CSB Huntsman Series 6000: Review

New Zealand’s Canterbury Superior Boats (CSB) has a full range of trailerable cuddy and half cabin models. These impressively appointed and well finished fibreglass craft are available now in Australia. The subject of this test is the mid-sized Series 6000 low-profile half cabin, powered by Mercury’s best selling 150hp four-stroke outboard.

OVERVIEW
- A quality range of NZ half cabins now gaining traction in Australia
CSB Huntsman is a Christchurch based manufacturer of fibreglass trailerboats. The brand is well established and enjoys a solid reputation in New Zealand. It is now gaining a foot-hold in Australia with its high quality, predominantly family orientated half cabin craft.

The CSB Huntsman range numbers around half a dozen different models built around five different hull bottoms. The boats have deep vee hulls, low-profile cabins and plenty of standard interior features.

Earlier this year we were able to test the flagship model, the Explorer 7000 Hardtop. For this test, we have secured the smaller, but probably more popular half cabin model, the Series 6000.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Lots of features, competitive price, great finish
From the Christchurch factory, the CSB Huntsmans come equipped with plenty of standard features, more than you can expect from most Aussie built trailerboats. The cabin, with lockable door, for example is fully lined – including the reverse side of the cabin door and the wiring box cover. The cabin looks complete and luxurious, with no exposed wiring or messy flow-coated corners.

The cabin berths come with a tasteful cloth material, not vinyl, and when combined with the cozy, soft-feel carpet lining, makes the cabin a comfortable place to be – which is something you can’t say of many trailerable boats.

A berth infill cushion comes standard with the Series 6000, but there is no provision for a built-in chemical toilet – though a portable toilet will fit on the floor between the cabin berths.

Above decks there are plenty of standard features – including a centre opening, safety glass windscreen, dash glove box, cockpit carpet (with grippy rubber matting at the transom), padded vinyl upholstered side decks, carpet lined side storage pockets, cup holders all over the place, removable stern box-style seating, and lots of storage areas.

Gear and equipment includes hydraulic steering, navigation lights, bilge pump, moulded footrests, lockable cabin door (with built-in stairway for climbing through to the foredeck), switch panel and loom, battery isolation switch, recessed stern cleats, two standard S/S rod holders, above floor battery lockers, battery isolator switch, and a Portofino style transom layout with boarding platforms and ladder.

A rather small, 100-litre fuel tank is included with the standard boat, but larger-size fuel tanks are available by custom order.

Packaged with an extra-longshaft Mercury 150hp four-stroke outboard, Dunbier tandem-axle braked trailer, smooth-water safety gear kit, and boat and trailer registrations, the CSB Huntsman Series 6000 is competitively priced at $68,871 from the Gold Coast’s Nitro Marine.

As you would expect, the test rig was loaded up with a range of options. They included foam flotation to Basic standard, a removable ski pole, upgrade to stainless steel cup holders, and floor hatch latches, split bow rail with bow boarding ladder, shower kit, switch and tank, Explorer anchor winch, a stainless-steel anchor, and the bimini top with front and side clears.

Electronic gear fitted included a Lowrance HDS Gen2 Touch seven-inch fish finder/GPS (with Structure Scan transom mount transducer, and Navionics Silver Card), and a Lowrance SonicHub stereo system with 6.5-inch speakers, Bluetooth and NMEA2000 Network capability.

With the above options, the drive-away price for this fully loaded CSB Huntsman Series 6000 is $79,035.

INTERIOR LAYOUT
- A cosy cabin, comfy helm and a family-friendly cockpit layout
Like most of the CSB Huntsmans, the Series 6000 has a long, low-profile cabin. There is not a great deal of headroom with 800 – 825mm between the berth top and the ceiling, but each berth is full length at 1.84m. The included infill cushion converts the two singles into a large double berth.

With regard to storage, there are three under-berth lockers and side storage pockets which double as the back rests for the berths.

Narrow side windows provide adequate lighting while the clear forward hatch can be opened for ventilation. You can also access the foredeck from this cabin hatch, though it is much easier to do this via the centre-opening windscreen and the stairway cleverly built into the outside of the cabin entry door.

The forward anchor well is large and is designed to accept an electric anchor winch – as fitted to the test rig.

An optional split bow rail was fitted, along with a stainless steel telescopic ladder that folds out from the bowsprit. The ladder is designed to make it easier to board the boat from the beach and it works very well. This is one option that is well worth the additional cost.

The safety glass windscreen, with centre opening pane, looks good on the CSB Huntsman and works well. We found it a smidgeon low when standing at the helm, but it provides ample shelter when seated, especially as you can adjust the height of the excellent pedestal helm chair.

The steering wheel is well positioned when standing or seated, though the side mount throttle felt a little too close to the helm chair when seated.

Like most modern trailerable craft the Series 600 has plenty of flat dash space for flush fitting electronics and the test rig was fitted with a Lowrance HDS seven-inch Touch fish finder/GPS.

Well placed foot-rests, cup holders and a port side dash glove box complete the picture at the helm.

Instead of a pedestal chair for the co-pilot the Series 6000 is fitted with a multi-function seat/storage box with back-to-back padded vinyl seating with an easily accessed safety gear storage compartment underneath.

For the kids or extra passengers, there are well padded seat/storage boxes at the stern, in front of the transom wall. The seats boxes are fully removable to provide access to the elevated battery storage compartment and for fishing trips when the extra seating is not required.

Located underneath the outboard well, on the port side, is the freshwater tank and plumbing for the optional cockpit shower. There is also a hatch in the floor to provide access to the bilge.

Storage areas abound in the Series 6000. The cockpit has a two-tier side pocket arrangement with the lower side pocket running virtually from the helm to the transom. A second, shorter side storage pocket runs aft of amidships, just below the gunwale.

For cold drinks there is a storage bin/bait well built into the transom, while the day’s catch can be stowed in a longer underfloor locker/kill tank between the helm seats.

The Series 6000 is not designed as a fishing boat, but with the rear box seats removed there is plenty of cockpit deck space (1.48m behind the back-to-back seat box) and there is 800 - 820mm of freeboard along the cockpit sides and rear transom wall.

ON THE WATER
- A fine handling, versatile deep vee hull to ski, cruise or fish
The CSB Huntsman Series 6000 has a fine looking hull with a 20 degree deep vee bottom, several planing/spray strakes and relatively low topsides. It rides comfortably in choppy water, handles beautifully, and is solid and stable at rest.

It is a versatile hull, designed to perform well in a variety of roles. It has the handling and cornering ability for use as a handy social ski platform, and the vee shape and inherent seaworthiness to cruise choppy inshore waterways, or to roam wide offshore fishing grounds.

The Series 6000 hull is rated for outboards to 200hp, but performs superbly with the Mercury 150hp four-stroke fitted to the test rig. The hull was quick to accelerate from displacement speeds and very responsive up through the rev range.

We achieved a top speed of 40.8 knots at 5600 rpm – which is ample for most applications. You might opt for a bit more if you wanted to regularly pull a couple of skiers, but otherwise the 150hp Mercury provides more than enough grunt.

A comfortable cruise speed of 19 knots was found at 3000 rpm, at which point the boat/engine was consuming just 14.3 litres per hour.

VERDICT
- A stylish new family cabin boat with excellent handling and performance
The competition in the larger sized Aussie fibreglass family trailerboat market is fierce. To be successful, a manufacturer has to offer a very good product, with lots of features, excellent performance, great looks and competitive pricing. With the Series 6000 half cabin, NZ’s CSB Huntsman has all of the boxes ticked. It is a finely crafted boat with a lot to offer newcomers and experienced family boaters. We expect the Series 6000 to attract plenty of Aussie buyers this coming boating season.

LIKES
- Great looks
- Excellent performance
- Versatile deep vee hull
- Plenty of creature comforts
- Height adjustable helm seat
- Step-through windscreen access to foredeck

NOT SO MUCH
- No built-in provision for a toilet
- Narrow side coamings
- Small standard fuel tank

RATINGS
Overall rating: 4.66/5.0
Mechanical/equipment: 4.8/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.7/5.0
On the water performance: 4.7/5.0
Value for money: 4.6/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

PERFORMANCE - SPEED
4.2kts (7.8km/h) @ 1000rpm
5.9kts (10.9km/h)@ 1500rpm
7.1kts (13.1km/h) @ 2000rpm
11.7kts (21.6km/h) @ 2500rpm
19.0kts (35.1km/h) @ 3000rpm
23.7kts (43.8km/h) @ 3500rpm
27.6kts (51.0km/h) @ 4000rpm
32.0kts (59.2km/h) @ 4500rpm
35.3kts (65.3km/h) @ 5000rpm
40.0kts (75.0km/h) @ 5500rpm
40.8kts (75.5km/h) @ 5600rpm (WOT)

PERFORMANCE – ECONOMY
3.6 l/ph @ 1000rpm
5.4 l/ph @ 1500rpm
8.6 l/ph @ 2000rpm
11.7 l/ph @ 2500rpm
14.3 l/ph @ 3000rpm
18.1 l/ph @ 3500rpm
24.1 l/ph @ 4000rpm
31.4 l/ph @ 4500rpm
38.6 l/ph @ 5000rpm
52.0 l/ph @ 5500rpm
53.5 l/ph @ 5600rpm (WOT)

MAXIMUM RANGE ON 95 per cent OF 100-LITRE FUEL TANK: 126.2nm @ 3000rpm

Specifications:
Price as tested: $79,035 including a Mercury 150hp extra-longshaft (25”) four-stroke outboard (with hydraulic steering and VesselView4 Smartcraft engine display), tandem axle Dunbier galvanised steel braked trailer, bimini with front and side clears, Lowrance HDS Gen2 Touch 7” fish finder/GPS (with Structure Scan transducer and Navionics Silver card, Lowrance SonicHub stereo and audio server with speakers, Bluetooth, and NMEA 2000 networking, black gelcoat hull, flotation to Basic Standard, removable ski pole, Maxwell RC6 vertical anchor winch and capstan plate, upgrade to stainless steel cup holders, split bow rail with telescopic bow ladder, cabin and cockpit lights, shower kit and holding tank, stainless steel anchor, dual batteries, inshore safety gear kit for five persons, and boat and trailer registrations.

Priced from: $68,871 including a Mercury 150hp extra-longshaft (25”) four-stroke outboard (with hydraulic steering and VesselView4 Smartcraft engine display), tandem axle Dunbier galvanised steel braked trailer, inshore safety gear kit for five persons, and boat and trailer registrations.
Length: 6.2m
Beam: 2.4m
Hull weight: 820kg
Towing weight: Approx 1,650kg
Deadrise: 21 degrees
Maximum power: 200hp
Engine as tested: Mercury 150hp four-stroke outboard
Fuel: 100 litres (upgradeable)
Freshwater: 40 litres
Maximum Persons: Six

Supplied by:
Nitro Marine
Phone: (07) 5532 5812
Email: sales@nitromarine.com.au
Website: www.nitromarine.com.au