Crestliner 1700 Super Hawk

To give readers a bit of background on Crestliner, it has been building boats in Little Falls, Minnesota for more than 65 years. It started building timber boats in 1946, then progressed to fibreglass, before taking on plate boats in 1965. And it was in plate-aluminium boats that the company found its niche.

I called the other two models in this Aussie Crestliner line-up “transformers” and the Crestliner 1700 Super Hawk continues in this vein. Want to go fishing? Simply fold the transom lounge down and it transforms into the rear casting platform. Then, move the navigator’s swivelling pedestal seat into its bowrider position and you have transformed a comfy family day cruiser into a well-decked out barra/bass/bream tournament fishing boat for two anglers and skipper. Plus, she has all the features needed by full-bore anglers with a price tag of only $38,590 and that’s hard to beat.

The Crestliner 1700 Super Hawk also features structurally-engineered extruded gunwales, which add strength and functionality to the hull and frees up interior space. But the biggest plus is the hull’s excellent freeboard. Great for passenger (read children) security in tight turns, but it also gives anglers something to brace against when fighting big fish. Below the floor is an intricate welded stringer system, which also increases the strength and rigidity of the hull.

Unlike many comparable designs, this Crestliner features a variable-deadrise hull, 17 degrees at the stern, increasing to 35 degrees at the bow, which delivers a soft, stable and fast-planing hull. But even more importantly for any open boat, even over choppy water, the spray is directed down and away from the hull to produce a dry ride. 

All interior surfaces are either carpeted, or finished with a non-slip, spray-on coating, even those not clearly visible inside lockers and under hatches -- the overall finish of these boats is excellent. The hull on the test boat was coated with a super-smooth black paint job, highlighted with white and grey decals.

Like the 1600 Super Hawk and the 1650 Fish Hawk, the 1700 Super Hawk features a split, walk-through windscreen, supplied by Taylor Glass. This opening screen is quite high and offers good protection from the slipstream. Its frame is also strong enough to be used as a grab rail and the glass is curved at the sides, so there’s no joins to inhibit the driver’s field of view.

I have already mentioned that the twin-seater transom lounge (with ‘padded’ twin drink-holder stand in between), quickly converts into the rear casting platform. But the driver's and navigator’s swivelling pedestal seats are also easily removed and can be positioned high on the transom, or in the forward bowrider cockpit.

With the rear casting platform down and the forward cockpit having only one pedestal seat in place, there’s plenty of open fishing space on this boat. The skipper’s seat can remain in situ, so he, or she, can manoeuvre the boat as two anglers do battle with the big ones. Of course, more than three anglers can fish from this boat at one time, depending on your fishing style, but for a lure-tosser like me, two and a skipper is just about perfect.

The 1700 Super Hawk features a lockable four-rod underfloor locker and there’s a further five-rod rack under the port gunwale. Other features include a glove box and storage draw; ski tow bar option; underfloor storage consoles in the bowrider; and two large aerated live-bait tanks, one forward and the other aft. A small swim platform is also available as an option.

A bimini was also fitted to the test boat above the helm position, and although it was functional, in my opinion it detracted from the boat’s overall appearance. Then again, during a hot day on the water it does provide welcomed shade.

The driving position has been well thought out and features a sports steering wheel, excellent all-around visibility, the gauges are all clearly visible and the high, curved screen is a real winner. The 1700 also comes with a stereo sound system as standard and there’s plenty of room on the dash for a sounder/GPS unit.

The boat’s variable-deadrise hull rockets her onto the plane and she tracked straight, remaining surefooted. The 1700 has extremely aggressive, reversed chines, as do her sisterships. These trap air between the chine’s outer edges and the keel to generate lift and further soften the ride. The reverse chines also deflect spray down and away from the boat in choppy conditions, which ensures a dry ride. 

Because the entire inside of the hull is finished with a non-slip coating, running noise is kept to a minimum and slamming the hull across other boat’s wakes proved she could handle the rough stuff. Fitted with the 90hp EFI Mercury outboard, the 125-litre fuel tank gives this boat plenty of range and makes her a viable vessel to fish inshore islands from.

The hull performed well in the slop, without any excessive banging and crashing. In fact, for a tinnie, that “normally expected” smack of water on the hull amidships wasn’t noticeable during this test.

I must say that I was extremely impressed by the three models in this new Crestliner range. But the 1700 Super Hawk heads the line-up with her beamy open-plan design, standard of fit-out, fitment and accessories that make her an excellent “straight out of the box” fishing/family dayboat. At $38,590, the Crestliner 1700 Super Hawk represents excellent value for money and anyone looking for a family dayboat; that quickly converts into a tournament fishing machine with a minimum of fuss, should check out this new offering. It really is a breath of fresh air on the Aussie market.