Sam Mossman checks out the latest offering from what is now an iconic Kiwi boat company.

It is over 21 years since I did my first trial on a Surtees boat, and the company has come a long, long way since then. Way back in December 1994 I first fronted up at Neil Surtees’ rural block near Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty. Neil was a carefree bachelor in those days, building a boat a month on his own in his shed and only bothering to make enough to pay the bills. At knock-off time, it seemed that every bloke in the district arrived at Neil’s workshop for a beer – Kiwi shed culture at its finest – and later that night we ended up at some now-forgotten booze-up in Whakatane. I crashed for the night on the floor of Neil’s lounge and we headed out to do the boat test next morning.

Neil Surtees no longer has day-to-day involvement in the running of the company, but remains a shareholder. The soundness of his innovative hull designs and robust construction methods have been the foundation of the company’s success.

These days Surtees Boats is one of the largest builders in the country, employing 51 staff and producing 350 hulls last year. The company aims to increase production to 500 hulls a year over the next two years to meet ever-increasing demand in New Zealand and Australia.

The company is still based ‘down on the farm’, but the single shed of old has blossomed into a five-main-buildings plant, as well as an in-house painting facility. The design for the latest addition to the facility – the largest building yet – has just been signed off, with the company looking to hire 10 more construction staff in the next two years.

To trial the new Surtees 750 Game Fisher, I met up with the Managing Director, Phil Sheaff, at Tauranga’s Sulphur Point boat ramp, along with the test boat’s owner, Don Howard. Phil has served as Surtees’ MD for the last nine years, but is now taking a step back to allow the company’s previous marketing manager, Adam Dyck, to take the helm.

Settling down

It is well-known that deep-V hulls with fine entries slice through the sea well and are particularly soft riders. Unfortunately, there is usually a price to be paid for a Deep V: lack of stability at rest. The base design concept behind Surtees boats is the use of a selfflooding ballast tank that stabilises the hull at rest, and self-drains as the boat rises onto the plane.

Neil Surtees further refined this concept with a stern gate that may be closed, retaining the water in the tank for extra ballast when travelling in rougher conditions. This ballast tank is formed along the keel line, which further strengthens an already wellbraced hull. This provides the ride advantage of a well-designed 20-degree deadrise, while remaining stable at rest. Large underdeck sealed buoyancy chambers provide a reserve buoyancy of 1090kg.

The 750 (7.5m) hull has been developed from the previous 7.3m model, with length added to the rear of the cockpit, but the 2.5m beam retained. Surtees’ boats have a reputation as particularly soft riders and, happily, the proportions of the new hull have proven to be an excellent combination, making the 750 ride a standout, even by the high standards of the marque.

We ran out of the Tauranga entrance and put the 750 to the test in the lifting seas alongside Matakana Island. The ride was very impressive – soft, dry and a bit launch-like, while demonstrating plenty of boogie.

Recommended for 200-300hp, Don Howard’s 750 Game Fisher, Boardroom, is powered by a Honda BF 250 VTEC outboard spinning a 17-inch pitch prop. The Surtees has a 300-litre underfloor fuel tank, giving the rig a range of about 430km at cruising speed. (See the table on page 120 for performance figures.)

The big Game Fisher is towed on a Surtees tandem-axle trailer which, along with the usual features, has the clever Surtees Trailer Catch, allowing easy drive-on retrieval. Tow weight of the rig is approximately 2410kg.

Performance

Stay away capability

Owner Don is a keen outdoorsman and, amongst other things, enjoys doing stay-away trips in this boat with his wife or mates. Although this rig is still in its first summer, already Boardroom has done overnighters to the Mokohinau Islands, Mayor and Motiti Islands, and the Hen and Chicks. The layout includes a number of features to facilitate this.

The berths in the bow will sleep three adults, and there is space in the wheelhouse for a single air mattress on the sole to accommodate a fourth. There is an electric toilet under the forward berth, as well as further stowage space. The upholstered helm seats, with roll-back bolsters, have stowage in the bases. The helm side houses a fridge, while the passenger side has a storage drawer, with the space below utilised by an 80-litre freshwater tank.

As a safety precaution, Surtees has done away with gas on the boat, using a methylated spirits stove and an electric water heater. Both are housed under bench seats out in the cockpit (against the rear cabin bulkhead). The electric water heater is run off the outboard rather than the batteries, heating fresh water from the tank in 20-litre batches that can feed a small stainless sink or a deck shower (privacy curtains can be hung from the hardtop for showering if required).

The boat’s electrics run off a dual-battery system – one start and one house – which are well protected in the transom locker, along with the isolation switching. The front of the locker folds down to disclose the batteries and forms a bench seat if required.

The nuts and bolts

The fit-out has incorporated quality features: a helm-controlled Stress Free drum winch on the bow; a large polycarbonate hatch in the fore-cabin roof; a large dash with marine-carpet lining and back lip; hydraulic steering; toughened glass ‘screens and side sliders; ample grab rails; large side shelves in the cabin; and a marine grade bi-fold lockable cabin door. Instruments and electronics include: a Garmin GPSmap 7412xsv sounder-plotter; Lectrotab trim tabs; Garmin engine displays and VHF; along with a Fusion sound system. These last two are mounted overhead.

Lighting is extensive, taking advantage the low-draw, low-heat characteristics of LEDs. There are red/white cabin lights, white cockpit floods, red cockpit night lights under the gunwales, and blue underwater baitfish lights.

Good-sized shelves along the cockpit sides are a useful place to store the wash-down hose, net, gaffs, ropes, fenders and suchlike. A removable shade screen extends from the back of the hardtop.

The deck is Treadplate, sealed, and drains to a sump under the transom fitted with a 3700gph bilge pump. The transom stepthrough on the port side gives access to a large boarding platform fitted with rails, a section of which folds down to make a boarding ladder on the port side, adjacent to the step-through.

Fishing bits

As mentioned, owner Don is a keen fisherman and diver, and Surtees is well known for fishing fit-outs. The stability of the boat at rest and the good footing provided by the Treadplate deck are complemented by a large, open cockpit with plenty of toe room and top-of-the-thigh support for anglers working fish.

Rod storage includes a seven-position rocket launcher on the hardtop and two movable four-holder units that clip onto the side shelves. These keep the reels out of the spray and the rods inside the line of the boat when coming alongside a wharf or another craft. In addition, there are three through-gunwale rod holders (two with cups for holding sinkers or drinks) along each side, and a further three along the back of the bait-station, making a total of 24 holders.

A ‘Deluxe’ bait-station is mounted on the transom, and as well as the rod holders mentioned, it features tackle drawers, knife slots, a cutting board, and two clever leader dispensers. The unit is removable if you want to fit a ski pole.

Catch stowage is in a 115-litre Icey Tek bin that sits in the cockpit. This can be supplemented for stay-away trips by an 82-litre bin, which fits nicely on the boarding platform, or mates with the 115litre unit across the back of the cockpit.

Divers are also well catered for, thanks to a ladder, boarding platform and grab rails, transom step-through and freshwater deck shower. Don has a tank stand that fits on the cockpit side.

Specifications

The best of both worlds

The deep V and ballast tank combination delivers a brilliant ride while retaining stability at rest, coupled with the ability to hold 530kg of water ballast right where it is most effective – right down on the keel – if required. Surtees delivers the best of both worlds and if you add to this a sweet conjunction of hull proportions, robust construction, a high level of fit and finish, and all the clever Surtees accessories, it is no wonder the 750 Game Fisher is in such great demand amongst fishermen, divers and families looking for marine adventures.