Stacer 525 Easy Rider

It may spark visions of Peter Fonda 'fanging' his Harley-Davidson in the movie classic of the same name, but the Easy Rider is one of many new rigs complementing Stacer's range of aluminium boats. In its bowrider format the 525 Easy Rider has a variety of uses, although its primary target is the daytripping family seeking a reprieve from the rat-race.

Such pleasure-seeking families would also understand that room to move on a boat is an integral prerequisite.

Hence the bowrider format offers abundant storage space, which allows freedom of movement.

There are two main covered storage areas. The first is under the bow seats, which aren't overly deep but provide significant dry storage for jackets, towels, etc.

And the second is for bigger items, such as Eskies and tackle boxes, which are best kept at the foot of the helm position or under the dash.

You can also store larger items, if not being used for seating purposes, in the bow section. The area transforms to a forward storage area by closing the door in the walk-through windscreen.

A DRY APPROACH
A smart option would be a waterproof cover that clips over the bow section to keep everything dry. This also creates a great place to store all the necessary gear for a camping weekend.

The curved windscreen offers adequate protection from the wind and any spray that is blown up. The windscreen has a supporting grabrail, which is high enough above the dash that when seated the bar is not in the line of sight. I've been in many good boats where this has occurred and, quite frankly, it's a pain in the butt stretching up to peer over it, or hunching down to look under it.

There is not much to the dash, just a moulded section that displays the instruments and a few switches. On the passenger-side is a lockable glove box.

Like the barra-style punts used in fresh and saltwater for keen lure and fly fishos, which continue to grow in popularity, the bowriders are staging quite a comeback.

The bowrider was never really popular in the aluminium market, with the early models being substandard in terms of ride and performance.

THE WRONG ATTITUDE
The lighter aluminium versions just didn't have the weight to enable the boat to sit well in the water. They suffered from a bow-high attitude on take-off and one had to be as game as Ned Kelly to sit up the front when there was even a small chop on the water, as you got bounced all over the place.

However the evolution of the full flush pod or extended transom altered the performance of these boats. The extra planing surface, buoyancy and hull length contributes to a significantly better ride and today we see more-and-more boats with this transom configuration.

Stacer calls its extended transom a 'Mod Pod', which delivers the upgraded features that improve this style of boat.

The hull glides along nice and level with no 'high-bow' tendencies, either on take-off or punching through a bit of chop. Noticeable is the hull's ability to maintain this level attitude even at slow speeds, which is often necessary in bumpy conditions.

For an aluminium hull the boat is rather quiet in the water. And this is complemented via the smooth, quiet-running of the new 75hp Evinrude FICHT direct-injected outboard.

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
The engine is actually the same basic block and configuration as the 90hp and 115hp (which is not an uncommon practice, with most outboard manufacturers sharing similar blocks within their range). Changes in carburetion/injection, exhausts and computer controlling accounts for a few of the differences.

The 75hp, at 158kg, still retains the weight of its bigger sisters. It's a heavy engine, but the hull of the 525 Easy Rider handled it okay. This is the beauty of the 'Mod Pod' - it enables the hull to accommodate the heavier outboards, in particular four-strokes.

The 525 Stacer Easy Rider with 75hp Evinrude FICHT was a pleasure to drive, easy to handle, and delivered all you would expect from a boat of this calibre.

The layout, as mentioned earlier, has a variety of uses. Its length of five metres is big enough to head offshore on good days with a few mates to chase a snapper or two, and not so big as to cost a fortune to run.

The boat is neat and tidy, and at $24,500 is not excessively priced considering you have the FICHT outboard fitted.