Zodiac Pro Open 550

The weather on the day was hardly inspiring — blustery south-west winds and driving rain. It was so uninspiring my crew and back-up crew suddenly found other things to do and I was faced with launching the boat solo on a miserable Sunday morning.

I’d picked it up the day before from Trader Services, Zodiac importer and New Zealand representative for Dunbier Trailers, as well as a variety of other marine products. The boat sat on a fully-rollered Dunbier trailer and it was obvious that both Ken and Tim at Trader Services were extremely proud of their new baby. It looks smart in white and grey and the 90hp Evinrude OceanPro sets off the colour scheme nicely.

Tim went over the boat with me, pointing out its features and a few hidden touches I might have missed before I towed it home for the night. Surprise, surprise, it wouldn’t fit down my driveway. The pontoons are considerably wider than the trailer wheelbase and the boat turned out to be beamier than I first thought. A 6m McLay Fisherman I’ve run for the last two years was a tight squeeze but the Zodiac was at least as wide or even wider. I didn’t spend too long trying to squeeze past the house, leaving the boat hitched-up in the top part of my driveway ready for an early start the next morning.

As already mentioned, Sunday dawned wet and windy. No early start for this lad. It was after nine before I finally pulled out and drove down to Bayswater to launch. The wind was blowing in pretty strongly at the ramp and I had to think carefully about the logistics of launching the boat solo. It turned out to be easy enough, the crosswind holding the boat away from the ramp and allowing me to tie it to a rocky outcrop while I parked the car and trailer. The rain was falling steadily as I fired up the Evinrude and cast off. My plan was to give the boat a decent sort of run and then perhaps find a spot out of the wind where I might wet a line. To this end I had plenty of bait and berley aboard and two fishing rods.

The Zodiac features a central console set off to one side to allow easy access to the foredeck. This console offers reasonable protection for the helmsman and one passenger courtesy of a tinted plexiglass screen. A sturdy handrail runs around the top of the screen — very useful support when driving the boat standing up. There’s another handy grab rail on the passenger’s side. A stainless steel wheel and full Evinrude instrumentation grace the dash, and there’s a large hatch opening up the bottom half of the console. Inside there’s room for such things as demountable paddles, safety equipment and some dry storage. I put my tackle bag and camera gear in there. The whole console hinges forward to access storage space under the floor and the back of the dash board.

In front of the console, a smaller hatch allows longer items to be slid into a moulded cockpit liner. This is ideal for things like water skis and fishing rods. However, I tried my seven and eight foot rods and found them too long. Six-footers just fit. Actually, storage, while more extensive than many RIB or inflatable boats, is still a little on the meagre side. There’s some space under the foredeck where there’s provision for ground tackle and a pull-out bin suitable for bait, fish, drinks or similar items, plus access to the front of the polyethylene 55-litre fuel tank and its sender. Aft in the moulded transom, two hatches access the oil reservoir and the battery but that’s the sum total of in-built storage. One of the drawbacks of any pontoon boat is the fact that the pontoons themselves not only impinge on interior space, they are not available for storage either. This is particularly true of inflatables.

On the other hand, reasonable use has been made of available space and the boat is well designed ergonomically. The aft cockpit is adequate rather than spacious, particularly when the bait table with its two rod-holders is fitted, but there’s enough room for two people to stand and fish comfortably, provided the swivelling seats are turned right around. The advantage of these seats becomes clear when the fishing’s slow — they are perfect for sitting on, rod in hand, while waiting for a bite.

But back to the harbour, its chop and the driving rain. The console was extremely welcome. Tucked in behind it I was protected from the worst of the weather. The seats have fore and aft, as well as up and down adjustment. This means they’re comfortable sitting or standing. Although I was wet thanks to the rain, not a drop of spray found its way into the self-draining cockpit. This was the case for the rest of the day, despite worsening sea conditions as the wind rose.

I cleared North Head and headed up around Rangitoto towards the Noises. I had to remind myself that the boat was only 5.5m long, so rapid and relatively smooth was my progress. With the wind aft on the beam, I trimmed the OceanPro up and increased the throttle to 4500rpm. The indicated speed edged well over thirty-five miles per hour before prudence took over and I backed off to a comfortable 4000rpm in an effort to spend less time in the air.

Re-entries were remarkably smooth and the boat inspired confidence no matter which way it was pointed. Turns at speed, even in the choppy conditions, were safe and sure with no evidence of propeller ventilation except in the tightest of turns with the engine trimmed out too far. In the rougher stuff I preferred to stand though the seated position is comfortable enough. As soon as the rain eased I stood to drive for the rest of the trip. A firm grip on the wheel and a wide stance is needed, especially in the turns as considerable G-forces can be generated. The tilting console needs to be properly secured, too, as I found out when the whole thing tipped forward on re-entering after a particularly steep wave. Pins stop the latches flying open but they need to be fitted!

At secret spot number one I set the boat up and dropped the anchor over the side. I elected to pass the anchor under the bowrail, a sensible addition given the raised foredeck, and over the tube. A rubber channel consisting of two rubbing strips is provided to accommodate the warp and protect the tube.

Safely anchored, I swivelled the seats around, cut my baits and set two rods, one in each of the two bait table rod-holders. Two more rod holders are provided, quite low in the moulded transom. At first I though their placement and angle rather strange but, in practice, they work rather well. They are the only option if you wish to troll. The bait table rod holders also work quite well. I was able to fish two rods right through the day; alternatively, two anglers could fish one rod each. In my opinion two is the maximum number that can fish from the boat. Although the foredeck makes a handy casting and flyfishing platform, two anglers is still plenty. At a pinch, two anglers and a driver are possible.

Whether it was the dull conditions (which by late morning had improved somewhat) or the fact that I hadn’t had a great deal of snapper success in my last couple of forays and someone felt sorry for me I don’t know, but the fishing was quite good. A steady stream of nice-sized snapper fell to my baits as the morning drew to a close.

Early afternoon I decided on a change of venue, as much because I felt like another blast as because the bites had gradually dried up with the brightening day. Also, as the wind rounded further to the west, my possie was becoming less and less comfortable. At rest this boat is extremely stable (the fibreglass hull has a fine entry and deep vee but this is offset by the tubes’ stabilising buoyancy) but I was getting blown about by the wind a fair bit. On the other hand, the deep vee meant that I (mostly) lay with the current while at anchor — an advantage when straylining.

Retrieving the anchor was straightforward enough but the rubber channel arrangement is not ideal. There’s quite a bit of friction as the rope is pulled through and it tends to catch the chain. I found it easier to pull up the anchor over the side.

At secret possie number two the fishing was dead so I made my way back towards Rangitoto into the teeth of the wind. Whitecaps were everywhere and there was at least a metre of chop. This was no obstacle for the Zodiac which simply ate it up. Once again, I felt I could have attacked this sea at full throttle but didn’t want to spend too much time airborne. 3500 to 4000 rpm was comfortable and dry — far more so than could be expected of a boat of this size. Remarkable.

Possie number three was the last for the day. Tucked in close to Rangi’ and out of the worst of the chop if not the wind, I finished the day with another steady session which, when added to the morning’s effort, saw me catch my limit (9) of keepers. Well pleased, I upped anchor and stowed everything away for the trip home (there’s quite a vortex in the cockpit which will dislodge even heavy objects — my net for instance!).

Back at the ramp the wind was blowing straight in, posing a few problems for single-handedly retrieving the boat. In the end I left the boat tied to a marina jetty, ran to the car, backed the trailer into the water, ran back to the boat and proceeded to drive it on. It all worked like a charm, though I was left rather breathless. The trailer did a great job of locating the boat properly. By leaving the engine in gear, I was able to go forward, leap over the bow and secure the winch cable before climbing back aboard to shut down and raise the engine. Simple really!

At home a rather fishy-looking Zodiac proved extremely easy to clean.

While the Zodiac Pro Open 550 is perhaps not an ideal (or purpose-designed) fishing craft, it is a remarkable sea boat quite capable of meeting a fisher person’s needs. As I found out, it’s quite okay for one or two anglers and, with a little customisation (vertical rod racks on the console, for instance) could be turned into a decent sportfisher.

Some anglers are concerned about fishing from inflatables — fishers use a lot of sharp objects — but the fabric used by Zodiac is extremely tough. Provided reasonable care is taken with gaffs and the like, this boat should be safe enough. Certainly, it offers huge amounts of buoyancy and excellent stability, as well as great performance and handling.

Although rated to 120hp, the Evinrude 90hp OceanPro provides bags of oomph. Economy would seem to be reasonable, too — I used just on half a tank on the day I tested the boat.

A neat and attractive package that combines a great ride and handling, sportboat credibility and performance, and reasonable versatility.

	This article is reproduced with permission of NZ Fisherman Magazine John Eichelsheim Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited