Stacer 539 Crossfire Rear Console 2023 Review

Leading alloy boat maker, Stacer introduced a raft of changes and upgrades to its 2022/23 model range during a recent media event on the Gold Coast.

In addition to announcing a new series of customer option bundles for key models, Stacer displayed one of two new Crossfire boats, the 539 Rear Centre Console.

The Crossfire RC is also available as a 589 series model, but it is the smaller boat we were able to secure for this review.

As the name of these two new models would suggest, the Crossfire RC boats have a rear-mounted centre console helm station.

In contrast, the standard Crossfire models, which have been available for several years, are fitted with a starboard side offset side console configuration.

The new rear centre console is also taller than the side console used in the regular Crossfire models to allow skippers to stand more comfortably at the helm.

The new centre helm console is also made from aluminium, whereas the side console is produced using roto-moulded plastic.

The Stacer Crossfires are available with standard and SE, or Special Edition, configurations. The SE boats have a range of extra features including a bimini, burley bucket, marine radio, and more.

Customers can also buy the standard version like our test boat and then option it up individually, or by buying one of three new option bundles.

For the Crossfire models, the Stacer option packs include the Entertainer Pack, the Angler Pack and the Travel Pack.

The Entertainer Pack adds the bimini and envelope plus an audio system with speakers.

With the Angler Pack you gain the burley bucket, bait cutting board, ski pole and marine VHF radio.

The Travel Pack includes hydraulic steering (instead of mechanical), and a tilt-adjustable, upgraded sports steering wheel.

The Stacer 539 Crossfire RC we tested did not have any of the above option packs, but it was upgraded with a number of individual features including a GME VHF marine radio; Lowrance Elite FS9 fishfinder/GPS, overhead bimini cover with envelope; cockpit lights; burley bucket; ski pole; transom bait board (it uses the ski pole transom bracket); a starboard side transom door; inshore safety gear kit; boat and trailer registrations.

The test boat was also optioned with an elevated bow fishing platform in lieu of the vee-shaped seating area with an infill board/cushion.

With the above features, and paired with a 135hp Mercury four-stroke outboard engine, a dual-axle braked alloy trailer, and an inshore safety gear kit, the 539 Crossfire RC is priced at $69,990 from Northern Territory Stacer dealer, Precision Marine NT.

If you don't need the extra gear fitted to our test rig, you can get into a new 539 Crossfire RC base boat for as little as $61,990 when fitted with a smaller 115hp Mercury four-stroke outboard engine.

The Stacer 539 Crossfire RC is 5.42 metres long, 2.3 metres wide, and weighs 580kg.

With a 135hp Mercury V6 on the transom, and riding on the mechanically braked alloy trailer, I would expect the boat package to weigh between 1200kg and 1300kg. Either way, it can be towed comfortably behind a family-sized SUV or dual-cab ute.

Similar to most other Stacer models above 4.3 metres in length, the 539 Crossfire is fitted with Stacer's variable deadrise, concave-shaped Revolution hull bottom.

The Revolution hull has a fine wave-cutting entry and lots of hull flare off the keel and topsides to deflect water away from the boat.

The hull chines are wide at the stern to boost stability at rest and to ease the hull onto the plane with minimal bow lift.

The Revolution hull has been refined over many years to be one of the best-pressed alloy boat hulls on the market.

In the 539 Stacer boat size, the hull bottom and transom are made using 4.0mm pressed sheet alloy, while the smooth, plate-look topsides use 3.0mm alloy.

The Stacer 539 Crossfire RC is an open boat designed mainly for estuary, bay and coastal offshore fishing.

That said, standard models come with a carpeted, vee-shaped bow seating/storage area with an infill cushion that converts into a casting deck with the addition of an included board. With this standard layout, and with the optional front seat cushions, this Crossfire model doubles up as a family boat.

Our test boat did not have the vee-seating area. Instead, it was optioned with a traditional elevated casting platform with a series of storage compartments/lockers underneath.

You could convert the front platform into a giant sun pad with vinyl cushions, but the front deck is intended as a fishing platform.

Consider also that this boat comes standard with a bow plate so anglers can fit an electric trolling motor whilst casting lures and baits from the heightened front deck.

Stacer has also enlarged the front deck/platform by moving the anchor well off the foredeck to a forepeak position, beneath the casting platform.

The rotomoulded anchor well is easy to access and big enough for the appropriately sized anchor and rode.

Aft of the anchor well there is a large storage compartment with a carpeted false floor. This storage space can be accessed via five different carpeted hatches.

The main access hatch here is wide enough to drop in a 110-litre ice box.

There's more storage space aft, with sub-floor rotomoulded storage bins ahead of the helm console, and between the helm chairs at the stern.

The Crossfire also has side storage pockets flanking the cockpit, tucked under the broad, 280mm-wide side coamings.

Either of the side pockets can be swapped out for an optional horizontal rod locker.

The centre console helm station is tall but relatively narrow so anglers can walk by it easily on both sides of the boat.

The console is simple in design, equipped with handrails overhead and to each side, along with a storage shelf beneath the steering wheel and side-mount throttle.

The fascia panel is small but will accept flush-fitted engine gauges, switch panels, and more.

Fishfinders and other multifunction displays will need to be bracket-mounted on the dash overhead, similar to the Lowrance Elite optioned for our test boat.

The Crossfire comes with two removable pedestal helm chairs which can be slotted down into three pedestal sockets across the aft cockpit.

Our test boat was configured with the two chairs positioned in the outer stern floor sockets so two crew members can sit alongside a standing skipper. 

Other notable cockpit/transom features include a bilge/battery access hatch beneath the transom, as well as a modest-sized transom live bait tank, optional bait/cutting board, starboard side transom door with ladder, and floor scuppers for the cockpit drainage system.

A number of different Stacer boats were on hand for journalists to try out during the Stacer 2022 new product launch.

The 539 Crossfire Rear Console was the largest and most capable on the water, though all the Stacer boats presented were fitted with the latest Revolution hull bottom.

As noted earlier, the Revolution hull has been refined over many years to be the best it can be. That said, Stacer does seem to be able to tweak it a little further year after year.

On the water, ripping up and down the Gold Coast Broadwater, I was suitably impressed with the latest incarnation of this Revolution hull.

The hull responds beautifully to changes in trim, allowing skippers to zip along at high speed with just the last few feet of the hull in contact with the water's surface.

When sea conditions allow it, trimming a boat to run high and handsome also improves fuel economy, helping to save a few dollars on long trips.

In the wind chop and ocean swell rolling in through the Gold Coast Seaway entrance, I obviously had to slow down a fair bit, but in adverse conditions, the Revolution hull shines equally brightly, the Crossfire riding smoothly out into the chop, then safely, comfortably when coming back into the bay with the sea behind us.

The Stacer 539 Crossfire is rated for longshaft (20-inch) outboard engines up to 140hp. Our test rig had close to the maximum, paired with a 135hp Mercury V6 four-stroke.

Whilst I'd happily drop down to an outboard in the 100hp to 115hp size range, the Crossfire felt nicely balanced, and well-matched to the larger Mercury engine.

The 135hp Mercury/Stacer 539 Crossfire combination proved pretty quick too, powering to a top speed of 41.3 knots at 5400 rpm.

On the test boat, the Mercury proved most economical when it was loping along at 3000rpm for a boat speed of 21 knots and a fuel burn of just 14.1L/h. These speed/fuel use figures give the Crossfire a theoretical maximum range of 134nm on 95 per cent of the test boat's 95-litre fuel supply.

Performance

Range on 95% of the 135L fuel supply at 3000rpm: 134.4nm

The Stacer 539 Crossfire Rear Console is a welcome addition to the Stacer alloy boat range, and to the Crossfire series.

With its large, open deck layout and rear-mounted centre console, this model has oodles of uncluttered fishing space, along with ample storage compartments.

With a choice of base and Special Edition versions and everything in between, anglers and boating families can also choose whether to buy this boat with the "works" or to grab the budget model and have it outfitted as time and funds permit.

Specifications
Model: Stacer 539 Crossfire Rear Console
Length overall: 5.42m
Beam: 2.3m
Weight: 580kg (hull only)
Weight on trailer: 1250kg (est)
Alloy: 4.0mm (bottom, transom)/3.0mm (topsides)
Maximum power: 140hp (20-inch longshaft)
Maximum engine weight: 220kg
Engine as tested: 135hp Mercury four-stroke
Fuel: 95L
Flotation standard: Basic
Passengers: Six

Priced from: $61,990 including a 115hp Mercury longshaft (20-inch) four-stroke outboard engine with a dual-axle aluminium trailer with mechanical over-ride brakes and an inshore safety gear kit.

Price as tested: $69,990 including a 135hp Mercury longshaft (20-inch) four-stroke outboard; dual-axle aluminium trailer with mechanical over-ride brakes; fisherman casting platform; GME VHF marine radio; Lowrance Elite FS9 fishfinder/GPS; overhead bimini cover with envelope; cockpit lights; burley bucket; ski pole; transom bait board (to suit ski pole mount); starboard side transom door; inshore safety gear kit.

Supplied by: Precision Marine NT