Surtess 7m |
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Surtees Boats is based in the rural Bay of Plenty near Whakatane.
The company started as a one-man band, with Neil Surtees putting out about one hull a month. But the increasing popularity of the innovative Surtees designs, the energy injected by Neil’s late wife Jan, and the adoption of the latest technology and mass-production methods saw output grow to 220 hulls a year.
In 2005 Neil sold the company to a group of six shareholders, but he retains an association with the company. The plant has further expanded with a new workshop for larger models just completed. In a go-to-whoa operation, 34 staff put out 285 hulls over the last year, mostly for the local market, but with exports to Australia, Tonga, New Caledonia and the UK.
The test boat, Lee Way, owned by keen Tauranga fisherman Peter Lee, was the first of the new Surtees 7.3 Gamefishers to be fitted with an inboard engine. During a late-winter weather window, I scuttled down to Tauranga to meet up With Peter Lee and Phil Sheaff of Surtees to give the new rig a run.
Construction
The Surtees design centres on a triangular self-flooding ballast chamber formed by welding a flat plate across the V of the keel. Off plane, this chamber fills through the open end at the transom and the air vents out of the anchor-well at the bow. When the boat accelerates onto the plane the chamber empties instantaneously. The chamber on this model holds 450 litres, equating to 450kg.
This system allows for a fine entry, variable deep-V hull (in this case 19° at the transom), which cuts through the water like a knife and gives a great sea performance without paying the usual deep-V price of being tender when off plane.
The hull bottoms are 5mm, with 4mm sides and 3mm topsides. There are reversed chines and no strakes. Six fully-welded stringers run up the full length of the hull, and additional longitudinal support is given by the plate that forms the top of the ballast tank, and a keel bar. Laterally there are gussets that tie the stringers together at 430mm centres in addition to the three main bulkheads and the transom assembly. Everything under the floor is fully seam-welded, making the hull very strong. Two main sealed under-floor chambers provide a minimum of 480kg of reserve buoyancy.
The level of finish is excellent. Most welds are unground for full strength and beautifully even, with no pits or splatter, looking like stacks of silver coins tipped over. Nyalic has been used to finish the raw alloy, making it look good and also easy to clean. In-demand Whakatane painter ‘Goose’ Haddock has done his usual excellent work on the sides. A solid and smart-looking craft.
Power and performance
Available in outboard and stern-drive versions, the test 7.3m Game Fisher is powered by Volvo’s 190hp D3 duo-prop stern drive. This compact five-cylinder aluminium engine (with steel cylinder liners) weighs only 330kg (including the leg assembly) and is getting very close in weight to the latest hi-tech outboards (a Mercury Verado 200hp XL weighs in at 294kg, for example). Standard fuel capacity is 300 litres of diesel under the floor.
Volpower NZ Ltd of Auckland supplied the engine, and their initial on-water test returned the following figures: trolling at 1600 rpm produced 7.7 knots using 5.3 litres per hour; cruising at 2800 rpm produced 21 knots using 18 litres per hour; while full speed was 4000 rpm at 34 knots (63kph) using 41 litres per hour. These figures were achieved with full fuel and water tanks, and two adults on board.
We headed out through the Tauranga entrance in around 12-15 knots of northwest wind, encountering a half-metre chop. With a fine entry and 19° deadrise at the transom I found the Gamefisher to be a soft rider with no vices; it went exactly where I pointed it with no pounding, regardless of the angle of the sea. It would be fair to say that it handles a bit more like a launch than a trailerboat.
Trim and attitude can be adjusted with the leg tilt and the trim tabs. With the bow trimmed down a little in a beam wind I found we took a bit of spray across the ‘screens. This was not a comfort issue, as it was snug inside the fully enclosed hard top, but the water on the screen did restrict vision a bit. I believe wipers are to be fitted, which should sort this out.
I am probably getting too used to the latest whisper-quiet outboards, but I did find the inboard engine a bit noisy at speed; not a problem when the cabin doors were shut of course.
Overall, a well-behaved rig which should supply owner Peter Lee with comfortable and economical gamefishing.
Anchoring
Although it is possible to walk around the cabin sides to get to the bow, it is not easy with the outriggers in their strapped-down travelling position. The big side-opening hatch in the fore-cabin roof is the best option. Reasons for getting out on the bow are limited, though. A Sarca anchor is permanently mounted on the bowsprit, and the chain/warp is run through a Quick Freespool anchor winch, which is controlled from the helm. The anchor-well can be accessed through a hatchway in the forward bulkhead.
Other bow furniture includes two bollards, one-piece bow rails and decktread panels to protect the foredeck from chain-flogging.
Layout
The fore cabin is lined to the deck and there is some under-berth stowage. A flush toilet is fitted under the centre squab. Two large side-shelves offer more storage space. The step-down drains via a bung to the bilge, as does an under-deck hold. The berths, with infill sleeps two; three at a pinch.
Removing the screws to the rear plate gives access to the neat and well-organised wiring looms in the console, and an inspection hatch has been fitted for quick access to the fuses. Cabin lighting is also fitted.
Out at the helm position a large dash with marine carpet lining and back-lip offers stowage, a grab rail, a mounting position for the Furuno Navnet multi-task electronics, and also serves to cut internal glare on the 4mm toughened-glass screen. The side windows slide forward from the rear, an arrangement that improves resistance to water entry.
The helm seats are comfortable padded swivellers, with a fold-back forward base section providing extra space when the helmsman wants to stand. Plate-alloy footrests protect the end of the berths, and can fold down to allow extra length on the berths. The units the seats are mounted on have built-in drawers, a fridge under one and a 70-litre water tank under the other. Even the odd-shaped space between the seat units and the curve of the hull is not wasted. In a typically clever Surtees design, a custom-built sliding storage unit fits the space. A bench-seat unit can be dropped in to bridge the gap between the two permanent seats to provide extra seating.
The helm station was well set out with hydraulic steering, flush-mounted gauges and switching, trim tab and anchor winch controls, GME sound system and VHF, and auto-pilot. Cabin lights are fitted, and above the passenger seat a hatch in the roof allows extra light in, provides ventilation and permits the passenger to stand on the seat with their head out the cabin top on lookout for fish action. Likewise, a vertical window/hatch behind the helm position helps ventilation, vision and communication with the cockpit. Locking cabin doors provide security and shelter.
Grab rails are a standard fitting on the outsides of most cabins, and Surtees Boats has this well covered with seven separate rails – something to suit most posit
ions and body types. Two cockpit spotlights are fitted for night work. The sealed chequerplate decks drain to sumps under the transom, with the water then being removed by a pair of 2000gph bilge pumps. Easy access to these, in case of clogging, is through inspection ports in the boarding platform.
A third 200gph bilge pump with float switch is set in the engine compartment.
The engine itself is a beautifully compact installation set into the transom wall and uses very little cockpit space. Access to the rear of the engine for servicing is through a hatch in the outside of the transom wall.
Built-in units against the rear of the cabin wall house a freshwater sink unit on one side and a gas cooker on the other. Both have squab covers and double as ben
ch seats. Shelved gear lockers are built into the sides immediately astern of them. Wide gunwale tops are covered with Decktread panels and are useful spots to perch.
The transom is essentially divided into three sections, a locker in one side containing house and start batteries with isolation switching and a fuel filter. The wiring under here is also very neat. A second, glass-bowled fuel filter is set outside the locker under the gunwale, where it can be checked for water contamination at a glance.
The transom’s centre section is taken up by the engine installation and, on the passenger side, by a transom step-through with drop-in door. The chequerplate boarding platform doubles as a sternleg cover and swim-step. A fold-down ‘T’ ladder and grab rails aid boarding. All this equates to excellent use of space overall, with the usual clever Surtees design touche
s.
Fishability
Owner Peter Lee is keen on fishing, particularly gamefishing, and Lee Way is set up with this in mind. The
chequerplate decking and the keel ballast system offer a stable platform with good footing. The flat faces of the gunwales give support at the tops of the thighs and there is toe room along two-thirds of the cockpit sides and two-thirds of the transom (excluding the engine box). A heavy bolt-down plate will mount a game chair. A set of Kilwell outriggers are fitted to the sides of the cabin; these are folded forwards and the tips strapped to the bow rails for carriage when not in use.
A six-position rocket launcher is fitted on the hard top. Four alloy through-gunwale rodholders are set along each side, three of which are paired with plastic cup holders t
hat are also useful places to put sinkers and other terminal tackle. Three more holders are set along the bait- station mounted centrally on the transom, in addition to six more cup holders – useful for a number of things – also mounted here. Two hoses drain the bait mess down through the boarding platform.
A mackerel-sized live-bait tank with a ‘fish TV’ window is mount
ed under the transom step-through. Other live-bait facilities are two tuna tubes built into the corners of the boarding platform.
A custom fitting is a fold-up davit arm with electric capstan (yet to be fitted) for pulling cray pots etc. These are great labour-saving devices, although they must be used with caution because jammed lines or snagged pots, combined with a big swell, can cause capsize.
Aftermarket, removable insulated bins can be used to store the catch. The boarding facilities make life easy for divers.
Overall, a neat, clean cockpit layout. The compact engine installation eats little cockpit space, but offers cheap trolling, good range and the fish-attracting benefits of low-frequency diesel engine noise.
Trailering
The 7.3 Gamefisher is carried on a Surtees trailer (made by a separate engineering company started by Neil Surtees’ father). It is a cradle A-frame design with an entry bay and tandem leaf-spring suspension. A keel entry roller is backed up by a pair of skid bars and seven pairs of wobble rollers on each side. The boat comes on and off effortlessly.
The frame, of course, is galvanised, as are the wheel rims and arches. The braking gear is stainless steel and works on all four wheels. It’s controlled by a Carlisle braking system, which can be plugged into the cigarette lighter of any vehicle, removing the need for a dedicated tow vehicle. It also features a pin-pull ‘deadman’ emergency brake, rather than a safety chain.
Other features include: a wind-down jockey wheel; submersible lights; a dual-ratio manual winch; and the clever Surtees automatic bow hook. The approximate tow weight is 2600kg.
All in all
The Surtees 7.3m Gamefisher travels very nicely, the construction, workmanship and finish are excellent, and it is nicely set up for fishing, diving and overnighting.
Love this boat.
Specifications
Material plate aluminium
Bottoms 5mm
Sides 4mm
Topsides 3mm
LOA 7.3m
Beam 2.5m
Deadrise 19°
Hull weight 1350kg
Recommended hp 200-300hp
Test engine Volvo Penta D3 190hp
Leg Duo Prop DPS D6
Fuel 300 litres
Fresh water 75 litres
Water ballast 450 litres
Key-turn packages:
$100,000 (200hp 4-stroke outboard)
$120,000 (190hp Volvo diesel inboard)
$148,000 as tested
Test boat courtesy of Peter Lee
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