arrangement.
All the standard features such as live bait tanks, GME radio, kill tanks and ample storage areas were all noted including a 200l fuel tank.
Extra bells and whistles included a Sav electric drum winch with fast-fall, L shaped d/s seatbox with tackle locker, Garmin 10” combo and a EvaKool esky mounted on P/S seat.
A chemical toilet was also thrown in for good measure with an electric available on upgrade.
On the water:
The OMM 575WA performed with ease on the water.
The boat demonstrated fantastic manoeuvrability at speed and exceptional stability at rest. Both important functional requirements for the offshore angler.
The water was very near glass so we had a good opportunity to get an accurate top speed out of the Suzuki DF150.
On a side note, I am a big fan of the Suzuki outboards.
Very difficult to go anywhere in QLD without seeing one powering a VMR, coastguard or police vessel. Obviously, a great endorsement. At 6000rpm and pushing into the wind, the 575 hit an impressive 36knots.
To top it off, the 575 is priced very well. As tested, the 575 comes in at $76,160 (includes everything as mentioned in review).
However, package’s do start from $64,500.00 so don’t delay. A great idea for Mother’s Day.
www.offshoremarinemaster.com.au
