Video Review: Stabicraft 1650 Fisher boat

Video Review

Red Dog is our giveaway boat — a Stabicraft 1650 Fisher. Before giving it away, however, we wanted to demonstrate its fishing boat prowess. To that end, we took it from Melbourne to Cape York and back again. After clocking up 60 hours we figured that would be enough time to get acquainted with its fishing capabilities.

As explained in our Stabicraft 1650 Fisher review, the handling and ride excels on these aluminium fishing boats.

“I’ve had fibreglass boats of the same length category and it rides just as well as them,” says Jack Murphy, the ‘unlucky’ contributor who took this boat up north in order to fish the Great Barrier Reef. “This thing can get thrown into some pretty wicked turns as well and you don’t get any cavitation when you trend in.”

Its Game Chaser Transom is built to allow you to back onto a fish, exactly as if you were on a gameboat. Fishing mac tuna off Orpheus Island, this feature came in handy.

WIN THIS BOAT

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BOAT OPTIONS

To make our Stabicraft 1650 Fisher giveaway boat as appealing as possible, we didn’t hold back on the options list. Among the many handy items onboard you’ll find:

• StressFree electric anchor winch on the bow.
• Rocket launcher and rod rack with four rod holders.
• Lowrance HDS9 with Structure Scan and SonicHub
• Livebait tank (super handy when chasing Spanish mackerel), under the baitboard.
• Raw water deckwash, a favourite of Jack Murphy.
• Rear fold-down seats by the transom that are strong enough to act as makeshift casting platforms, while also clearing deck space on what is still a 5m boat.
• In the front end you’ll find upgraded cabin lining, vee-berth cushions and seat upgrades.
• Heading towards the bow you have a walk-through windscreen. “It’s not lost on me,” says Jack. “I just use it as a casting platform.”
• And let’s not forget the hydraulic steering. “Once you go hydraulic you will not go back,” adds Jack.

ENGINE

No giveaway boat would be complete without a brilliant outboard motor. To that end we’ve got a 100hp CommandThrust  Mercury FourStroke. A new marine engine in the Mercury outboard range, this one is fitted with a 17in Enertia propeller and Command Thrust gearbox. This allows it to run a larger diameter torpedo, which means a larger diameter propeller. The result is a lower planing speed and improved performance at the top end.