Hooker 5.5m Pro Fisherman: Fishing Trailerboat Review

Cairns-based Hooker Boats is renowned up north for its tough, all-fibreglass (no timber) tiller-steer, centre console and cabin fishing craft. The boats are designed for choppy bay and offshore sea conditions and have heavy-duty deep-vee hulls for a soft, dry and comfortable ride. One of the most versatile Hooker models is the 5.5m Pro Fisherman. We tested this no-nonsense centre-console sportfishing boat packaged with a Suzuki 140hp four-stroke outboard and Redco tandem-axle trailer.

OVERVIEW
- Hooker Boats the duck's guts for slicing through heavy chop
In Far North Queensland, fibreglass boat manufacture Hooker Boats enjoys a solid reputation with recreational and commercial fishermen. Since 1998, Hooker's MD John Margetts has been producing strong, durable, high quality boats designed to handle choppy local sea conditions.

John Margett's Hooker boat range was established after he received an order to build a number of dory-style boats for local commercial fishermen. This led to his first model, a deep-vee 4.9m open boat available with tiller-steer and centre console configurations. The success of this debut model provided the impetus for more to come and the rest, as they say, is history.

In the current Hooker Boat range, there are more than a dozen models from 5.0m through to 8.0m in length. The smallest is a 5.0m tiller open boat, while the largest model is an 8.0m offshore walkaround cabin sportfishing boat.

In between, there are a number of tiller, centre console and cabin boats designed mostly for offshore boating and fishing.

For this review, we have one of the most versatile models, the 5.5m Pro Fisherman centre console rigged with a Suzuki DF140A four-stroke outboard and supplied by Brisbane's Australian Marine Centre.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- Few frills, but clean glass work with a smooth finish and premium build quality
Hooker boats are built for fishermen and commercial applications. This is evident from the austere interior layout and fit out of the test boat, which is best described as clean and uncluttered. It is a no-frills kind of boat, but the glass work and quality of construction is first class.

John Margett's customers buy his boats because they are immensely strong, soft riding and safe… built to cope with the FNQ's often harsh weather conditions. To that end, each boat is made entirely from hand-laid fibreglass, then foam-filled to Level Flotation standard.

The floors, stringers, fuel tank, transom... everything is made from fibreglass or a fibreglass composite material. There is no timber in a Hooker boat so there is nothing to rot. You won't be pulling out a soft floor 10 years down the track.

Hooker Boats do tend to be utilitarian in nature, but the boats have practical, functional layouts and enough standard features and equipment to satisfy most anglers.

Our Pro Fisherman test boat was equipped with a centre console helm with acrylic windscreen and grab rail, insulated ice box/helm seat, forward casting platform with a huge safety gear bin underneath, full height cockpit freeboard, wide side coamings, recessed stern cleats and stern rails, dual rear bait bins (which can be rigged for live bait), an underfloor kill tank with overboard drain, two stainless steel rod holders, auto bilge pump, above floor rear side storage pockets, and more.

Pricing for a standard Hooker 5.5m Pro Fisherman starts at just under $54k from Brisbane dealer, Australian Marine Centre. The package includes a Suzuki 100hp four-stroke extra-longshaft (25in) outboard with hydraulic steering, binnacle controls and a digital engine gauge, a Redco tandem-axle galvanised-steel trailer with mechanical brakes, inshore safety gear pack, and 12-months’ QLD boat and trailer registrations.

Several options were fitted to our test boat which lift the package price to a still very reasonable $58,900. The additions included a more powerful 140hp Suzuki four-stroke outboard, along with dual engine gauges, a Garmin echoMAP 95sv GPS/fish finder, GME VHF radio, dual batteries, fibreglass bait board, removable S/S boarding ladder, and an offshore safety gear pack.

INTERIOR LAYOUT
- Uncluttered, easy-care layout with ample fishing space and freeboard
The Hooker 5.5m Pro Fisherman has a simple, yet functional interior layout. The design is versatile too, as there is enough freeboard to fish offshore waters with some security, yet the elevated casting deck and smooth, snag-free gunwales lend the boat to lure casting and fly fishing in estuaries, rivers and impoundments.

With the 5.5m Pro Fisherman, you can easily go trolling offshore for sailfish one day, then pull out the casting or fly gear and hunt bass or barra inshore the next.

In addition to the moulded casting platform, there is a deep anchor well, bowsprit and split bow roller up forward, along with low bow rails and a big safety gear storage locker.

You will also find a forward facing padded seat in front of the helm console with storage underneath. We can see this locker being used as an additional ice box, or even plumbed as a live bait tank, although there are two big bait bins/tanks in the transom.

The centre console itself is wide, but not quite broad enough to fully accommodate two people standing or sitting at the helm. A second person can stand up at the console, but only if the skipper moves over to starboard of the centre-mounted steering wheel.

Console features include a sturdy stainless steel grab rail, tinted acrylic windscreen, and provision for the switch panel, radios, engine gauges and a single large flush-fitted electronics display.

Beneath the console we found the engine battery stowed securely on the floor beneath a handy storage shelf.

The helm seat box is moulded into the deck, and insulated so it can be used as an ice box. It is topped with a removable vinyl padded cushion.

Behind the helm box, the rear cockpit stretches only a metre or so back to the transom wall, although there is more than 3.3m of overall fishing deck space between the transom and the forward casting deck.

There is plenty of freeboard through the length of the boat with a minimum of 575mm down in the transom corner. Amidships the freeboard rises to a near perfect 660-680mm.

In the rear cockpit there are moulded side storage pockets mounted just off the floor to provide excellent toe/foot support underneath, further boosting angler security when fishing from the sides of the boat.

It is not as comfortable to lean and fish over the stern because there is no recess or foot well underneath the vertical transom wall to tuck your feet. Fitting a padded coaming bolster to this inner rear wall would make anglers feel more secure.

Other cockpit fishing features include the underfloor kill tank or fish pen, bilge compartment access hatch, removable rear boarding ladder, and decent-sized storage bins located in each of the transom corners. Either, or both bins, can be plumbed for use as a live bait tank.

ON THE WATER
- Excellent performance and soft, dry ride from slim, deep-vee hull
The design of Hooker's 5.5m Pro Fisherman is reminiscent of the debut 4.9m model which proved so successful back in the day. Like the original dory-style boat, the 5.5m Pro Fisherman is slim in stature, but with high topsides, plenty of internal freeboard and a deep-vee hull.

The deadrise of the Pro Fisherman at the transom is a substantial 19 degrees, and much sharper up forward. The bow has a narrow, fine-entry shape which does a fine job of slicing through inshore chop and offshore swell.

There are more stable 5.5m boats on the market — both at rest and underway — but you will be very hard pressed to find a similar-sized boat to rival the Pro Fisherman for ride comfort.

The Pro Fisherman is also dry and well-balanced underway, takes slalom turns with speed and authority (and with quite some corning grip) and is sure-footed in a following sea.

The forte of this boat, however, is unquestionably its ability to tame choppy water. If you have to regular run out or back home into a stiff breeze and correspondingly choppy, mixed up sea, then this Hooker Pro Fisherman will serve you very well.

With regard to performance, the hull will perform adequately with a single extra-longshaft (25in) outboard down to around 100hp, though it is rated for outboard power up to 175hp.

Our test boat was rigged with Suzuki's evergreen DF140A four-stroke and it proved an excellent match. The boat/motor combination accelerated in a strong, linear manner from idle through to a top speed of 38.6 knots at 6,200rpm.

The test rig cruised comfortably at around 20 knots in mild conditions offshore but proved most economical at a slightly slower 18.9 knots at 3500rpm. The smooth running Suzuki consumed just 11.6l/ph at this mid-range rpm to achieve a maximum range on 95 per cent (assuming 5 per cent line losses) of the boat's 200lt fuel capacity of 309.57nm.

VERDICT
- A  versatile, safe, soft, durable Aussie-made centre-console sportfisher.
The Hooker 5.5m Pro Fisherman is a strong, durable and proudly Australian-made centre console fishing boat.

Experienced anglers are certain to be drawn to its heavy-duty, all-fibreglass construction, uncluttered fishing decks, easy-care layout, agile performance and wonderfully soft ride.

In standard form the Pro Fisherman does not have all the bells and whistles of craft from more expensive overseas brands, but it is well configured, neatly finished, and designed to suit our local climate and sea conditions.

LIKES
>> Wonderfully soft and dry ride
>> Swift and manoeuvrable with Suzuki DF140A
>> Excellent handling
>> All fibreglass (no timber, no rot) construction
>> Clean, uncluttered fishing decks
>> Foam-filled hull to Level Flotation Standard
>> Toe/foot holds under moulded side pockets
>> Wide coamings for extra rod holders

NOT SO MUCH
>> Not quite as stable as some rival brands (but softer)
>> Dual bait bins/live wells, but plumbing is optional
>> A padded coaming bolster across the transom would add bracing support for anglers fishing over the stern
>> (ED: Aft swim ladder clips out so remove it for fishing)

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

PERFORMANCE - SPEED
4.0kts (7.4km/h) @ 1000rpm
5.1kts (9.4km/h) @ 1500rpm
6.1kts (11.3km/h) @ 2000rpm
7.5kts (13.9km/h) @ 2500rpm
12.7kts (23.5km/h) @ 3000rpm
18.9kts (35.0km/h) @ 3500rpm
23.4kts (43.3km/h) @ 4000rpm
27.2kts (50.3km/h) @ 4500rpm
30.9kts (57.2km/h) @ 5000rpm
33.3kts (61.6km/h) @ 5500rpm
36.4kts (67.3km/h) @ 6000rpm
38.6kts (71.4km/h) @ 6200rpm (WOT)

PERFORMANCE – ECONOMY
2.0 l/ph @ 1000rpm
2.9 l/ph @ 1500rpm
4.9 l/ph @ 2000rpm
7.9 l/ph @ 2500rpm
10.7 l/ph @ 3000rpm
11.6 l/ph @ 3500rpm
15.5 l/ph @ 4000rpm
19.6 l/ph @ 4500rpm
29.2 l/ph @ 5000rpm
35.3 l/ph @ 5500rpm
46.1 l/ph @ 6000rpm
47.2 l/ph @ 6200rpm (WOT)
MAXIMUM RANGE ON 95 PER CENT OF 200L FUEL TANK: 309.57nm @ 3500rpm

Specifications: Hooker 5.5m Pro Fisherman Centre Console
Price as tested: $58,900 including a Suzuki 140hp four-stroke extra-longshaft (25in) outboard with hydraulic steering, binnacle controls and dual digital gauges, Redco tandem axle galvanised steel trailer with mechanical brakes and spare wheel, Garmin echoMAP 95sv GPS/fish finder, GME VHF radio, dual batteries, fibreglass bait board, removable S/S boarding ladder, offshore safety gear pack, and 12 months QLD boat and trailer registrations.

Priced from: $53,750 including a Suzuki 100hp four-stroke extra-longshaft (25in) outboard with hydraulic steering, binnacle controls and one digital gauge, Redco tandem axle galvanised steel trailer with mechanical brakes, inshore safety gear pack, and 12 months QLD boat and trailer registrations.

Hull length: 5.75m
Beam: 2.15m
Draft: 300mm
Deadrise: 19 degrees
Hull weight: 800kg
Weight on trailer: Approx 1,500kg (dry)
Maximum power: 175hp
Engine as tested: Suzuki 140hp four-stroke
Fuel capacity: 200L
Flotation standard: Level
Maximum persons: 450kg

Supplied by:
Australian Marine Centre
Phone: (07) 3808 7333
Email: sales@amcboats.com.au
Website: Australian Marine Centre.