2019 Silvercraft 31 review

Silvercraft's fibreglass boat range starts with the 31 and 31 Hard Top. Built on the same hull, the 31 is a version of the 31HT minus the 31HT’s hard roof and windows.

At the upper end of the Silvercraft range are the SilverCat 34 hard top and centre console catamarans, and the the 48HT. All boats in the Silvercraft range share a similar look and feel.

This, the first Silvercraft to hit our shores via its distributor, Australian Superyachts, arrived in time for the 2019 Sydney International Boat Show .

Australian Superyachts has the Silvercraft 31 priced from $234,616 on the water and equipped with twin 250hp Yamaha outboard engines.

The Silvercraft 31 an open boat featuring plenty of space and a clear fishing preference. It’s also a cost-effective alternative to a field comprising of mostly more expensive US day boats wearing badges such as Grady-White and Boston Whaler, and even European boats such as the Axopar 28.

The Silvercraft 31’s features list is pretty light on at its entry point, but the boat is equipped with enough standard features to get you out on the water straight away. There is no cabin, so for owners who don't want to rough it, day trips are the order of the day.

Standard equipment includes hydraulic steering; electric marine toilet; bilge pump; nav and anchor lights; compass; polymer transom door; a single battery and stainless steel-framed rear folding seat.

Some of the options are necessities if you plan to use the boat for fishing; more rod holders than the four fitted across the transom is a good example. I’d also tick the box for our test boat’s optional SeaDek foam flooring, which is very comfortable underfoot.

There are no cabins, but there is plenty of room to roll out a swag or even a tent – something that plenty of diehard anglers will happily do for a feed of fresh fish. For family convenience, there is an electric toilet located under the console immediately ahead of the co-pilot’s chair.

The Silvercraft 31’s hull and deck are made from a single-piece fibreglass mould. Hull materials are chopped strand mat, bi-directional knit fabric laid over a balsa core that is hand-laminated in a temperature-controlled environment with Isophthalic polyester resin.

Plywood replaces balsa for the core where deck fittings join the hull or deck. This is a more traditional way to build a hull, but Silvercraft claims the weight improves strength and ride.

Perhaps as a result, the design and appearance of the Silvercraft 31 can come across as a little dated, looking boxier and more basic when lined up against some more modern-looking competitors. On the flip side, it works and is also significantly cheaper.

The hull is interesting. The deadrise at the stern is only 20 degrees, which leans towards stability over rough water handling ability.

The hull flattens out quickly as it runs aft and has less deadrise than I would expect of a dedicated offshore fishing rig. I have no doubt the hull can handle windy and choppy offshore conditions, but I imagine that it would be a wet and bumpy ride.

The minimum recommended outboard engine setup is twin 200hp outboards (maximum is twin 300hp), but I believe a single 350hp outboard engine would still provide reasonable performance. Silvercraft appears to have never fitted a single engine to the hull of the Silvercraft 31.

Stainless steel bow rails are an option. The hull on our test boat, which doesn’t have them fitted, shows up the points where bolts would usually secure them. It’s a small aesthetic thing, but it is noticeable.

The Silvercraft 31’s finish is probably best described as robust in a rough and ready kind of way. It stands out from the more refined set-ups that play up the luxury angle, but they’re attributes that will appeal to anyone stepping up into a larger-format boat that will focus on fishing before leisure.

It is not a boat that you will need to treat with kid gloves.

The Silvercraft 31’s deck layout is simple but effective, with a walk-through in the centre of the console and vast fishing spaces at the bow and in the cockpit. This boat is open, with little in the way to impede fishing.

The bow has a small, rear-facing bench seat with storage space beneath, and a large, open space stretching back to a pair of forward-facing seats – also with storage space below – at the leading edge of the cabin.

For anyone casting poppers and stick baits, the bow has plenty of room to move. To make it a bit more comfortable when leaning against the sides, I’d add a coaming pads around the facing edge of the gunwales.

The wide walk-through into the split console leads to an expansive rear cockpit with a drop-down lounge in the starboard corner.

Stow the lounge, and like the bow there is so much useable space – enough room to roll out the swag or even pop up a tent. To port, a small transom door leads to the swim platform.

A starboard helm features a basic but comfortable padded bench with a vertical backrest and storage space below. There’s no adjustment and the bench isn’t quite big enough for two people to share, but it is comfortable to either sit or stand while driving. The layout of the crew’s chair to port is identical.

There is plenty of room on the matte finish dash for gauges, charts and sonar. On our test boat, engine gauges straddle a 9.0-inch Raymarine chartplotter and sounder.

Anglers, though, should have enough space to fit dual 12-inch screens – Raymarine’s Axiom displays support Yamaha’s CommandLink digital engine monitoring system so you can ditch the gauges – with a separate forward-facing 9.0-inch unit mounted under the optional fibreglass roof, handy if you’re casting lures along reef edges.

I’m not a fan of playing music while fishing – it scares the fish or something – but for those who do our test Silvercraft 31 has a Fusion stereo with multiple speakers to keep the tunes banging out and the crew happy.

Directly behind the helm are a sink to starboard and a bench to port that can double as a bait and tackle prep area. Both have large flat spaces with ample storage below. A fridge under the sink wouldn’t be out of place.

For fishing fans, two large kill tanks are located under the cockpit floor. One can be plumbed to turn it into a live bait tank; it works, but foxing livies out of the floor isn’t very efficient if the bite is hot.

The toilet, located ahead of the passenger, is large enough not to feel like the walls are closing in on you, while a retractable tap allows it to double as a shower.

The Silvercraft 31 on test was running a pair of 250hp commercial Yamaha outboard engines.

You don’t often see commercial engines on a boat destined for the recreational market, but they put in a good performance, hitting 42 knots on Sydney Harbour while using a combined 175 litres an hour. Few owners will be running around like that every day, though.

Dial it back to around 24 knots, a comfortable cruising speed in this boat, and the engines were using about 60 litres an hour, a much more respectable number.

Buyers can go all the way to twin 300 horsepower outboard engines on the boat, but the performance of the twin 250s with a top speed of more than 40 knots suggests maximising performance isn’t really necessary.

Performance*

*Both engines

Conditions during the test on Sydney Harbour had little in the way of wind and chop, making it difficult to get a good understanding of the hull and its rough water ability. However, it did ride soundly over the small chop in and around Gladesville.

At less than 31 feet long it gets up and on the plane around 3000rpm, which is surprisingly early in the rev range, at a speed of around 15 knots.

Heading further out into the harbour to find some ferry wake, the Silvercraft 31 soaked it up with ease. It also handled sharp turns well, bedding in comfortably without sitting too flat.

One thing that surprised me was that there were no trim tabs fitted to our test boat, although they are on the options list. It means you will need to balance out the load across the boat, especially if there’s heavy fishing gear.

Trimming the engines out to adjust the ride helped a bit, but only to a point.

Australia is witnessing a flood of high-priced US day boats that mix fishing with high-end luxuries, and the Emirates-built Silvercraft 31 slips into the same category, although with a significant price advantage.

But there the Silvercraft stands out is because it doesn’t prioritise passenger comfort over fishing practicality.

You’d be hard pressed to find a boat with as much emphasis on fishing as it is on socialising as this.

Specifications
Model: Silvercraft 31
Length: 9.4m
Beam: 3.0m
Draft: 0.5m
Deadrise: 20 degrees
Weight: 2720kg (dry, est)
Power: Twin 250hp (min)/twin 300hp (max)
Engine as tested: Twin 200hp Yamaha 4.2L V6 four-stroke
Fuel: 760L
Water: 150L
Passengers: 8

Priced from: $234,616 including hydraulic steering; electric-flush toilet; bilge pump; nav lights; anchor light; 12V blower; compass; polymer transom door; icebox; battery; SS rear folding seat; fire extinguisher.

Price as tested: $259,529 including hard top; four stainless steel rod holders; SeaDek floor cover; hull graphics; horn; search light; courtesy lights; spreader lights; rod holders; stainless steel windlass; shower; anchor; bow roller; manual bilge pump; Raymarine Axiom 9.0-inch chartplotter/fishfinder; Fusion Marine Black Box stereo; Raymarine Ray 53 VHF radio; covers; twin commercial 250hp Yamaha four-stroke outboard engines

Supplied by: Australian Superyachts