Stacer 569 Ocean Runner

LIKES
- Value for mone
- Good start boat for the young family

It will cater for six people comfortably with level floatation, so there is more than enough room for a family of four and all their gear on an outing to a remote beach. 

This boat had its beginnings in the Coral Runner series of boats from Telwater and has evolved to this, a model featuring the EVO Advance Hull which has a relaxed stem line for a sharper entry along with a spray deflector at the aft end.

A new transom to maximise space, that sharper bow design and a deeper V gives a softer ride than its predecessor.

With bunks 1.5m in length, there is sufficient space to tuck the kids away for a nap between spells in the sun while there is storage available below the bunk cushions.

With this boat targeted at the young family it was good to see it was fitted with a walk-through transom door as standard. Back anchored at a beach it would be no fuss for the kids to come and go (as they do) while mum and dad doze away under an umbrella on the sand.

The transom door folds down flat on the raised deck at this point rather than swing on a side hinge. This alleviates the need for a wide aperture that gobbles up transom bulkhead space where we need to stow batteries and have rear lounges attached.

Also good to see was the style of boarding ladder that features wide foot plates rather than the normal round pipe rungs that pain the feet especially after they have been softened up in the water. The handy battery isolation switch is found in the companionway as one steps into the boat through the transom.

The raised platform that the transom door folds down upon continues across the beam of the aft of the inside of the boat, overshadowed by the transom bulkhead.

The battery and oil reservoir for the two-stroke Yamaha are installed under here and in front a fold-down lounge is fitted.

The original Stacer seat axle bracket was still fitted here and the supplying dealer has installed their own seat base support which was very functional indeed. It provided for two seat heights. The lower was used when you wanted the lounge for seating and the upper was used to get the lounge edge up off the deck when it's stowed for fishing at the stern -- and we could still get feet under it for better balance. The supports were routed out of nylon board and the backrest for the lounge was a permanent fixture on the bulkhead.

The contours in the bends of the cabin liner are nicely rounded with the cockpit side pockets situated high up off the deck. Upholstered panels fill in the void below behind which the buoyancy foam for the level flotation requirements is secreted. That level floatation rating is for six people including the load to 782kg total. There is enough gap between these panels and the deck for the toes to slip under to help with balance when standing at the gunwales.

Seating for the passenger and skipper is on nicely-upholstered swivel chairs on pedestals. The front edge of the base cushion hinges up to make a bum seat for comfortable standing and cruising while the back of the seats has stowage pockets; just the place for sunblock and other goodies likely to blow around the deck when the throttle is down.

The dash area in front of the passenger seat has a flat expanse and would ideally suit the installation of a large cabinet gimbal mounted depth sounder or chart plotter or combination of the two. The review boat was fitted with a Lowrance monochrome unit about five inches in size but many boaters these days are realising the benefits of big screens but unfortunately there are space limitations on the rotaform dash panel module on the Ocean Runner for anything larger than that fitted. It was a neat fit though with Yamaha’s instrumentation each side.

The windscreen of the 569 is Perspex, curved and consists of three panels. The centre screen can be opened and with the long hatch in the roof of the cabin also opened, one can move forward to work the ground tackle.

There is a step up at the forward end of the V-berth but it is only wide enough for one foot to rest on.

The inner hull inside the cabin is fitted with box sections running the length of each side with the fascias cut out to perform as stowage areas. The modules are carpeted as is the rest of the internal of the cabin and with a flat top with no fence at the front edge; some storage space was going begging here. Anything placed there would fall off after a few bumps when underway.

If the manufacturer doesn’t address this ‘easy fix for more practical stowage’ situation, a couple of lengths of 50mm alloy angle with Velcro on one side would sit here and retain most things and make for extra safe places to put goods and chattels. A few dollars should see that come to fruition.

Standing in the aperture of the roof one is directly over the anchor well which is open to the elements and there is a split cleat and fixed bow roller with locking pin as standard.

The helm area was neatly finished with a bimini and set of clears.

The hull is constructed with 4mm bottom sides and 2.5mm top sides with a 4mm transom plate.

The hull did not generate excessive spray up onto the windscreen even though we tried running in number of directions against a 10 kmh sou’wester.

While initially we thought it was a little bumpy over the short sharp chop on the small swell running off the Gold Coast Seaway, we had been spoilt a little, having just come off the Yellowfin 6200C. Considering that boat's extra length, extra weight and style of hull, the 549 Ocean Runner was doing a pretty good job really and for the price proved to be good value.

If you’re a start in the boating game or upgrading from an open dinghy, this one’s worth more than a cursory look.