Southwind Stealth 500

The sexy Stealth from Southwind is pitched at the sensitive new-age catch-and-release angler, or SNACARA for short. You won't find a gaff, cutting board, kill tank or bait-bin aboard. Instead there are twin livebait wells, a G-Loomis carbon flick stick teamed with a top-shelf Daiwa threadline reel and some soft plastics lures, of course.

Dressed in black gelcoat, the Stealth you see pictured was out to hook the contemporary bass, barra and bream fisher. The boat was also geared for the emerging estuary and impoundment tournament scene gathering pace from the Top End to Tassie.

Since it's release last September, 23 Stealth boats have hit the water running. The boats are spread around each state and territory, and all but one boat - which was bought by divers - is geared for catch-and-release sportsfishing.

PURPOSE BUILT
Set up by Southwind's marketing man Geoff Martin, this Stealth's fishability is improved by a fairly long list of optional extras. But before we explore them, it is worth noting that Southwind, a division of Yamaha based in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, is virtually a semi-custom boatbuilder these days. As the company isn't aligned with any one supplier it can source a huge range of accessories. In fact Southwind is so compliant it will happily factory-fit whichever accessories the buyer chooses to buy and/or supply.

Among the gear on this boat from original equipment manufacturers or OEMs were Baystar hydraulic steering, a Humminbird Legend 3005 sounder on a bracket linked to a transom-mounted transducer, a 55lb Minn Kota RipTide electric motor as well as the aforementioned casting rod and lures.

The listed factory-fitted options ran from the black hull - although 60 different colours are available - to a portside rod locker, aft casting platform, extra passenger seat, bow leaning post, second fishwell, relevant plumbing and separate house and engine start batteries.

Presented as it was on a Dunbier trailer badged Southwind, the Stealth is a good-looking, well-equipped package for two anglers into lurecasting, flyfishing or trolling the snags. The boat could also double as a conveyance for taking the family out for a blatt or to a beach to earn some brownie points between fishing trips.

But while many boats fall into the small-water fishing category these days - especially when you consider the world of tinnies out there - the Stealth has something special up it sleeve. Unlike a lot of tin boats, this 5m deep-vee fibreglass hull has rough-water form.

The other major advantage of a fibreglass hull is quietness. Fish can be spooked easily by the wave-slap on alloy hulls, whereas fibreglass hulls are generally accepted to be more quiet. Southwind is pushing that fact to make further inroads into the aluminium bass boat market.

ORIGINAL AND BEST
Construction of the demo boat was all GRP with a 'glass-encapsulated marine-ply flat floor and hatch covers, which are now fibreglass. The hull and deck are 'glassed together and a grid-stringer system hides inside to provide rigidity.

While the boat isn't self-draining - Southwind prefers to call it a "washdown deck" - the cockpit drains overboard via side-mounted scuppers. The bilge area has a factory-fitted pump to remove the small amount of water that may enter via the cut in the hatches for cables.

The 5m hull is the same as that under the SF500, a cute little cuddy cabin that this writer has formerly praised for its smooth ride and predictable handling. The SF500, which is a derivation of the original SF17, is a useful offshore trailerboat.

While the freeboard isn't quite as high as its predecessor, the Stealth can handle sea conditions up to, say, 1.5m. This means you can chase surface fish around the entrance to bays and harbours and head to the inshore grounds on a good day.

When the weather blows up, as it invariably does, the Stealth can cut a swathe back home. The boat is comfortable and the crew are seated aft of amidships where the wave impact is a lot less than in the bow. Certainly windy weather shouldn't confine you to fishing the edges of a big dam or estuary.

The hull has 19° of deadrise, a very fine entry up front, and two prominent reverse spray rails that shed water. There is a large rounded plank aft for generating lift. And with a 100hp Yamaha four-stroke and a lean on the throttle, the boat fairly jumped to planing speed with three people aboard.

The 5m hull weighs 630kg compared with a 5m bass-and-barra style tinnie of about 480kg. The extra weight helps the Stealth stay in the water. This boat also had the weight of two batteries spread between the bow and stern, plus a full 80lt underfloor aluminium fuel tank on the centreline, and that third crewman.

FISHING LAYOUT
Some smart design features are evident the moment you set foot on the Stealth. For example the fibreglass foredeck, gunwales and aft transom steps are all finished in a good grade of non-skid so you can step from the boat to a wharf, shore or trailer with confidence.

The anchor locker is made to Aussie specs, meaning it's wide and deep enough to store a reef anchor, chain and long length of rope; and the bollard, handrails, pop-up cleats and so on are good solid stainless steel as you might expect on an offshore boat.

Because the interior is carpeted, the boat feels comfortable as you move about and I found no hard edges to clip my shins. My only criticism is that the lids for the underfloor storage compartments are removed by pulling a small material tab stapled to their underside. These tabs are fiddly for cold or arthritic fingers - perhaps some kind of lift-up catch would be better.

The forward raised casting platform is big enough for a fast-food loving fisho to cast a lure and thanks to the boat's inherent stability and a low centre of gravity, it feels surefooted as you move about the decks.

The casting platform was fitted with a removable Springfield leaning seat and the Minn Kota electric motor on a bracket. Pull the foot throttle out from the underfloor storage hatch, sit back on the post, and you can drive the boat in close to the snags and back out again once you've got a fish on.

Below the casting platform was space for the second battery and twin side hatches that could be bunged and turned into iceboxes for toting the drinks. The central moulded livewell hooked up to a Sureflow pump and transom-mounted scoop.

The rod locker is portside opposite the side helm console. As the locker runs a long way forward, there is room for 1.8m flick sticks and two-piece fly rods. Meanwhile, an inspection port mid-floor leads to the sender for the fuel tank, which can be upgraded from 80lt to 115lt, and back aft are siderails.

The optional rear casting platform across the engine well contains a second livewell and hatches that grant access back to the fuel primer bulb and motor battery. The casting platform hinges forward for access into the bilge. But as the flat floor butts up to the hull sides there should be nothing untoward rattling around down there.

INTO ORBIT
The fold-down Springfield helm seats provide good back support. The helm chair, while fixed, was positioned so I didn't need to reach for the soft-touch sports wheel. The side-mounted throttle also fell to hand.

Leg room and space for a tackle box exists under the futuristic moulded console unit. The boat could do with some storage for personals such as the car keys, wallet, mobile phone, digital camera and cold drinks. A fold down shade top would be nice in summer.

The Humminbird sounder is fitted to an adjustable bracket mounted off to the side of the console. Ahead of the wheel were multifunction tacho and speedo that showed trim, fuel, battery levels, a log and so on. The switch panels activated the courtesy, nav and stern lights, and bilge and fishwell pumps.

The tiny windscreen is for looks, not protection, as I discovered during this mid-winter test. Owners should pack a softbag with wet weather gear and woollies just in case. While it is best with two rather than three adults, the Stealth showed a clean pair of heels with its four-stroke 100hp Yamaha outboard.

Low-speed planing numbers will improve with a two-stroke outboard, although the four-stroke is the way to go with respect to noise, exhaust and economy. The Stealth held 27kmh and 3500rpm, but flattened out and felt much happier cruising at 40kmh at a frugal 4000rpm.

The boat gets lively at 48kmh/4500rpm and 54kmh/5000rpm and flew to a top speed of 65kmh at 5700rpm. As conditions were benign I could maintain flat-out speeds. I tested this boat earlier in the year in rougher conditions and it proved to be smooth-riding and dry.

Priced from $26,000 with a 70hp two-stroke and trailer, Southwind's Stealth can outrun a lot of small-water fishing boats. Fitted with some options, soft-plastic lures and a couple of accurate anglers, the boat has every chance of being a trophy winner. Tinnie fishers, you have been warned!