Pacific Sportfish 6.2 Super Vee

The Pacific Sportfish Super Vee is the latest and most significant hull development of one of Queensland's most respected plate aluminium boatbuilders.

Indeed, Sportfish has consistently set the standard in its field. But with so many plate alloy boats emerging, the innovative Sportfish has attempted to break new ground with its new Super Vee concept, in that endless quest for a softer-riding hull.

Any boat test with Northside Marine's Bill Hull is a day to remember. My brief, I thought, was to review the new design and construction of the Super Vee compared to similar boats, then conduct a seatrial to determine the effectiveness of the concept.

But Hull's idea of a seatrial is to fill the boat with fishing rods and catch a feed while the boat tester completes his task.

Hull blasted the big Sportfish across Moreton Bay in 15kt choppy bay seas and cranked it through tight turns and wide turns. I thought his shenanigans were for the benefit of this boat tester, however I'm now aware that he was searching the bay for schools of spotted mackerel.

HULL OF A TIME
Hull pulled up and cast some metal slugs at the frenzied boils of water erupting below screeching gulls, quickly hauling in three 'spotties' around the 3kg mark before handing the rods over to the crew who, at a considerably more conservative rate, managed to increase the catch to a dozen.

Hull then took the boat through another set of trials offshore from Tangalooma resort and the wrecks anchorage. A run around the northern side of Moreton Island, where a better camera angle might be found, saw Hull's eyes light up at the sight of a near 2m surf. He had obviously decided that further testing would prove the seaworthiness of the Super Vee hull. After 15 minutes of low-level flying through the surf, I was convinced that the construction and engineering of the Sportfish hull is bulletproof.

Sportfish commenced building rigid plate aluminium hulls in 1983 in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Clontarf.

Sportfish hulls have since undergone minimal refinement in configuration, because the original concept was near perfect.

The 6.2m Super Vee Centre Cab was the subject of our test. The 6.2m hull, like most Sportfish hulls, also comes in a half-cabin deluxe and centre-console configuration.

Sportfish claim a 30% improvement in softness of ride, 30% better stability, and 30% stronger boat as bonus features of the new design.

After testing the 6.2m Super Vee, I believe an improvement in stability and softness of ride has been achieved - only time will tell if it's a 30% improvement. However, given consumer interest in the Super Vee development, Sportfish is now faced with an even longer delivery time as the order books steadily fill.

PERFECT ENTRY
Undoubtedly, the 6.2m Super Vee's finer hull entry results in a softer ride - albeit with less stability, which is principally evident at rest. The 24° deadrise hull compared to the 16° deadrise of earlier models provides the finer entry, while the exaggerated spray chines provide hydrodynamic lift via redirected water pressure creating dynamic stability.

The forward third of the hull carries the variable vee, while the aft section carries constant deadrise.

The hull continues with full volume to the transom, with the half pod arrangement no longer incorporated. With current consumer interest centering around heavier four-stroke outboards, and further enquiry for twin installation, the new hulls require a greater intact buoyancy component and greater reserve buoyancy in the aft of the hull.

When the 6.2m Super Vee lies at rest substantial stability is derived by the actual increase of the water plane area, with the spray chines dipping in the water slightly forward of midships (subsequently the hull's stability is significantly improved over a conventional V-hull).

This design theory is not necessarily new, as many naval architects have tried variations of the original deep-vee and tri-hull concept. The trick for Alan Dowd, of Sirius Marine naval architects, and the Sportfish design team was balancing all the ideas into a workable formula. The final design employs features drawn from raceboat designs seeking to achieve minimal wetted area. Unfortunately raceboats have only one speed, so the configuration, area and lift generated by the chines appears a critical factor in making the design work for recreational use.

Fortunately for the Sportfish design team everything seems to work perfectly. The hull appears to have an enormous volume for a boat measuring just 6.2m, and when observed sitting on a trailer in the boatyard it seems to be much bigger than similar-sized boats.

Our test was carried out on Moreton Bay in typical 10-20kt southeast winds, as well as running through surf and broken water to 2m on the North East Channel bar.

ON AN EVEN KEEL
The 6.2m Super Vee runs on a very even keel and with a slight bow-up attitude. When Hull handed over the helm, I naturally tried the boat in all modes of trim expecting it to perform more like the previous models, but this is an entirely different boat in handling and sea-keeping.

Observing the boat from the shore it rides through chop effortlessly, with the fine entry splitting waves before shedding them sweetly through the spray chines away from the boat, thus ensuring a particularly spray-free ride.

Displacement of the 6.2m Super Vee remains unchanged from previous models - although the complex construction dictated by the multiple chines requires that there is greater work involved in cutting the plate and frames, as well as welding.

Sportfish has introduced a revised sheerline reflecting the profile often associated with large gamefishing boats, ensuring the 6.2m Super Vee's profile follows the renowned pedigree of earlier models by being a pretty looking boat.

I have long been an admirer of the centre-cabin, and interestingly, Bill Hull informs me that the centre-cabin is the most popular configuration the Northside team fitout for owners.

SIMPLY SUPER
The 6.2m Super Vee (as tested) was fitted with a host of features and equipment, many as standard.

The 6.2m Super Vee carries the usual deep anchor locker with overboard drain. Beautifully capped and radiused covering boards are 10cm forward, flaring out to 15cm in the cockpit. The cockpit feels comfortable, given the security assured by being able to lock your knees under the covering board yet still reach over the side. Cockpit storage trays are raised, which further enhance cockpit security. Substantial heavy-duty non-skid decks ensure a good foothold of wet decks.

Features include a fully self-draining floor and fully-sealed deck, with overboard draining scuppers equal to that fitted to a survey standard, and an underfloor bilge pump of 500gal/hr with float switch.

A large livebait tank is fitted into the port transom bulkhead and there is also a large underfloor killtank which may be used for storage.

Dual batteries are housed neatly under the rear covering board, clear of saltwater and spray.

The 180lt underfloor fueltank is standard, yet there is capacity to fit up to 320lt underfloor. There are external fueltank fillers and fuel filters and all fuel lines are located in an aluminium tube underfloor.

Sportfish has redesigned the boarding platform in line with the added hull volume. Underfloor bulkheads are fully welded, and additional transverse framing has been fitted to stiffen slab sides and provide an anchor point for fittings.

NICE ARRANGEMENT
The centre-cabin arrangement is a great concept for general boating. Sure there is a loss of cabin volume, but the benefits of safety and security more than compensate for this in a craft that is to be used on open and offshore waters.

Cabin corners and edges are radiused wherever possible. There is 1.98m headroom in the cabin sheltering the two comfortable, hard-moulded foam seats - one for the helmsman and one for the navigator, which are fitted onto two seat boxes. The starboard box is fitted out as an icebox, the port box as a storage locker. Further storage is fitted in the wings of the cabin for safety gear, and there is more storage at waist level for loose items such as sunblock, keys and fishing tackle.

There is excellent sitting headroom for four persons in the cabin on the fabric-covered cushions. The aluminium interior is softened by lining the interior of the cabin with frontrunner fabric.

The helmstation comprises a stainless steel vertical-mount steering wheel with Hydrive hydraulic steering. Throttle controls are immediately at the helmsman's right hand. The clearly viewable dashboard features a standard array of engine monitoring gauges, as well as a six-toggle switchboard for navigation lights and deckwash pump.

The testboat was fitted with an Evinrude 135hp FICHT outboard which proved more than adequate for any recreational purpose, although Northside Marine offer a number of outboard brand and horsepower options.

The 6.2m Super Vee (as tested), including Redco fully-rollered tandem axle trailer with disc brakes, will set you back around $54,000 drive away. All you need is a fishing rod and a block of pilchards...