2019 Stessco Skipper 449 review

Narangba, Queensland-based Stessco is an Australian boat-builder specialising in aluminium construction, building everything from flat-deck backwater fishing rigs to rugged, full-blown offshore boats. The Skipper is the brand’s entry-level forward control model, light on add-on features but big on space and value.

It features a traditional cuddy design over a time-proven hull, wrapped inside a package that’s easy to tow behind a typical family car or SUV, and easy to launch and retrieve.

The Stessco Skipper 449 is book-ended in the budget-focused Skipper range by the smaller 429 and the larger 469 models, and priced from less than $25,000 before registration fees and safety gear are added on.

Jump inside, and the Skipper 449 is clearly a no-frills boat. Exposed ribs run down each side – they’re welded in place in the interests of long-term strength, and not glued. Around you, 3mm aluminium sheet is used on the hull and topsides, and marine plywood hides beneath the carpeted floors.

The Stessco 449 Skipper’s cuddy is quite basic. A welded-in console runs across the full beam of the boat, protected by a sufficiently deep, classy-looking wrap-around three-piece windscreen with a flip-open portal that uses a single, ergonomic latch.

A cutaway in the console helps with reaching forward into the bow’s deep self-draining anchor well with its alloy post, but there’s no step for shorter people – an oversight given that there’s also a 100mm drop down into the helm seating area compared with the cockpit floor’s height. Grab rails run along the trailing edge of both sides of the screen.

Stessco fits the Skipper 449 with a pair of very comfortable pedestal-mounted helm chairs. The starboard helm features a simple plastic steering wheel, an ignition switch and a pair of digital gauges for the Yamaha F50. If you’re going to fit navigation lights or a bilge pump, you’ll also have to fit a switch panel.

Our test boat also came equipped with a Humminbird PiranahMax 4.3-inch fishfinder mounted on the broad, flat console top.

The throttle control, complete with cut-off lanyard, is mounted on an extended section of the coaming, and falls easily to hand. An electric-adjust engine trim toggle switch is fitted on it. Attention to detail for the engine controls and cabling running aft isn’t to the standard of the rest of the boat – on our test boat it sagged below the shallow internal gunwale slightly.

There’s no glovebox on the crew side of the console, and the cuddy space is unlined, so you see the backbones of the boat – not a bad thing, because it shows how much strength is built into the hull. Our test boat also came fitted with a two-bow bimini.

The Yamaha F50 fitted to our test boat sitting inside a separate engine well that doesn’t erode the transom’s generous 500mm height. The coamings down near the transom also house the only two recessed rod holders on the boat.

To either side of the transom, splitting the bilge well, are the tote fuel tank and the battery. We’ve criticised the lack of access to the bilge well in previous versions of this boat – you can’t easily see into it because of the way the engine pod’s cowling bulges into the space – and that criticism remains today. We suggest covering this area with a piece of mesh to stop it becoming a black hole for dropped items.

No bilge pump is fitted to the Skipper 449, but a mounting plate for one is included as standard. Given how difficult it is to see into the bilge, we still maintain that a pump should be standard kit.

A low 100mm high rail runs around to the bow fitted with a stainless steel bow roller, while a pair of matching handrails that will also have to double as tie-off points are mounted on either side of the cockpit. A rugged-looking double latch is mounted low on the hull.

Stessco provides a 12-month warranty on the hull that jumps to a 24-month warranty if you sit it on a Stessco-branded Dunbier trailer ex-factory.

The business end of the Stessco Skipper 449 is simple and uncluttered, with just the rear jump seat – an aluminium bench topped with a press stud cushion (the optional bench replaces two small transom-mounted fixed seats) – running across it. The bench braces itself on the storage pockets running down each side above the carpeted deck.

These side pockets are raised off the floor to allow you to get a foot right up under the gunwales, and are long enough to stow a 1.2-metre item – if you want to fit a standard fishing rod, you’ll need to break it down before stowing it.

That ability to get right up to the gunnels is one of the star attractions of the Stessco Skipper 449 – getting close to the near vertical sides allows you to easily lean over and reach the water to retrieve a fish or lost hat.

The focus on budget means there is no underfloor kill tank included, and no provision for a bait board. However, there’s more than enough deck space to add a sizeable cooler box if you feel there’s the need for one.

A single boarding platform with handrail is to port of the engine pod, while a single handhold is welded high on the starboard side of the transom.

Despite its relatively low output the Yamaha’s 50hp serve of power feels surprisingly lively. It has enough power to get the Skipper 449 up onto a plane in less than 6.0 seconds even with two people onboard, and is economical and quiet to boot.

The Stessco Skipper 449’s near vertical sides allow the boat-maker to fit sharply downward-facing chines that wrap right along the side of the hull and almost meet at the bow. Tip the cable-controlled wheel sharply into a corner and the hull will bite into the turn quite comfortably.

Performance

Maximum cruising range based on 95% of 10L tote tank: 30nm @ 3500rpm

Running downwind around the sheltered side of Bribie Island in a building easterly, the hull was stable, comfortable and quiet. Upwind and into the weather, the chines running right along the hull help to deflect most of the spray outwards. There was a bit of that lightweight tinnie banging over sharper waves, but it didn’t feel harsh.

The emphasis on internal space has added benefits at rest, where the wide in-water beam provides good stability when walking around the cockpit.

As a budget-conscious choice, the Stessco Skipper 449 offers a much richer interior space than its price tag would suggest. However, the smaller price comes with a little bit of compromise attached, particularly in the way the bilge sits out of eyesight.

The Stessco Skipper 449 is a very rational, practical and clinical purchase as a first boat. The frills can come later.

Specifications
Model: Stessco Skipper 449
Length: 4.62m
Beam: 2.1m
Hull depth: 0.925m
Engine: 50hp (max)
Transom weight: 135kg (max)
Engine on test: Yamaha F50LB, 11? x 12 prop
Fuel capacity: 15L tote
Weight: 308kg (dry)
Passengers: 5

Priced from: $24,776 including Yamaha F50, Stessco trailer by Dunbier, self-draining anchor well with bollard and stainless steel bow roller; carpeted floor; painted hull; front rails with mounts for navigation lights; side rails; two rod holders; twin console seats; mechanical steering; single transom step and grab rail; transducer bracket; windscreen bow access. State registrations and safety gear extra.

Supplied by: Merlin Marine and Leisure, Narangba, Queensland, phone (07) 3888 5111