Stabi-Craft 589 Super Cab

It all began when some thick-skinned paua or abalone divers in New Zealand wanted a boat with hitherto new levels of stability and seaworthiness. Using extruding aluminium pontoons welded to the central aluminium hull Stabi-Craft came up with the RIB-type boat with level flotation that, if rough-water boating is your go, takes beating.

News travels fast in NZ and before long these rough-and-tumble tin ducks were in great demand right across the land and now across The Ditch. Today Stabi-Craft is building rescue and commercial craft to 14m, and a range of boats from an open 3.89m dory various cuddy cabins to serious lock-up cabin boats up to 8.95m.

I have driven the smallest Stabi-Craft the 389XR and one of the biggest Super Cabs the 659 for trailerBoat. Both are true to form exhibiting superb seaworthiness and amazingly smooth rides that belie their size.

The subject of the test the 589 Super Cab has only reinforced my belief these unconventional craft deserve a place on the water. They don't flaunt classic lines or comely styling but are wonderfully utilitarian boats that put safety first.

Not surprisingly Sydney dealer Ken Bullen said he has sold Stabi-Craft to safety-conscious trailerboat anglers. There were two Stabi-Crafts among the 220-odd boats fishing the Interclub at Port Stephens this year.

The modest 589 could easily fish such a tournament and with an enclosed wheelhouse and shelter it's an especially practical boat for cold-climate boating.

BUILDING BLOCKS
Stabi-Craft uses computer-aided design and routers to cut the aluminium for all its boats to within 0.5mm tolerances. This way every boat is built the same. The 589 Super Cab uses 5mm-thick sheet for its deep-vee hull and 3mm-thick alloy for the pontoons tracing it. These airtight chambers have a similar effect to strapping a whole bunch of sealed 44-gallon drums to your gunwales.

The tubes, with three separate airtight chambers, allow the boat to displace only so much water before they force it back up - it's a bit like pushing a 44-gallon drum underwater. And all that inbuilt buoyancy is responsible for the boat's seven-adult load-carrying capacity. There's also tremendous lift in the bow. Last but not least should one air chamber be holed, no worries, there's still enough buoyancy in reserve to float the boat.

While the beam is a comparatively narrow 2.31m stability at rest is amazing. This alone puts this boat in the serious offshore boating league, especially where bar-crossings are part and parcel of heading wide.

Although it had a checkerplate floor that drained to a bilge (and pump) back under the integrated outboard pod there is the option of a self-draining floor that would further enhance the fishability of this boat.

On the road the all-up towing weight is a real bonus. The 589 Super Cab tips the scales at just 1250kg on a tandem Breeze trailer with galvanised axles and brakes. This is well within the towing capacity of even a mid-sized family sedan cutting car and travel costs considerably.

SUPER CAB
The big enclosed wheelhouse with full headroom and armour-plate glass windscreen plus the inherent buoyancy in the bow, makes the 589 Super Cab a great boat when punching through headseas. It's the right formula for fishing, say the NSW south coast, SA or Tasmania. Hardly surprising as the Kiwis know all about wet-track form.

But in terms of frills there are relatively few. It should be viewed as a blank canvass upon which to do your own customising. It needs things like a portable baitbox, an icebox for food and catch, rod storage and electronics, and perhaps outriggers or maybe nothing more than a fish tub and handlines.

You access the bow in two ways. By either shuffling around the side decks with non-skid treads aided by the grabrails on the cabin top and split bowrail or through the escape hatch in the cabin. The latter is easier to reach the bowsprit, the small cross bollard and a truly deep anchor well.

You could also use a side-anchoring system by storing the ground tackle and anchor-retrieval buoy in the cabin, deploying it over the gunwale and clipping it on to a springer attached to the bow. This would be my choice.

There's not a lot inside the cabin. The optional factory-fitted vee-berth has upholstered cushions but they are short and the cabin is more for escaping foul-weather and dry storage than sleeping.

The cabin sides are lined in that basic charcoal-grey furry frontrunner that helps reduce noise and prevent condensation. There are two big sidepockets and dry storage space under the treated-timber seat bases. You can also stow stuff in the footwell or add storage nets for lifejackets.

The dash is a no-frills number but has a cover to keep the wiring protected, out of sight and contained. There is space to flush mount a 10in-plus electronic screen, a spread of engine gauges plus a switch panel for the lights, wiper and bilge pump.

There is a basic throttle for the 115hp EFI four-stroke Mercury outboard which was kind of clunky and tight, and a sports wheel linked to (optional) hydraulic steering. I would hate to drive anything above 70hp without it.

The navigator has a couple of sturdy grab rails but the rake of the windscreen means stepping back from the dash to eliminate any chance of hitting your head when underway.

Otherwise headroom under the hardtop is a high point. On the aft edge of the hardtop the boat needs a rocket launcher for rod storage, perhaps outriggers, and you need to add the cost of serious electronics to make it fish ready.

COCKPIT CAPERS
But ironically one of the best things about the 589 Super Cab is what you don't get and that is clutter in the cockpit. One big broad expanse of checkerplate flooring ranges from the back of the twin pedestal helm seats which, incidentally, have handy built-in grab rails for the crew to hold when standing all the way to the transom.

The space under that floor is a watertight air chamber that adds to buoyancy. It also includes the 150lt fuel tank with integrated magnetic fuel gauge. Storage exists in full-length sidepockets and deep voids under the transom where you could stash tubs, gear and a portable icebox or two (go for those with rubber feet that stay on deck).

You will have to come up with something clever in respect of fish storage, a live bait tank and bait-rigging area. Being aluminium it shouldn't be hard to fabricate something like a mid-cockpit padded fishbox with rod storage. A rotomoulded livebait tank will fit on the outboard pod.

Even with the likes of a central fishbox the boat is remarkably stable with a reassuring sense of freeboard. I noted that three adults leaning out induced about half the list of that in a conventional boat. This bodes well for landing sharks and marlin.

Speaking of which, the transom has a portside marlin or boarding door with lift-out aluminium panel that can be relocated in a dedicated slot to starboard. The deck cleats were mounted proud of the hull sides but the cheap plastic rod holders need replacing if you plan to fish with anything more than about 10kg tackle.

The boat is fitted with a small nylon cutting board mounted on a lift-out ski pole. The keen fisher might want to fashion something bigger, and perhaps a saltwater deckwash and aft rocket launcher.

I was pleased to find the battery mounted off the floor behind a watertight plastic hatch in the transom - a dry and accessible spot for servicing. The main scupper to the bilge is mid-floor so it remains to be seen whether water pools in the corners.

ROUGH-WATER RIDER
It's not until you've driven a Stabi-Craft that you appreciate that beauty is more than skin deep. You are assured of a big cruising range with the recommended 115hp outboard and this, with the hardtop, side-opening windows for ventilation and big glass windscreen with wiper allows you to cruise and troll the boat in the foulest of weather - often when fish are biting best!

The outboard is mounted with a product called Vibrastop to reduce vibration. This it does but there is reverberation of engine noise at high speeds.

The hull isn't dissimilar to that of a RIB with outer sponsons that trap air for lift and a central deep-vee that cleaves the waves. It is easily driven and efficient with its modest outboard.

We hooked into a big-boat wash and ran the Stabi-Craft sideways along the trough where many other deep-vee craft would catch a chine and maybe trip up. Not this little tin duck. The buoyancy chambers around the bow saved the day by providing lift once the bow dug in keeping it on line.

With full in-trim the outboard had the hull planing at 2500rpm or lure-trolling speed of 8kts which is good for fuel economy.

The boat continues to run flat at 2800rpm and 9.6kts right up to a heavy-weather cruise of 13.5 to 14kts at 3200rpm. A handy offshore speed of 19 to 20kts at 3500rpm doesn't produce much engine noise and you will find the outboard most economical.

The 115hp was really in the zone at 21.4 to 22kts and 4000rpm which is considered optimum cruising revs. If conditions allow 5000rpm returns 30.1kts and top speed is 35kts on the GPS at 5800rpm.

I'm not sure what it is about sweet-running boats and their lack of looks. Many cats and trimarans are in this category, and far from being oil paintings Stabi-Craft are supremely utilitarian boats, user-friendly, way better for offshore fishing than a RIB and have a three-year hull warranty.

HIGHS

LOWS