Gulf Runner 590FC 2022 Review

Gulf Runner boats are made in Queensland by long-established alloy manufacturer Merlin Marine. The boats were originally a line of Stessco side console tinnies but the name has evolved to become a standalone brand in its own right, featuring car-toppers, side and centre consoles, runabouts and cuddy cabs.

In another big change, you don’t walk into a showroom to buy a Gulf Runner. Instead, if you’re in Sydney or Brisbane, you head to one of outdoor leisure activity chain Anaconda’s stores and order one, just like you’d buy an icebox, tent or a fishing rod.

It’s early days in this new retail experiment, and so a selection of models are on show only in Anaconda superstores in Brisbane and Sydney. Plans are in place to expand to other states and territories throughout Australia.

The big benefit of in-store sales is the price you see on the boat is the price you will pay for it; there’s no haggling or pressure to upgrade.

The boat you buy is also ready to hit the water, sitting on a Dunbier trailer. All you need to do is add your marine electronics, safety gear and any other accessories, and hey, you’re picking it up from Anaconda, which has everything you need.

The buying process could not be simpler. If you go to a store and the boat you want isn't there, the maximum wait for one will be about two months, although new stock is coming in all the time.

One of the Gulf Runner lines on offer is the Fishing Cuddy, a sharp-looking cuddy cabin model that ranges from the 5.5-metre Gulf Runner 540FC up to the subject of our test, the range-topping 5.9-metre Gulf Runner 590FC.

Some clever thinking has gone into this boat that makes it stand out from the crowd. Is it enough to convince buyers to take a stab at taking the unconventional path to ownership?

There’s just one price for the Gulf Runner 590FC. Because it is sold via Anaconda stores, it gets a sticker price just like anything else on the store’s shelves. In this instance, it’s $84,999, which is pretty sharp value for a boat of this length and with 150hp of performance on tap.

In terms of fit-out, it’s largely a foundation on which the owner can build their own dream boat.

That means you get a simply equipped boat. Standard equipment includes bunk cushions for the cuddy cabin; a bimini; a large forward hatch to access the drained anchor well; carpets inside cabin storage and on the bunk tops; windows in the cabin; navigation and anchor lights; five-gang switch panel; carpeted cockpit; folding rear lounge; forward and aft railings; integrated alloy bollards; rear boarding ladder that you can use with flippers on a starboard duckboard; two transducer brackets; two rod holders; and a bilge pump.

The rear jump seat on our test boat was a large three-quarter width storage box with a flip-up seat top that still provided access to a transom gate on the port side. The entire box flips forward to reveal the fuel filter and battery hidden behind Sopac doors.

The boat included a good-looking and instantly recognisable blue hull finish that will help to define the brand out on the water. 

Sitting under it is a mechanically braked Dunbier dual-axle galvanised trailer.

Anyone who has seen a Stessco-made Sunseeker will instantly recognise where the origin of the Gulf Runner 590FC has its roots. You can see it on the trailer via sharp looks and a beamy hull that will probably have most owners ducking down to the local car parts retailer to add a pair of wing mirror extensions to the garage.

The boat is a mix of old and new. From the topsides down the boat is pressed alloy, but the forward cabin top is formed from fibreglass, providing uninterrupted lines and curves that would not be possible if it was formed from pressed aluminium.

The boat features a flush keel built into a 17.5-degree deadrise, reaching out to a flat running surface and a reversed hard chine that runs from the stern to the bow, helping to deflect spray at speed.

The outboard flat running surfaces are only possible because at 2.42 metres beam, it’s close to as wide as you can legally get for a trailerable boat. That width helps with stability at rest, yields heaps of cockpit space, and the extra flotation this yields probbaly goes some way to explaining the reason why this boat is powered with a 150hp Yamaha FourStroke outboard engine – a surprising amount of performance where 130hp is probably a default choice.

The fully welded hull is built from 4.0mm thick aluminium, while the topsides are formed from 3.0mm alloy. The boat includes a 145-litre underfloor fuel tank.

The Gulf Runner 590FC isn’t just a beamy boat. Its deep freeboard also makes it an option for boaters looking for something that can handle the rough with confidence.

The boat has a traditional cuddy profile, with the fibreglass cabin top shaped to maximise headroom in the cuddy.

The bow rail is designed so that it will feed the anchor rode into the bow roller as it feeds out. The anchor is stored in a rotomoulded plastic tub that is self-draining.

Behind it, the cabin roof profile stays low as it rises back to the windscreen. A large hatch gives good access to the anchor well if you’re setting or retrieving by hand.

The cuddy is a conventional vee berth with side pockets running to the forepeak, although the bunks have been made longer by integrating them into the footrests for the skipper and first mate, yielding more than 2.0 metres of space to stretch out.

Behind the windscreen is a conventional twin console, with the driver sitting to starboard and the first mate to port. There is plenty of room for a third person to squeeze past the seats and gain access to the cuddy.

Behind the helm seats is the Gulf Runner 590FC’s biggest asset, the wide and deep cockpit.

This is one place where the Gulf Runner can improve things, although that said it starts with a good base. Literally, because the seats are mounted on boxes that provide plenty of extra storage space behind Sopac doors. 

However, where things fall apart a bit is in the console’s design. The Gulf Runner 590FC uses the same mould for the fibreglass cabin top as the Sunseeker with no thought given to improving it.

That means there is very little flat space to flush-mount the latest-generation chartplotters and fishfinders, with our test boat’s 17-inch Simrad unit, added as an option, sitting on the dash top. The space directly in front of the driver is best left for engine gauges and a switch for the electric anchor winch you’re inevitably going to add after the first offshore trip in the boat.

Things aren’t much of an improvement on the first mate’s side of the console. The large opening to the cuddy that takes up about two-thirds of the console leaves a yawning abyss in front of the jump seat. There are no handholds around the seat, so you’ll find yourself bracing against the windscreen or splaying your feet on the floor around the generous-sized footrest to try and remain stable in rougher conditions.

The space also lacks small item storage options other than a shallow bowl built into the first mate’s side of the console, so mobile phones, car keys and more need to remain in your pocket until another solution is found to accommodate them, or you can store them in the cuddy’s side pockets.

The seats are comfortable but, if you want to stand, maybe change the seats so they have a fold-up bolster to give just a little bit more room behind the wheel.

The wheel and analogue controls for the Yamaha outboard engine both fall easily to hand while seated.

The wrap-around windscreen is made up of four individual pieces, and the drop nose of the Gulf Runner 590FC makes it easy to see forward. 

The cockpit is the defining feature of this boat. By the tape measure, it stretches 1600mm from the rear of the helm seats to the back of the full-height transom, the internal beam posts 1950mm, and the internal freeboard is an impressive 700mm.

The aft seatbox provides heaps of storage space for bulky items such a lifejackets and fenders, which is handy given there is no underfloor option.

There are only two rod holders that are set up for trawling, and no central rod holder so you can at least have the option of mounting a removeable bait board.

There isn’t a kill tank, but that’s not really an issue in this age of highly portable soft fish bags.

The Gulf Runner 590FC’s side pockets are surprisingly small and narrow given the sheer size of this boat. If they extended out a bit more it would really open up storage options to make up for the lack of it elsewhere. They’re raised off the floor so you can get your toes under to get up close to the side of the boat.

The topdecks are plenty wide enough to take more rod holders or sinker cups if you want to install your own. The exposed aft cleats may snag a line or two over time, so a future upgrade could include replacing them with pop-up cleats.

Launching out of Five Ways on Sydney Harbour, we headed to the sheltered waters around Whiting Point to get out of a building northerly wind that was making conditions difficult for photography.

The Gulf Runner 590FC sits on a mid-deadrise hull with a relatively low 17.5-degree variable deadrise. There’s no exposed keel like on some other ally trailer boats, meaning the boat pretty much relies on its exposed reversed chines that protrude on either side of the hull.

You notice this in corners where rather than bite onto the water to carve a turn, the Gulf Runner 590FC tends to slide rather than carve, the big 150hp Yamaha F150XB pushing the transom wide with relative ease. You need to tuck the engine right in, though, to avoid cavitation.

In a straight line, though, there are no complaints. The Yamaha FourStroke easily pops the boat up onto the plane where it sits steadily and comfortably, the flat planing surfaces that run aft creating a stable rise. 

The foam-filled hull is surprisingly quiet under way, with almost no noise as you crash down hard off a wave or wake. In fact, the boat feels almost like a fibreglass hull in the way it rides and sounds.

Performance

Maximum range on 95% of 145L fuel tank: 144nm@3500rpm

Of note, the transformation from rest onto the plane is excellent, with the nose of the Gulf Runner 590FC barely rising, and dropping low at speed. The response to engine trim is instantaneous, and you really only need to think about adding trim tabs if you regularly have three people onboard and need to adjust for weight.

There's good range from the Yamaha via the Gulf Runner 590FC's 145-litre underfloor tank, although if the numbers were any lower we'd be a bit concerned.

That wide beam also helps with at-rest stability, with two adults able to walk down to the back corner of the boat with confidence.

A new boat brand and a new approach to selling them will be a compelling reason for a number of buyers who have previously thought about buying a new one, but have been put off by past experience.

At $85K drive away, the Gulf Runner 590FC is cracking value for what it is. For many buyers, it will leave room in the budget for those little things that will make the experience even better, such as cutting-edge electronics and an anchor winch, and even after that leaving the buyer with change to spare.

The cuddy and console’s design, though, really needs to catch up with the times. A small change change like this could add heaps more appeal.

Specifications
Model: Gulf Runner 590FC
Length: 5.90m
Beam: 2.42m
Draft: N/A
Deadrise: 17.5deg
Alloy: 4.0mm (hull)/3.0mm (sides and topsides)
Weight: 830kg (hull)/1460kg (with engine)
Height on trailer: 2.65m
Length on trailer: 7.0m
Engine: 150hp (max)
Engine as tested: Yamaha F150XB (25-inch longshaft)
Fuel: 145L
Passengers: 6

Priced from: $84,990 including bunk cushions for the cuddy cabin; a bimini; a large forward hatch to access the drained anchor well; carpets inside cabin storage and on the bunk tops; windows in the cabin; navigation and anchor lights; five-gang switch panel; carpeted cockpit; folding rear lounge; forward and aft railings; integrated alloy bollards; rear boarding ladder that you can use with flippers on a starboard duckboard; two transducer brackets; two rod holders; bilge pump; Yamaha F150XB outboard engine (25-inch longshaft) with two display panels; dual-axle galvanised steel Dunbier trailer.

Price as tested: TBA including a 17-inch Simrad NSS evo3s multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; Fusion audio system with two speakers.

Supplied by: Anaconda Chullora