Spotlight: Sea Jay Velocity Sports

They’re well-suited to drift fishing where you focus all your efforts on one side of the boat, they’re very efficient in terms of wasted space, trolling, fishing at anchor and even lure casting.

That’s where boats such as the Sea Jay Velocity Sports come to the fore. The amount of search across boatsales.com.au for this specific model is quite high, showing that the model still has much buyer appeal.

Sea Jay is a Queensland-based brand known for its range of pressed alloy tinnies, open boats and plate alloy craft.

The side console Velocity Sport is one of these boats. The Velocity Sports can come as either a side or centre console, but here we’re just focusing on the side console models.

Each Sea Jay Velocity Sports is built over a 50mm capped keel from 4mm bottoms and 3mm topsides with floor ribs spaced every 300mm. The boat sits on Sea Jay’s Samurai hull, featuring a rising variable deadrise with a sharper bow entry to cut more cleanly through the water. 

Almost vertical sides maximise the waterline hull width to provide a larger surface area for planing at lower speeds. A deep reversed chine and raised forward sheer line combine to help provide stability, as well as cutting down on spray.

The Sea Jay Velocity Sports line-up extends over four models ranging from the entry-level 490 measuring 5.22 metres overall up to the range-topping 590 measuring 6.22 metres length overall.

These boats come quite well equipped from the factory. Base equipment includes an anchor well up the front, a plumbed live bait well, a dive door and hydraulic steering on the larger three models, a bow mount for a trolling motor, wide side decks, a bowsprit and roller, three bollards, a font casting deck, carpet over plywood floor, transducer bracket, and an underfloor fuel tank ranging from 100 litres for the smaller boat up to 200 litres for the range-topper.

The “sports" in the boat’s name refers to the low-profile rearward-biased centre console featuring a grab handle and clear perspex windbreaker. Behind it, and to one side sit a pair of sports swivel seats that can swap out to one of three extra seat-mounting points around the boat.

A bait board is optional, as is a dual battery fit-out if you want to separate the engine and boat electrics. You can also upgrade the plastic rod holders to alloy, and ad a raw water deck wash system and a standard, deluxe or custom bait board to ready the Sea Jay Velocity Sports to hit the water.

The boats can come on either a galvanised steel or alloy I-beam frame trailer. Maximum engine options range from 90hp for the 490 up to 150hp for the range-topping 590.

A Tuff Deck option replaces the deck with sealed checker plate aluminium and fits a sump box.

If you’re regularly fishing two-up, the centre console layout is ideal, although the larger boats tend to cancel out the weight distribution with the port side prop bias.

The sweet spot in the Sea Jay Velocity Sports range seems to be around the 520, which gets all the same fruit as the top-spec 590 but in a more compact package. Prices start from around $60,000 for this model depending on options.