Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open 2024 Review

The new 425 Commander HD Open is a ripper little rig, available as standard with a carpeted plywood floor, front casting deck, fully welded side decks, cockpit side pockets, bow and stern rails, and more.

Makocraft’s Tim and Sally Stessl have been busy in recent months expanding the Makocraft boat range to encompass everything from car-topper tinnies through to centre cabin offshore fishing trailer boats.

Headlining the new models was the debut at the recent Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show of the Makocraft 631CCX centre console and a new flagship 731 Island Cab sport fisher, two properly excellent new boats.

But, the Stessl family has not forgotten the little guys – the budget boaters, retirees and newbies looking to buy their very first boat.

To cover the entry end of the market, Makocraft has launched a feature-laden tiller-steer bay buster called the 425 Commander HD Open.

We tested this tough new Makocraft tinnie on the Gold Coast, paired with a 30hp Tohatsu manual start tiller outboard.

The Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open would have to be the best-outfitted vee-bottom pressed alloy tinnie on the market in the 4.2-metre to 4.5-metre size range.

The Commander is surprisingly large and spacious for its modest 4.25-metre length, but it also comes with a stack of standard features that are usually options with rival brands.

A big one for me is the inclusion of fully welded (not spot-welded) extruded side decks flanking the cockpit from the bow to the stern.

Welded side decks not only add strength and rigidity to the hull structure, but they allow for individual customisation as you can add flush-fitted rod holders, downrigger bases, perhaps even a bracket-mounted fish finder.

Equally desirable in a multi-purpose boat such as the 425 Commander is a flat carpeted floor. Notably, the Commander has a full-width floor between the aft thwart and the front deck, not the more commonly fitted half-floor cut around the cross-ribs.

Other standard features include the elevated front deck; bow and stern coaming rails; bow and stern carry handles; a foam-filled helm seat/thwart; a pair of fuel tank racks; above-floor cockpit side pockets, rear boarding platform; transom transducer plate; and a double towing eye to accept the winch hook and a safety chain.

The 425 Commander HD is rated to accept a 40hp outboard engine, but with a manual start, manual tilt 30hp Tohatsu longshaft (20-inch) outboard engine and a Dunbier Sports Centreline galvanised steel trailer, the package price is just $16,430.

Better yet, this price includes 12 months of boat and trailer registrations, along with registration numbers applied to the hull.

The 30hp Tohatsu delivers better-than-average performance, but you can up the engine size to a 40hp Mercury outboard for an extra $2200.

The bigger donk also comes with electric start, power trim and tilt, and Mercury’s excellent multifunction tiller handle.

You can also add an electric start and power tilt to the 30hp Tohatsu, but the 40hp Mercury is cheaper right now as it is being discounted for a limited time.

The Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open has an overall length of 4.25 metres, a maximum beam of 2.04 metres, and a hull weight of 260kg.

Rigged with the 30hp Tohatsu outboard engine and Dunbier trailer, the 425 Commander package has an expected dry towing weight in the 525kg to 575kg range, so it is easily towable behind most cars.

For its size, the Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open is very well-built.

Rival brands often use 1.6mm and 2.0mm pressed alloy for their sub-4.4-metre boats. Not Makocraft. The 425 Commander is made entirely using heavier 3.0mm aluminium to make it super strong and durable.

As noted, the hull is also reinforced with the wide, welded side decks.

To add strength to the topside sheets, each of the internal cross ribs extends up the inside of the boat to the gunwale.

As well, 780mm long side storage pockets are welded between two of the cross ribs on each side of the boat to add further rigidity.

V-shaped transom bracing, along with a welded diagonal support strut reinforce the transom to take the weight and thrust of single outboard engines to 40hp.

Welded fuel tank/battery racks, a full-length internal keel, transom corner gussets, and a single full-width seat thwart add further beef to the Makocraft hull structure.

With all of the above, the 425 Commander is not going to break any time soon; boaters and anglers can expect years of reliable, trouble-free outings.

With regard to safety, the Makocraft 425 has sufficient foam flotation underfloor and contained within the 1.84-metre wide by 410mm deep cross thwart/seat to meet Australia’s Basic flotation standard.

The Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open has a typical inshore fishing boat layout, but the available space inside the boat has certainly been maximized.

The anchor well, for example, has been moved off the bow and repositioned so that it sits beneath the front of the casting deck. This has allowed the front deck to be extended forward for more standing fishing space.

The casting deck is elevated 320mm above the main cockpit floor and has a total length of 1.13 metres long by 1.54 metres at its widest point.

Beneath the front platform is the aforementioned anchor well, along with a large safety gear storage locker with a carpeted false floor so stowed gear stays dry.

Notably, all hatch lids are carpeted on both sides to protect the timber from mould and mildew.

There is space on the false floor inside the front locker for a battery to power an electric trolling motor should you wish to mount one on the optional port side bow welded trolling motor plate.

In the centre of the boat, the main cockpit is almost square at 1.66 metres long by 1.69 metres wide.

Thanks to the high external topsides, there’s 610mm of internal freeboard between the main floor and the coaming top.

Beneath the 205mm wide side coamings the aforementioned side storage pockets will prove handy for stowing deck lines, fishing gear, tackle trays, etc. 

Behind the full-width seat thwart are the two fuel tank racks. Both are topped with carpeted plywood boards to keep the fuel tank and other stowed items from sliding about.

The Makocraft 425 Commander HD does not have a formed outboard splash well, but this feature is available as an option. It is standard on the larger 445 Commander.

The Makocraft 425 Commander is designed with a safe, conservatively shaped vee-hull bottom with high topsides and a wide beam for maximum stability and security on the water.

For bay, harbour, impoundment waters, this type of boat and hull bottom shape is ideal.

At the bow, the Makocraft has a sharp entry to cut through the chop, but this finely angled shape moderates quickly as you cast your eye aft along the bottom of the hull.

At the transom, the vee bottom shape is shallow, almost flat, as it needs to be to ensure the hull is stable at rest and quick to plane.

There’s not a huge amount of flare in the high topsides forward, but the pronounced chines do a decent job of suppressing wind-blown spray at speed.

Paired with the manual start, manual tilt 30hp Tohatsu outboard engine, the Makocraft runs to a top speed of 22.5 knots.

We achieved that speed with two adults onboard and with the manual trim/tilt Tohatsu on a fixed trim setting so that the engine drive leg was about level, or mid-trim.

You could go a little quicker with the Tohatsu drive leg lifted up a trim pin, but that might then hurt the boat’s very good handling and performance.

With this middle-level trim setting the hull felt nicely balanced and well-mannered at speed.

Power trim (available with electric-start engines for more money) would be useful to find the optimum running angle for the Makocraft - but it is by no means necessary.

The Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open is the best value bay and harbour open boat I have tested in a while. It’s a lot of boat with lots of included kit for not much money.

Depending on options, and with the 30hp Tohatsu manual outboard engine and Dunbier trailer, you can buy this excellent allrounder for between $16,000 and $17,000.

For a couple of grand more you can also have electric start, power tilt, and the option for a battery-powered fishfinder/chartplotter and other electronics.

I rate the Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open as a terrific budget boating package, worth your consideration.

Specifications
Model: Makocraft 425 Commander HD Open
Length overall: 4.25m
Beam: 2.05m
Depth: 1.15m
Hull weight: 260kg
Towing weight: 550kg
Alloy: 3mm (bottom, transom, topsides)
Maximum power: 40hp
Engine as tested: Tohatsu 30hp manual start, manual tiller
Fuel: 24L portable
Passengers: 4

Price as tested: $16,430 including a 30hp Tohatsu long-shaft (20-inch) outboard engine with manual start and manual tilt; Dunbier Sport Centreline galvanised steel trailer (no brakes); a port side bow trolling motor plate. Add $2200 to upgrade to a 40hp Mercury 40hp outboard engine with electric start, power tilt and multifunction tiller handle. 

Supplied by: www.makocraft.com.au