Northbank 600C 2024 Review

Established in 1996, it continues to be a family-owned and operated business, albeit with new owners taking over last year with big plans for the brand.

Part of that expansion is appointing new dealers to carry Northbank into new markets, although plans have also been floated to introduce new models to the current seven-strong hardtop, cuddy cabin and walkaround line-up.

One model, though, has stood out from the range as the everyman’s boat – the Northbank 600C.

Aussies love their trailerable offshore boats. Names such as Bar Crusher, Bass Strait, Edencraft, Haines Hunter, Southern Formula, Yellowfin, Veitch and more are coveted by any fisher who starts to look further offshore for new experiences.

The Northbank 600C has been around for a while. We first looked at it in 2005, and stepped onboard a hardtop version for a review in 2008.

The boat we see today looks much like the one we first looked at almost 20 years ago. The question, then, is has it kept pace over the years to be as relevant today as it was back then?

The Northbank 600C is a trailerable boat that can be as custom as you want it. Engine choices alone run from a single outboard, twin outboard or a diesel sterndrive.

Sydney-based Blakes Marine has the base price for the Northbank 600C at around $120,000, sitting on an Easytow dual-axle alloy trailer and fitted with a 150hp outboard engine. Most customers will pay around $150,000 by the time they build the boat they want, with an all-in package featuring all options available topping out at around $180,000.

This boat uses a hull that is built heavier than some rivals, so the cost of raw materials that go into making it is higher.

The Northbank 600C’s standard features list is pretty strong, with boweye and Northbank Sacra roller; two stern eyes and bow cleats; four rod holders; recessed gunnel handrails; bunk cushions; swivel and sliding upholstered console seats on seat boxes; stainless steel steering wheel; automatic bilge pump; cabin lin ing, floor-mounted battery; custom chrome decals; 200-litre underfloor fuel tank; and hydraulic steering. 

Our test boat is fitted with a digitally controlled 200hp Mercury Fourstroke outboard engine with hydraulic steering and 14.5x17P Enertia prop; Stressfree electric anchor winch; two-speaker Fusion audio system with remote controller; 16.0-inch Garmin GPSMAP multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; Lectrotab trim tabs; alloy cuddy roller door; OceanLED underwater lights; bow rail-mounted lights; raw water washdown system; Boatcatch retrieval system; and a Garmin radome.

The floor is finished in flowcoat, ready for the owner to work out if they want to fit matting or, similar to our test boat, UDek rubber.

The Northbank 600C is built to be a hard-charging sports fishing boat. They are built first and foremost to tackle the short, sharp chop typical of the St Vincents and Spencer gulfs – the proving grounds around Northbank’s Lonsdale, South Australia-based factory.

The way these naval architect-designed boats are made is steeped in tradition. That means it uses a timber rather than a composite frame that is glassed over to seal against water ingress. 

The 600C is built with a steep 21-degree deadrise at the transom that makes it good for offshore running. This rather steep deadrise could have resulted in a boat that felt a bit tippy at rest, but wide reversed chines running almost the full length of the hull, as well as a seven-bearer subfloor system, all help to minimise the effect.

Triple strakes, updated from two in earlier hull designs, help to lift the boat onto the plane.

Fuel capacity has increased over time, with the 600C’s fuel tank growing from 160 litres to a 200-litre capacity. Our test boat includes the optional larger 250-litre tank.

The Northbank 600C is built heavy, but the entire package on the trailer is built to sit around 2100kg in light trim, or around 2400kg when fully loaded.

The Northbank 600C follows the cuddy cabin formula very closely. That means a spacious cabin up front built under a bulbous topdeck, a split console framed in a low windscreen, and a large cockpit aft.

The clear and uncluttered design of the Northbank 600C, as well as the deep cockpit freeboard, mark it as a fishing boat. 

Up front, the Northbank 600C has a bowsprit framed in a low bow rail that is shaped to accommodate the extended stem.

The console uses the full beam of the boat, so there is no way to walk down either side to reach the bow. Instead, the forward section of the boat, including the enclosed anchor locker, is accessed via a large tinted glass hatch built into the top of the cuddy cabin. The hatch is big enough that you can easily pop up and access the anchor locker and South Australian-made Stressfree anchor winch without needing to climb up on the deck.

Of note, the Northbank 600C is only fitted with a pair of Northbank-engraved cleats aft, offset at a 45-degree angle to keep them clear of the gunnels, and not even a cross bollard forward. It means you’ll be using the bow rail’s stanchions as tie-off points if you’re leaving the boat alongside the jetty for the night.

Our test boat is fitted with the optional 250-litre fuel tank, replacing the standard 200-litre version. The downside to this is that you lose some of the underfloor fish box space.

The Northbank 600C is fitted with a big, solid console spanning the entire internal beam of the boat. It creates a space that is wide and comfortable to move about in, even while underway as the floor is pitching and rolling.

The console is quite high, and framed in a five-piece wrap-around windscreen with a handrail on the trailing edge. The centre section opens to provide forward access from the console, rather than having to duck down into the cuddy to use the hatch.

Both console seats – the skipper’s seat slides and rotates while the co-pilot’s is fixed –  sit on optional stainless steel frames built to allow an icebox to slide in beneath – a seatbox is standard fit-out. A cushion attached to the top of the icebox can provide king-queen seating for when more than two people are aboard.

The helm is tall, as is the seat behind it. It encourages the skipper to stand rather than sit. If you do want to sit, there is a stainless steel footrest built into either side to brace on.

The console is also tall. Our test boat is fitted with an optional 16.0-inch Garmin GPSMAP multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder, but the space for mounting it is set low on the console meaning you need to drag your eyes down a long way to see it. The switches for the Lenco trim tabs and the soft-start ignition switch for the 200hp Mercury powering the boat are set up on top of the console.

The helm is also fitted with a head unit for the two-speaker Fusion audio system (a remote controller is mounted on the transom), Garmin VHF radio and Mercury VesselView digital engine monitoring screen.

The three-spoke stainless steel steering wheel is quite low-set, meaning you feel as though you’re sitting on the helm rather than at it. Steering while standing is much easier than while sitting.

The helm seat lacks small item storage apart from two stainless steel cupholders, so if you’re keen on using an app on the smartphone without fishing around in a pocket, install a wireless recharging cradle.

Things are quite good on the first mate’s side of the console. There’s a stainless steel handrail and large lockable glovebox ahead, and below to the side are storage pockets built into the coamings. Three is also a recess for mounting a float-free EIPRB.

Overhead is a bimini and clears that provide plenty of weather protection to the console.

Between the console seats is an optional lockable roller door leading to the cuddy. It’s a big door, but there is no cut-out above it to help with headroom while getting in and out, so it’s a matter of ducking low.

Inside is a surprisingly roomy space, helped by the bulbous nose of the Northbank 600C. The floor is in raw flowcoat, but the cushions on the bunks are shaped so that the space is as good a foul-weather refuge to bunker in as it does space to catch a few zeds on an extended trip.

The hatch overhead allows light to flood into the space. A grey lining covers the walls and a pair of shelves running down either side of the cabin.

Our test boat’s cuddy is also fitted with an Anderson plug for running a fridge or pie warmer – pick your poison.

Alongside its offshore credentials, this is why you buy a Northbank 600C. The most important bit is the self-draining cockpit, which is around 2.0 metres wide and 1.4 metres deep, with an 850mm internal freeboard.

This is a large and uncluttered space, finished in optional rubber flooring. To port is a large side pocket capable of holding gaffs and nets, and framed in a stainless steel rocket launcher-style rod holder. Aft is a raw water washdown system.

This side of the boat also provides access to the water via a door half the height of the transom. Step over the void it creates and you come to a large duckboard with an extending ladder that reaches down into the water.

On the starboard side is a large side door for hauling in or tagging gamefish pulled alongside – a rare feature in this size boat. The door has storage built into it as well as a recessed grab rail.

The transom is the same height as the gunnels, with the 200hp Mercury outboard engine sitting in a separate pod. To starboard is a large window-equipped plumbed live bait tank, while the centre space is dominated by a removable bait board with lidded storage and three rod holders. 

There’s more rocket holder rod storage built into the trailing edge of the bimini frame that allows an extra 11 spaces. Rod holders are recessed into the gunnels and have tie-off points to secure a rod and prevent it from being pulled over the side when a gamefish strikes.

A large swing-up panel on the lower half of the transom provides access to the bilge – the fish box drains into this space – as well as the starter and house batteries, both mounted on pedestals just above floor height.

We had planned to test this boat on Sydney Harbour, but circumstances saw us instead take to the Hawkesbury River, which was still recovering from devastating floods that swept through the area. 

It’s a shame, as the Northbank 600C is first and foremost a trailerable boat more than capable of heading offshore, so a calm, debris-strewn river system was never going to test its mettle.

The helm is comfortable to sit at, although even though I’m 188cm tall I still felt small sitting behind the wheel. Standing was more comfortable, which you’d be doing anyway if you were in rough offshore conditions.

The wheel is set low, so it’s more a matter of shuffling it from side to side rather than spinning it with a finger to crank on a bit of turn.

Our test boat is fitted with a “soap dish” binnacle for the digital shift and throttle controller, replacing the standard side-mount controller. The better-shaped binnacle is usually used for twin-engine installs but makes the single controller feel more premium. It also falls to hand very easily, sitting higher than the wheel.

At speed, the Northbank 600C sits flat with a really nice attitude – we didn’t need to touch the trim tabs, which are likely only there for trimming a fully loaded boat.

The deep vee means the Northbank 600C needs a bit of power on to get over the hump, but once planing it’s a fast, economical package with the 200hp Mercury pushing it, with the estimated range from the 250-litre tank just about the same from 3500-4500rpm.

This test shows the one big change that has come to the Northbank 600C is the engines that push it around. Our test boat is fitted with a quiet and efficient 200hp Mercury Fourstroke outboard engine, a big advance over the noisy 150hp fuel-injected two-stroke version powering our 2005 version.

Blasting around, the hull tracks straight and true. Of note, the deep 21-degree vee and the steeply raked stem just scythed through the wakes of passing boats – I gave up on backing off the throttle before crossing them.

Cornering grip from the reversed chines is something to behold. Pitching the Northbank 600C in sharply, the hull leans in and grabs the water to carve out a sharp arc with confidence.

Noise, too, is well suppressed, with the hull voids filled with foam easily masking the sounds of the hull running through the water and bouncing off passing wakes.

We didn’t really come anywhere near testing the Northbank 600C to its full potential. That’s a shame, because the few pointers we were able to come away with suggest that it is an extremely capable trailerable fishing platform for anyone who harbours desires to head offshore.

And does it have as much relevance today as it did when we tested it 20 years ago? The formula hasn’t changed very much – really, it hasn’t needed to – although the advent of modern-day four-stroke outboard engines appears to have made this a faster, more economical platform for those lucky enough to own it.

Priced from: About $120,000 including boweye and Sacra anchor roller; two stern eyes and bow cleats; four rod holders; recessed gunnel handrails; bunk cushions; swivel and sliding upholstered console seats on seatboxes; stainless steel steering wheel; automatic bilge pump; cabin lin ing, floor-mounted battery; custom chrome decals; 200-litre underfloor fuel tank; and hydraulic steering; Easytow dual-axle alloy trailer; 150hp outboard engine

Price as tested: About $150,000 including 200hp Mercury Fourstroke outboard engine with hydraulic steering and 14.5x17P Enertia prop; Stressfree electric anchor winch; two-speaker Fusion audio system with remote controller; 16.0-inch Garmin GPSMAP multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; Lectrotab trim tabs; alloy cuddy roller door; OceanLED underwater lights; bow rail-mounted lights; raw water washdown system; Boatcatch retrieval system; and Garmin radome

Supplied by: Blakes Marine, Sydney