Native beauty: Savage Lancer 530 Professional

Savage has been one of Australia’s leading boat makers for more than a century. A pioneer of timber and fibreglass boat manufacturing, Savage has for many years also specialised in pressed aluminium boats.

Originally based in Melbourne, and now owned by Gold Coast-based Telwater (manufacturer of Quintrex and Stacer boats), Savage has produced some genuine classic alloy boats over the years - including several of the early Jabiru V-nose punts, the Gull, Snipe and Kestrel dinghies, and the Ranger and Osprey runabouts. Another classic is the Lancer 530, launched in the early 1980s, and bearing the same name as the big 26ft Savage Lancer fibreglass cruiser that was popular during the 1970s.

The pressed aluminium Savage Lancer 530 was initially available only as a forward windscreen runabout, but other models soon followed. Capitalising on the success of the Lancer runabout, Savage introduced a half cabin model and a cuddy cabin. The half cabin was called the Lancer Traveler. It is identical to the runabout but for a large cabin incorporating twin vinyl-upholstered berths. The Lancer Traveler, popular with families and anglers who required a dual-purpose boat, is easily identified by its large side cabin windows.

For the offshore angler, Savage released the Lancer Professional. This craft was a great success from day one. At the time, nothing in fibreglass was as well designed, or as well equipped.

The most striking feature of the Lancer Professional is its short, high cuddy cabin. Made of fibreglass and bonded to the aluminium deck, the cabin contains berth-shaped seats, plenty of headroom and a foredeck access hatch. More importantly for anglers, the cabin provided shelter from wind and spray, yet left plenty of fishing space in the rear of the boat. In fact, the fishing cockpit in the Professional was almost as big as the cockpit in the runabout version – and equally well designed.

Another benefit of the tall cabin structure was that it made it easy to fit an overhead canopy and/or rocket launcher for stowing fishing rods. The canopy/rocket launcher combination became almost a standard feature with these boats to the extent that most used examples will now have them fitted.

The rear cockpit was well arrayed with fishing features. Early models were equipped with full length, upholstered side pockets and coaming sides, two underfloor fish boxes, rear coaming rails, and plenty of internal cockpit freeboard. The side coamings were extra wide, and this made it easy to fit deck mount rod holders.

Back at the helm, the Lancer Professional was fitted with a wide dash, a single front pane perspex windscreen, provision for a fish finder on the port side dash, and two deluxe (pedestal mounted) bucket seats. Importantly, when the boat was fitted with an overhead canopy, there was ample headroom underneath for the skipper and forward passenger to stand while running the boat at sea.

At a glance, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the hull underneath the Savage Lancer, but out on the water, the Lancer's excellent design is apparent. It's pressed alloy hull has quite a deep vee at the bow and running back to amidships.

Coming aft the vee shallows to a deadrise at the transom of 13-14 degrees. The result is a boat that performs well in choppy water; it rides very comfortably for what is a lightweight alloy boat, and it has pretty good stability at rest.

With regard to power, the Lancer could be fitted with single or twin engines. A single 85-90 hp engine was the most popular choice, pushing the boat to a top speed of about 31 knots.

The Lancer name was used in the Savage range for 25 years or more, so there are many boats available on the used boat market – albeit from different eras. The later models are quite different to the originals, and none have a layout quite the same as the original Professional series cuddy cabins.

The 530 Pro remains the best of the bunch to my way of thinking, although the subsequent Lancer 540 Professional is very similar. The 540, launched in 1988, has a slightly revised hull shape with more vee at the bow, and a slight wider waterline beam at the transom. It also came with an angled, “fastback” style transom designed to accept single or twin engines.

Check the windscreen frames for corrosion when inspecting a Savage Lancer, and watch for bubbling paint (indicating galvanic corrosion) around deck fixtures. Cast a careful eye along the keel and chines to look for cracked welds, and tread heavily around the plywood floor to identify soft, rotted spots. In these boats, water can also get trapped underfloor in and amongst the blocks of flotation foam.

Specifications
Model: Savage Lancer 530 Professional
Hull type: Monohull
Configuration: Cuddy cabin
Material: Alloy/GRP Cab
Length: 5.33 m
Beam: 2.32 m
Deadrise: 13 degrees
Hull weight: 480 kg
Weight on trailer: 1000kg (est)
Fuel capacity: Optional
Rec/max hp: 85/115 hp
Price range: $12,000 - $18,000