Stacer 525 Sea Master

Mention the name Stacer and you know you're talking about a reliable sure-footed craft and without doubt, an icon in Australian aluminium boat construction. The Stacer brand is more honest than a Hillsong gathering and provides a variety of all-rounders, with fishing and cruising craft suited to the spectrum of boating families and anglers.

The 525 Sea Master Sports will do nothing to buck the tradition. It's another well-built tinnie, and if you're looking to spend around $30,000 for a tidy runabout with plenty of room and scope to personalise it, plus provide years of virtual maintenance-free boating, search no more.

The 525 Sea Master Sports is - as it's moniker suggests - 5.25m long and like all Stacer boats, sports the EVO hull with Mod-Pod transom. To the uninitiated that is Stacer's pressed alloy hull with a wide beam and sturdy transom that Stacer claims delivers faster planing and a softer ride. Plus, the Mod-Pod doubles as a spacious swim platform.

The Sea Master model we tested was from Lake Macquarie-based Hirecraft Marine, in Toronto, NSW. The hull carried a 75hp Mercury two-stroke, but, although the hull may be rated to 115hp, I don't think it warrants anything larger than a 75–90hp. After all, why pay for horsepower that you're not going to need in a runabout of this kind?

The craft we tested was pretty basic with limited accessories fitted, but there are plenty of options to turn it into a pleasure or full-on fishing craft. And you don't need all the bells and whistles fitted to get an idea of its suitability to Aussie waters.

VERSATILE... VERY VERSATILE
The two-step boarding ladder on the port side of the Mod-Pod immediately got the thumbs up for its ease of operation, especially with grabrails at the rear of the gunwales for extra security.

With the swim platform included, the transom is fairly wide but doesn't compromise deck space much. At more than five metres in length, the hull has plenty to play with, and the Mercury 75 doesn't take up much room either.

There's a foldaway rear bench seat with upholstered combing on the transom that wraps around the gunwales slightly and there's an option for different seat configurations at the stern as well as back-to-back helm and passenger chairs.

Under the transom coaming you'll find the battery isolator, fuel bulb and filter, as well as space for the optional bait tanks.

The deck space in the cockpit is huge, two metres wide behind the cockpit seats expanding to 2.40m at the transom 1.75m away, so there is plenty of play room. Plus the deck is carpeted to keep your feet cool and to look nice and smick.

The 525 comes standard with two rodholders in the rear of the gunwales and there are two sidepockets that can also double as toe holds. There was no extra accommodation for more rods, although it wouldn't be difficult to fit extras or install a rocket launcher.

In the cockpit, two fully-adjustable swivelling pedestal seats have reversible backs so you can sit facing forward or backwards. These got the thumbs up from the crew for being comfortable, practical, and easy to convert to an observer's role in a flash.

DRIVE TIME
The helm is installed well towards the bow to add to the deck space. The dash features a basic instrument layout with the depth sounder alongside the speedo, tacho, fuel, compass, hour meter and trim gauge, although a quick glance at the fuel is obscured by the steering wheel. The 28-meg radio sits in a lockable chest in front of the passenger.

The 525 has the usual Stacer step down into the under-deck storage area for lifejackets and the like.

The opening three-piece windscreen allows access to the bow, radio antenna and self-draining anchor well.

The screen and the bimini offer excellent protection from the elements without compromising much in vision. If you want to stand up though, the bimini front flap needs to be rolled back. The bimini frame is handy as a grabrail for those in the passenger seat.

The 525 can accommodate the licensed six passengers with the seating package on this particular 525. But with the size of the craft, the optimum number of passengers would be four adults, leaving plenty of room to move and for a bit of comfort.

It would be nice to see more than the single drinkholder installed on this boat. I'm sure adding a few extra around the boat would be easy enough. There is also space enough to drop in one of those fibreglass eskies as a seat.

As usual with all Stacer craft, there is underfloor flotation with the 94lt fuel tank. The deck and hull are fully drainable.

PERFORMANCE & HANDLING
Ably assisted by the relative lightness of the aluminium hull and flat deadrise at the stern, the boat bounds out of the water to sit effortlessly on the plane.

There is enough performance from the 75hp Mercury two-stroke to pull a skier out of the water, but with such a light hull the extra rearward weight may unsettle the craft and slow it down getting out of the hole. As for the tin lids in a tube or wakeboarding, there is no question that this adaptable hull would haul them around better than a truckie's rig!

The boat turns effortlessly and with no tendency to slip, even when negotiating a bit of chop. It handles any task that is asked of it, either in tight or shallow turns, although it is quite trim-sensitive.

At speed when the motor is fully trimmed in, if you relax your grip the hull has a tendency to turn sharply to starboard - consider installing a hydraulic steering system. However, once the motor is trimmed correctly, driving is very easy on the arms and the steering precise enough to hold a straight line with little input.

 The ride itself is surprisingly good for a lightweight tinnie. Maybe it is the length of the hull that keeps it cutting through the waves. You have to be knocking the top off a few white caps at speed to feel uncomfortable at the front.

The open screen does a great job of protecting the entire cockpit, while the canopy offers welcome shade in summer and appeared to be installed correctly. Also there wasn't a lot of spray blowing aboard for people sitting on the rear lounge unless the boat was really pushed.

The 525 Sea Master is an excellent platform for fishing, while the flexible seating arrangements make it a comfortable dayboat the whole family will enjoy. It looks good and is a very affordable boat that will win many buyers over.

HIGHS

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