2021 Haines Signature 640SF Side Console review

Like most Australian boat makers, Haines Signature has been flat-out during the past twelve months building boats to meet the COVID-19 driven customer demand. Unable to travel overseas, Aussies have been flocking to boats, boating and fishing to relieve tensions, and to spend quality vacation time with family and friends.

Despite being run off their feet — so to speak — the Haines Signature design team has still managed to continue its research and development programs. All this hard yakka has borne fruit with the debut of two new open boats, the Haines Signature 640SF Centre Console and the 640SF Side Console.

The two new models were unveiled last month and follow the launch last year of the 640SF Cuddy Cabin.

The release of the two new open boats brings the Haines Signature fishing boat line-up to 15 models comprising eight cuddy cabs, two runabouts and five console boats.

For this review, we have concentrated on Haines Signature's new 640SF Side Console. It is the roomier of the two new models, and arguably the most versatile in the sense that the wide-open deck layout suits bay and freshwater impoundment fishing as well as coastal offshore sport fishing.

The Haines Signature 640SF is available with different engine brands, albeit dependent on what is stocked by your local dealer. Most dealers have two engine brands on their books so you will likely have a choice of two brands at a minimum.

Two boats were presented to media at the new model launch, with a third boat that was unable to be finished in time. Had it made the event, the three boats would each have been powered by a different brand of outboard — Mercury, Yamaha and Suzuki respectively.

Our 640SF Side Console was presented with a 200hp Suzuki extra-longshaft in-line four-cylinder four-stroke outboard engine. 

Pricing for the 640SF SC is yet to be announced, but we are expecting a low $100,000 figure for entry models powered with a 150hp Suzuki or Mercury outboard engine, and riding on a dual-axle galvanised steel trailer with electric-hydraulic break-away brakes.

Like the centre console model, the Haines Signature 640SF Side Console comes with lots of standard kit including bow and stern casting decks; transom live bait tank; wide side decks with four included stainless steel rod holders; a five-rod vertical rod rack; pop-up cleats; raw-water deck wash; full cockpit length side pockets with horizontal rod storage racks; Phender Pro quick-release fender kit; underfloor foam flotation, and a 300L sub-floor fuel tank.

Haines Signature 640SF buyers also gain an electronics suite featuring a Simrad G07 XSR multifunction display with 3-in-1 transducer and C-Map chart; Simrad RS20s VHF radio; JL Audio MM50 Bluetooth audio system with speakers; 12-volt socket; USB ports; and a ScanStrut ROKK wireless active charging cradle for your mobile phone.

Our test boat was set up with a range of options to showcase this new model. The extra gear included a trolling motor plate on the bow; black powder-coating to rails; gas-strut forward hatch lids; aft corner cushions; custom deck and upholstery colours; padded coaming bolsters; and Signature's X-deck foam rubber flooring in place of the standard non-slip gelcoat finish.

The 640SF models are cool looking boats with an excellent standard of fit and finish. Only the best quality materials, fabrics, and fittings are used during construction, and this is evident as soon as you see one of these craft.

Glancing around the interior you can see the quality stainless steel hardware used throughout - hatch rings and hinges, pop-up cleats, bow roller, fender mounts, rod holders, fastenings and more.

Deck hatches have gaskets to keep water out, and there's an option for gas-strut supports for the forward hatches, though I reckon these should be standard.

Underway the 640SF Side Console feels solid and seaworthy. There are no squeaks, rattles or weird vibrations; the hull rides smoothly with a reassuring sense of strength and rigidity.

To be honest, I expected nothing less from the 640SF as the Haines Signature VDH (Variable Deadrise Hull) is a proven performer.

Introduced during the 1990s and fine-tuned, refined to this day, the Haines 21-33 degree variable deadrise, concave hull bottom is among the best in the business — soft, dry and stable.

Design and layout

Thanks to the starboard side helm station, the 640SF Side Console is remarkably roomy inside. Anglers can move about freely in the 2.5m long centre cockpit area, and fish the length of the port side of the boat.

The console is large enough to take a 12.0-inch multifunction display on the fascia panel, although our test boat was fitted with the standard Simrad G07 XSR 7.0-inch model.

There's foot-well space under the console for the skipper, a small acrylic windshield overhead, along with provision for cup holders, switching and the tilt-adjust stainless steel steering wheel.

Fronting the helm is one of two included pedestal helm chairs. The second chair for the co-pilot is situated opposite. Each chair is fixed into position, but well placed.

The chairs can't be moved to the front deck, but you can option the boat with a casting deck lean-seat to provide support when fishing from the bow in choppy seas.

The two helm chairs are deluxe, height-adjustable models with flip-up front bolsters. They also swivel and slide so you can move them back and forth as required.

Cockpit side pockets flank the centre cockpit, elevated above the floor and incorporating a horizontal rod locker.

Optional padded coaming bolsters encircled the cockpit in the test boat, making it comfortable to lean against side decks measuring 640mm above the floor.

Storage areas abound. There's a moulded bin under the floor near the console and a series of storage lockers under the elevated (by 375mm) front casting deck.

Four dry storage lockers are situated under the deck at the bow, while at the trailing edge of the platform there is a full-width fish box/kill tank.

Up at the stem of the boat is a deep anchor well that is designed to take an electric drum winch. The anchor hatch is reinforced and covered with non-slip foam rubber flooring so you can stand and cast lures from this point at the tip of the bow.

As noted earlier, there's another, albeit shorter (500mm long) casting deck aft, beneath which is a live bait tank with a viewing window on the starboard side, battery locker to port, and bilge compartment in the centre.

The sea was calm offshore during our test of the Haines Signature 640SF Side Console, but the ebbing tide combined with the incoming swell at the Gold Coast Seaway to provide enough wave action to give the Haines Signature 640SF a decent work-out.

Throughout, the Haines Signature 640SF proved nicely balanced, comfortable, dry and stable. The Haines Signature VDH hull really is a terrific design; the concave shape allows for a very deep vee at the keel, before this sharp angle progressively flattens out to the chines, which are slightly reversed to stiffen the boat laterally.

The 640SF hull handles superbly and corners tightly too — so well that this boat can easily double up for social waterskiing and tow sports.

For tow sport activities, I'd probably up the engine size to the maximum 225hp, but for fishing, bay cruising and so on the 200hp Suzuki outboard engine provides better than adequate acceleration and performance.

With two adults and a load of fuel on board, we were able to pull a top speed of 40 knots with the motor trimmed out, ripping across the Gold Coast Broadwater.

Unfortunately, we were unable to conduct fuel use trials on the test boat, but when paired with a Yamaha 225hp outboard, the 640SF is most economical at 3500rpm, burning 28.5L/h at a boat speed 25.3 knots, for a maximum range of 269nm on 95% of the boat's 300L fuel tank.

The Haines Signature 640SF Side Console is an interesting mix of bass/barra boat versus offshore sport fishing platform. The hull is well and truly offshore capable, but the interior has the elevated bow and stern casting decks you'd normally see on a low-slung competition bass boat.

This blend of offshore capability with an inshore/impoundment style deck layout adds versatility to the 640SF Side Console; the boat is easily capable of fishing twenty miles offshore, yet it will not look out of place nestled amongst the tree stumps on a freshwater dam with anglers chucking lures about for bass, perch and cod.

Specifications
Model: Haines Signature 640SF side console
Length overall: 6.62m 
Beam: 2.43m
Deadrise: 21-33 degrees
Hull weight: 1272kg
Weight on trailer: 2399kg
Maximum power: 225hp (extra-longshaft)
Maximum engine weight: 290kg
Engine as tested: 200hp Suzuki in-line four cylinder four-stroke 
Fuel: 300L 
Passengers: 8

Package pricing: Contact your local Haines Signature dealer 

Supplied by: Haines Signature