Stacer 529 Outlaw SC

With serious sport and tournament fishing for lake, coastal and estuary species around this country showing no sign of abating, it is that sector of the boat manufacturing industry that still has the drafting boards running full time in R&D departments.

Although there is only a metre difference between the smallest and largest model, a metre is a lot of boat in the scheme of things and dramatically changes the ride comfort of those aboard and the stability and fish-ability of a platform; in fact a metre is one entire casting platform.

Options fitted on the day were the vinyl wrap and the bimini and its envelope. Obviously more options are available to customise your Outlaw and this could drive the pice up over $40K for a fully-sorted fishing weapon.

The bow deck was smooth with a shallow rotaform insert recessed for an anchor well. Unless the payload here was tied down there is a chance it could jump out at speed over rough water -- something that should be addressed.

There are four hatches in the forward casting deck, which lead to the stowage areas. These are fitted with a false floor to keep contents up out of bilge water that might be present.

The front and two side hatches were smaller than the central one at the aft of the casting platform. The latter is fitted with a rotaform fish bin which may be plumbed for a live fish/bait tank. It featured a divider slot so that tournament catches may be separated.

Elastic toggles hold the hatches in place with hooks fixed to the casting platform bulkhead. Fly fishers may want to do away with these as they will play havoc with fly lines floating around on the deck. In all likelihood the hatches will sit tight without them anyway and if not, a little Velcro will go a long way to fixing this issue.

Those contemplating fitting a bow mount electric motor will find room in each side hatch for an E70 type battery.

Under-deck fish tanks are always a problem with water sloshing and seeping to adjacent compartments. This particular tank has a surrounding lip on its inside edge which turns down water and a seal outside of that to prevent seepage. It's about as good as it is going to get in the dry-compartment department. The features list quotes this tank as a ‘storage bin’ but it could easily be plumbed.

Just looking at the 529 Outlaw one knows exactly what it will be used for so it was a little disappointing not to see a couple of the listed options as standard fit. Two that every buyer will want are the optional bow mount plate for an electric motor and the seat post spigot in the casting deck.

In keeping with the theme of providing maximum fishing area, the lower deck of the 529 is clutter free with the console being a narrow profile shell fixed to the deck and the starboard coaming midway along its length.

It has a flat surface area on the top large enough to mount an electronics cabinet with an eight-inch screen and a small water-resistant hatch in which to put phones, car keys and the like. A wind deflector is fitted under a grab rail.

The two side pockets in the cockpit start at about the level of the front of the console and run aft to the bulkhead of the rear casting deck. The one on the starboard side hosts the gunwale fuel filler running to the underdeck 95 litre fuel tank.

Three seat post spigots are fitted into the lower deck level and the two seats supplied as standard have swinging back rests.

The rear casting deck is on the same plane as that forward and it features three hatches. That starboard side is removable and exposes the fuel filter and priming bulb and a raised floor to keep stored gear out of the bilge. In the opposing port corner is a recessed rotaform plumbed live fish/bait tank with seals to stop water seepage out onto the carpet and into the next compartment which fits two plastic tackle trays side up. This hatch seconds as a nylon cutting board should you require it.

The central hatch covers the cranking battery and its isolation switch but also gives access for servicing the bilge pump and livebait tank pump.

The topsides, bottomsides and transom are all constructed from 3.0mm aluminium and the boat without any of the bolt-on equipment weighs in at a reasonable 452 kg. The transom is rated to support an engine weight of up to 242 kg.

 Built on the EVO Advance Hull, the Outlaw boats have smooth sides, emulating plate and a sharper bow design resulting in a deeper V.

I sat in the seat and hit the throttle and it was out of the hole and away without any hesitation whatsoever. After throwing it into its first tight turn I had to look aft to see if in fact this rig had hydraulic steering fitted. Not so, and in fact this proved to be one of the best matches we have seen for mechanical steering. And then I had to check it was a 75 hp ETEC and not the maximum recommended of 115. Crikey, this rig was snappy!

Running at speed over chop, the boat offered a soft ride and being amidships the ride is naturally much smoother than further forward. And it was dry to boot with any spray pushing well out and missing seated occupants as the boat powered through.

Oddly enough there was no engine instrumentation fitted to this rig but typically, ETECs of this size have a WOT of around 5400 rpm. At full throttle we clocked 29 knots on our GPS and it eased back into a comfortable cruise speed of just under 20. Getting out of the hole it seemed to be on the plane at 6.5 knots which is a low speed, that's for sure, so it looks like Telwater have done something right with this hull!

And, looking at this boat overall there is no doubt they have. It is a smart rig at a keen price and you can expect to see plenty of these floating on the various waterways around this country over the next couple of years.