Surtees 650 Review – Mitch Sayers 2017
If you are in the market for a serious offshore trailer boat, then look no further as the Surtees 650 Game Fisher (650) ticks all of those angling boxes.
Surtees had in mind the serious offshore angler when designing this incredible watercraft.
With quality unsurpassed and a “tough” stance on the water, this boat will have all your mates trying to climb aboard weekend after weekend.
Specifications
As the name suggests, the 650 is 6.5 metres and comes in at approximately 1690kgs tow weight.
This is one of the larger boats that Surtees have to offer and was built to allow ample room to move about when fighting a fish or waiting for that bite.
The airtight flotation compartments and 6 welded under-floor stringers are situated in the mono aluminium plate deep V hull.
The hull thickness measures in at 5mm on the bottom 4mm in the sides. This boat is a serious bit of kit.
The Anti-Roll Stabilising Ballast Technology that Surtees have developed allows the 650 to be steady when at rest.
The ballast tanks which run along the keel of the hull fill with water when the 650 comes to a rest and then drain out when the vessel starts to move.
The Anti-Roll Shut Off Gate can also be closed if more ballast is needed in rougher conditions.
The 650 can comfortably seat 6 people with a fold out rear seat. The cabin cushions are very comfortable and perfect for a rest with a zip curtain to seal off the elements. This elements enable the 650 to double as a good family boat when not heading out wide to chase sea beasts.
Access through the front hatch is large enough to fit through comfortably when accessing the bow.
An electric anchor winch allows for quick and safe retrieval of the anchor even in rough conditions.
The fuel tank is a generous 200L which allows the range of the 650 to be adequate for most weekend fishermen. The live bait tank is situated at the stern of the boat, close to the bait board for easy bait selection and rigging of live baits.
The medium sized bait board also has storage built in underneath it for tackle that can be quickly accessed when fishing.
The gunwales on the 650 are where this boat really stands out from the crowd. They are extremely wide which allows extra strength and protection to the hull for those nasty days at sea.
Storage is another great feature on this boat with enough room to stow all of the fishing tackle you will ever need on an offshore trip.
On both sides of the 650, the storage starts under the gunwales from the stern of the boat and continues up past the driver’s seat and passenger seat.
There, two helm chairs double as slide out esky and storage combos which is fairly standard, but an absolute must.
Every boat needs safe storage of fishing rods and the 650 has no shortage of places to stow them with a grand total of 23 rod holders!
The gunwales have 4 rod holders on each side as well as cup holders. There are also 8 rod holders within the boat itself mounted to the floor, 8 additional holders above the boat in the rocket launcher and 3 more on the bait board.
The electrics that were fitted to the tested 650 were a Garmin GPSMAP 7410xsv which includes a sounder and GPS combo with an East Coast Australia G2 Vision map, GT51M-TM Transducer and external GPS Antenna.
The clarity of the Garmin was crystal clear and allowed great vision from the 10 inch screen, even from the back of the boat.
Testing
Testing this boat on Moreton Bay was something I was really looking forward to and the 650 did not disappoint with reliability, comfort and stability.
With choppy conditions, the 650 ploughed through the chop with no hesitation and when on full throttle, it skipped across the waves with ease.
With silky smooth hydraulic steering, the 650 could turn and manoeuvre with great ease and accelerate out of twists and turns.
The Yamaha 4 stroke has incredible technology and the silence even when under way was quite astonishing. The recommended horsepower for the 650 is between 115-175. The 650 was equipped with a 175 4 stroke which allowed the 650 to plane very quickly at around 10 knots.
At 3500 rpm, the 650 hit 19 knots and at 5000 rpm it reached 30 knots.
The 650 reached a top speed of around 36 knots. Even in choppy seas the 650 performed above my expectations as a top shelf trailer boat. The cabin stayed clean and dry, even when punching through choppy swell.
The 650 sat on a Redco RE200T-MO trailer which was towed easily and smoothly around the small streets of northern Brisbane.
The verdict
So the question is would I buy the 650?
Honestly, what more could you ask for from a top shelf trailer boat with comfort, safety, stability, 10 year hull warranty worldwide and ample fishing and storage space? The 650 ticks all the right boxes and is definitely a boat that should be on your radar.
So, prices. The tested model came in at $97,529 with all the bells and whistles. However, base models start at $84,696.
If you would like to know more about the Surtees 650 head to Northside Marine located in north Brisbane.
www.northsidemarine.com.au
