Surtees 6.1 Workmate

Surtees boats have come a long way since I first tested one in January of 1995. Neil Surtees' dedication to quality added to his innovative design ideas and reasonable price structure has seen the company grow from a one man band turning out a dozen custom hulls each year, to employing eight workers (and looking for more), managed by Neil and his wife Jan. New workshops are springing up like mushrooms on the Surtees' country property near Whakatane. Last year they produced 120 hulls, including 35 for Australia. These hulls have had rave reviews in the Aussie boating press, where they are marketed as 'Barcrushers'.

Construction

As a general principle, Deep V boats give a good ride, but less stability, while shallow V gives good stability but rides harder. Most manufacturers try to walk the narrow line between the two. Surtees have come from a different angle, going for a soft-riding deep V hull, and solved the stability aspect by building a self-flooding ballast tank along the keel line.

The ballast tank is open at the transom and vented up through the anchor well. It is formed by welding a flat plate above the V formed at the keel.  Stop and it floods instantly, then drains just as quickly as the engine pushes the boat on to plane. The tank holds about 350 litres - that is 350 kg of ballast. This makes a huge difference to the hull stability.

The hull itself is a fine entry with a progressive deadrise to 18 degrees at the stern. There are no strakes, and a small downturn at the chines. A spray rail is welded to the chines in the bow and does an efficient job of turning down spray, without extending back so far as to catch the water when turning.

The bottoms are 5mm, with 3mm sides (4mm optional) and 3mm topsides. The deck is 3mm chequerplate, with 4mm used over the fuel tank.

There are six fully welded stringers running up the hull and additional longitudinal support is given by the plate that forms the top of the ballast tank. Laterally there are 24 gussets that tie the stringers together at 400 centres, and three continuous bulkheads. Everything under the floor is fully seam welded making the hull very strong. For accurate plate cutting, Surtees have invested in a computer-controlled plasma cutting machine, and backed this with top of the line welding machines.

Two sealed underfloor chambers provide buoyancy. These are pressure tested, and although figures were not available at the time of writing, the hulls have been passed for commercial survey, which means that buoyancy is well in the positive.

Rather than painting these hulls, Surtees have them powder coated, giving a much more robust finish.

Anchoring
 

As might be expected, Neil Surtees has come up with a different angle on pulling the anchor. A very large hatch in the cabin roof gives easy access to the bow and reach to the bow sprit. Split rails dropping either side of the fairlead prevent the warp from jumping out. To pull the pick, the warp is run up to a capstan mounted on the side of the cabin and pulled back into the large anchor well. Sitting on the hatch edge, facing astern and controlling the capstan with a knee switch, this is a comfortable way to work. A substantial bollard is welded to the deck.

Layout
 

The layout on the 6.1 Workmate sacrifices cabin space for cockpit space - the way many fishermen like to see things. The cabin has an open entry and could sleep two at a pinch, but not full length. It would be fine for the kids to have a nap in, especially with the optional in-fill between the berths. Two adults can sit with full head height.

The cabin is lined to gunwale level, and has two deep side pockets. Bungie cord straps keep lifejackets readily available, but up out of the way. There is stowage space under the berths, but these units are not sealed, so it is not necessarily dry stowage. A chemical toilet fits under the berths and a curtain can be fitted to the cabin for privacy.

Neil Surtees is known for his clever - and practical - design ideas. One of these is a hinged gate on which all the electronics - sounder, GPS and VHF radio - are mounted. This is latched on the back of the console, inside the cabin, when not needed. When required, it is swung out and locked in position where the helmsman and passenger can both see it. The good bit is that by disconnecting the leads of the back of the units, the whole gate can be easily removed in one piece for safe storage. These units can be custom made for whatever electronics are required.

This leaves the dash free for odds and ends. It has a dark marine carpet cover to stop things sliding around and to reduce internal glare on the 'screen. A rear lip also works as a grab rail.

The 'screen itself is made from tinted 4mm toughened glass, and is part of another clever Surtees design system. One design concept of this hull is to reduce the height as much as possible, making for easier garaging, and reducing windage when towing. The test boat rolled up with a full topside road cover. This was removed and the superstructure quickly assembled. The 'screen is hinged so that it folds back into the boat, where it is supported by a strut. When swung up into place, it is locked down on a rubber seal base. Next, the hardtop pivots up into position, where it is supported by a pipe frame, and two gas shocks at the front. The shocks allow the hardtop to be used in two positions: either hard down on the 'screen top for maximum shelter, or with a 300mm gap above the 'screen for maximum visibility and ventilation. Clear side curtains can be fitted. This system is robust and practical, and already well proven on the 5.5m Workmate. Visibility is good, seated and standing with the top up, and still pretty reasonable with the lid down. The hardtop has a rear canvas extension for extra shelter.

Seating is provided by two rotationally moulded plastic bases with swivelling bucket seats from Norscan. These bases also have upholstered rear facing bucket seats and big internal stowage. Surtees have added to this with an open topped storage box with a can/bottle holder welded into one side.

Further seating is gained from the fold-down upholstered internal transom face, and smaller removable side seats that clip onto the side pockets and are supported by a strut. Gunwales are also wide and good to sit on, except where the safety line lugs are fitted to the through-gunwale rodholders, which can be, literally, a pain in the butt. Deck tread finish gives non-slip footing.

The cockpit is roomy, and the sealed chequerplate floor drains to a sump under the gunwale, where a bilge pump is fitted. An underfloor hold is ideal for wet stowage. Large side pockets are about three metres long, adding yet more stowage.

Batteries (two) are safely up in the transom wall with fuel filter and isolation switch, and accessed through the fold-down seat. This seat also acts as an internal step when climbing over the transom, and a section of it is finished in decktread. A transom door model is available.

Over the stern is a chequerplate boarding platform, and the bracket mounted outboard. Grabrails double as rear tie-off points.

Great layout - Neil Surtees has squeezed maximum use out of every centimetre of this boat. This hull is also available in full hardtop with all-around glass - a model that has excited a lot of interest.

Power and Performance
 

Recommended horsepower rating for this hull (1160kg on-the-water weight) is 115 - 175hp. The test boat was fitted with one of the new Yamaha 115 four strokes. A 150 litre underfloor tank supplies fuel. The fuel port is set in the cockpit floor. I have mixed reactions to this - any spillage is inside the boat, but Neil Surtees says the tank fills quicker with no blowback in this position, and you can get down into the tank to remove any water condensation. An outside-the-hull port is fitted to boats going into survey. Test day was a short gap of sunshine between fronts. The Whakatane bar, where we intended to go was unworkable with a flooded river meeting a big incoming swell. We launched instead in the Ohiwa Harbour at Port Ohope.

The inner harbour was calm, and a more progressive bar enabled us to try out the rough stuff as far as was safe. Swinging a 17-inch prop, the Yamaha 115 produced 30 mph at 5400rpm by the GPS. The Surtees 6.1 hull turned in an impressive performance, coming onto plane nicely, riding very softly and dryly and handling the pressure waves at the entrance without hint of a vice. Trimmed in, it took full speed turns like it was on rails. The Hydrive hydraulic steering was good to use, and trim tabs gave an extra dimension of control, particularly useful for balancing hull loading. One of the best of its class that I have tested.

Fishability

The stability at rest provided by the ballast tank was excellent, the gunwales gave good thigh support, there was toe room all round and good footing on the chequerplate deck. Add this to a good roomy cockpit, and an underfloor fish hold, and the basics are all there.

There was a six-position rocket launcher on the hardtop. A mount in the centre transom takes a ski pole or a baitboard, which has three additional rodholders and drains into a berley pot set in the boarding platform. A further six aluminium rod holders were set through the gunwales, and built up to prevent drainage back into the hull. Their angles and gimble pins were set up for bottom fishing rather than game trolling, but no doubt this is easily changed. A further two rod stowage positions were set under the large side pockets. A livebait tank suitable for mackerel was set in the transom wall, and a washdown hose with pressure pump was also built in.
For divers, there is plenty of tank stowage room in the side pockets and underfloor hold. The boarding platform, fold-down ladder and grabrails provide all the usual dive requirements. A top boat for fishing and diving

Trailering

Neil Surtees' father Alan, also an engineer, makes the trailers for most Surtees boats. The test model was carried on an A-frame, box section trailer with a single axle, leaf-spring suspension and hydraulic trailer brake. There were five pairs of wobble rollers per side. A wind-down jockey wheel is supplied and a spare wheel is carried on a frame by the winch. One of Neil's little designs, which has been covered in the past, is a simple automatic lock so that the boat can be easily driven on and off the trailer at the ramp with out getting your feet wet.

Full tow weight of the rig is 1500kg with fuel. The foldaway superstructure greatly reduces windage, and makes the rig easier to tow.

All-in-all...
It is hard to fault this one. Clever design features, good workmanship, excellent sea performance, and a fish and dive friendly layout. Simple, robust and cost efficient. Check this one out.

Specifications

LOA ...................................6.1m
Beam .................................2.35m
Bottoms..............................5mm
Sides..................................3 or 4mm
Topsides.............................3mm
Deck..................................3 and 4mm
Rec. HP..............................115-175hp
Basic Hull only......................$17,000
As tested ...........................$ 56, 576

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News  by Sam Mossman Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited