2019 Stabicraft 1550 Fisher review

New Zealand-based Stabicraft is renowned for its chambered pontoon profiles, a built-in safety feature, and the clever fit-out of its boats which continue with the Fisher series. Although the size of the 1550 Fisher marks it as a small runabout, it excels by instilling confidence with its sea-handling capability also offering a stable and efficient fishing platform. The Fisher series line-up comprises the 1410, 1550 (this test), 1600, 1650 and 1850.

First impressions are good. Sitting on the trailer at the boat ramp, the Stabicraft 1550 Fisher looks about right for anyone looking for a small, versatile trailer boat that will easily fit in the carport or garage.

The Stabicraft 1550 Fisher is a bay or estuary boat (or an inshore option in the right conditions), made for running to a snapper mark or flicking a lure in search of that cunning big black bream in a backwater. Its layout is no-frills, yet its set-up is simple and efficient – the cockpit and internal configuration says “let’s go catch something”, and it’s up to you, the angler, to decide what that is.

MY Marine’s boat, fitted with a 60hp Honda four-stroke outboard, was priced at $37,990 as tested, with base packages equipped with a 50hp Honda outboard starting from $35,990.

The boat is not meant to come packaged as a hamburger with the lot; the trend is for owners to option up the no-fuss fishing platform according to their needs. Our boat featured a compact 5.0-inch Garmin Striker GPS/Sounder combo, with room on the console to go bigger if needed. Launching and retrieving from the Dunbier Alloy Series trailer (comprising keel rollers and skids) is easy, and the package is easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces.

New models now include a 60-litre underfloor fuel tank, which is a big tick – it replaces the plastic external tanks in our 2017-build test boat and moves the centre of gravity forward and gives back some internal space at the back.

The Stabicraft 1550 Fisher has plenty of open storage available in the cabin, although the external fuel tanks rob the stern of room to store the tackle boxes (you’ll be able to fit those in the under-floor tank version). Side pockets under the coamings are generous in their width and depth, but don’t run the full length of the boat due to the in-built float chambers, but are long enough to swallow a two-metre rod safely.

The coamings are nice and wide, offering an alternative place to sit while fishing, while the internal freeboard at about 700mm is generous for a boat this small. The 1.46m-wide cockpit is big enough for two adults to move around comfortably, and offers enough room to extend to three or even four people, as long as you have something like a rocket launcher to hold onto whilst underway as there are no other handholds.

A wide flip-up section of the windscreen, which has a handrail along its trailing edge, provides access to the anchor well and forward cleat. It uses gas struts to hold itself open.

The windscreen, which stands more than 1.3m off the floor, offered good protection to the front seats from the wind and spray kicked up by the 20 knot winds blowing across Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay on our test day.

Stabicraft fits a custom-fitted 70-litre cooler box under the passenger seat of the 1550 Fisher. You can drag it out and use it for extra seating, or remove it altogether. Its lid is split in two, which means you don’t have to pull the cooler box fully out to use it, meaning it won’t rob the deck of space each time it is needed.

There’s no live bait tank – something of a miss on what is essentially a dedicated fishing platform – but one is available as an option.

Stabicraft’s hull profiles are renowned for their chambered flotation tubes, or sponsons, which run down each side of the hull. The tubes are formed from 2.5mm thick aluminium and are fully sealed, adding significant floatation and increasing crew safety – if one side is holed, the other side will still float.

The 980 litres of positive buoyancy can be further enhanced with optional foam filling that also cuts down on the amount of noise the aluminium hull generates while underway. The hull is made from 4mm thick aluminium, while internal deck surfaces are formed from checker plate. The fuel filler for models with an underfloor tank is via the transom.

Test day presented us with a stiff 20 knot nor’easter. The boat was put through its paces on the lee side of the shoreline, affording some protection from the sharp chop further out. Our test boat’s 60hp Honda outboard engine was solid through the rev range running with one person, minimal gear and about 40 litres of fuel on board.

At 6000rpm (WOT), it nudged past 30 knots over the ground. Driving one-up from the forward-set driver’s seat, the Stabicraft 1550 Fisher feels nimble and responsive. Build up a bit of speed, and while you get a feeling that the nose should fall in and dive, the boat keeps its chin up and scoots along, even when traversing passing wakes and steep chop.

While it feels good with the Honda 60hp one-up, add another coupe of passengers and some gear and you may be better off considering a move closer to the 75hp maximum rating for some added punch. The Stabicraft 1550 Fisher performs extremely well on the tightest of turns with almost go-kart-like bite, and tracks square on the rail, making it difficult to fault the boat even though it was given plenty of stick.

The hull’s minimal draft will get the angler into shallow water for bait collecting or throwing a lure onto the flats. Oh, and because it doesn’t draw much water it’s also a very good beach launching candidate, which opens up coastline or river systems to the angler.

The platform remains very steady at rest; walk from one side of the boat to the other, and the positive buoyancy from the sponsons remove just about all rocking.

No fuel use data was available from our test boat, but those familiar with Honda outboards know the economy these engines can deliver.

Performance – Speed
4.0kt @ 1000rpm
5.5kt @ 2000rpm
7.8kt @ 3000rpm
12.6kt @3500rpm
16.4kt @ 4000rpm
24.3kt @ 5000rpm
30.5kt @ 6000rpm

With its clever sponsons, the Stabicraft 1550 Fisher screams safety, while its purposeful design utilises the small hull area available very effectively to deliver a very practical fishing platform.

It ticks all the boxes for the small fishing boat market; there is plenty of internal room in the deck area for work or play, it handles well on the water, and it doesn’t need a lot of horsepower so fuel economy and range are positive features. At the end of the day, too, it will be easy to wash down, and that’s only if you haven’t already considered adding a deck wash option.

Owners should be able to take this rig almost anywhere in the right sea conditions, and the Stabicraft 1550 Fisher’s compact size should ensure they enjoy hassle-free handling – added motivation to spend more time on the water. The Stabicraft 1550 Fisher’s compact size means it can be towed by any family car with ease.

Specifications

Priced from: $35,990

Price as tested: $37,990 including 60hp Honda four-stroke, Dunbier Alloy Series trailer, Garmin Striker 5.0-inch Sounder/GPS combo, anchor storage compartment, battery isolator switch, four-way dash switch panel, 900L/h bilge pump, non-skid pads on coamings, walk-through windscreen, transom step ladder, 70L Icey-Tek cooler, removable bait board and Shimano tackle storage trays.

Model: Stabicraft 1550 FisherLOA: 4.72m
LOA on trailer: 6.0M

Supplied by: MY Marine