1997 Steber 1050 review

And let me tell you, you won't find any pearls inside it because it's gone bust!

The talk in Taree is equally dreary. Presently, everyone's raving about the new shopping complex. Having driven from a sprawling shopping complex called Sydney for four white-line fevered hours, I wasn't interested. I was taken more by the cows grazing in the suburbs between the brick houses, especially because the school kids didn't dish out a customary stoning. What's wrong with kids today?

But there is one thing in Taree that is important. It's the home of one of Australia's leading game boat builders, Stebercraft.

Prominently featured

If it seems incongruous that a leading bluewater boatbuilder is stationed in a country town, then think again. Steber and Taree are mates going way back, and Steber is truly, spiritually connected with making boats for demanding offshore work.

If you don't believe me, then cast an eye over water police, charter boat and rescue service fleets around Oz some time. Stebers feature more prominently than silicon in a good episode of Baywatch.

It's Steber's 50th anniversary this year. Founder Bruce Steber started handcrafting timber clinker-hulled boats in the backyard of his Narrabeen Beach home, which meant both his sons never developed into the cricketers they should have.

He moved to Brookvale and the family regained its backyard cricket pitch in 1959 when he entered the brave new world of fibreglass boatbuilding.

Before long Bruce decided to stop making his popular 475 and 525 trailer-boaty things and to concentrate on making big, glorious pleasure and commercial vessels, ranging from 10m upwards.

It was about then that he pulled the pin in Sydney and moved his operation to Taree, where he bought four acres near a train line just a stone's throw from the cows and the new, booming supermarket complex...

Bruce is still working today and guided me through a factory tour. Had he been charging for these tours when he started out, he could probably retire. Last I saw of the patriarch he was carrying a case of light beer, but after so many years guiding people through his factory, I reckon he deserves full strength.

The new edition

The reason I was in Taree was Steber's new 1050 Super Sedan, the smallest cruiser currently in the Steber range and by far the most modern.

Attracting great interest when it was released at the Sydney boat show this year, it also didn't escape the editor's eye. What he didn't realise - until I lodged a claim for mileage recently - was that I'd have to cover a round-trip of 641km to test the new 1050. But it was worth it.

Though I've always thought factory tours were dull, the Steber factory tour isn't. It includes a training room and a real draftsman with an impressive moustache who twirls a pencil creatively in his hand, and the constant buzzing sound of grinders for authenticity.

Stebercraft has ISO 9002 accreditation, which means its boats are exceptionally well made. This is why it has already won two Boat of the Year awards.

Strolling the yard, Bruce Steber said over the buzzsaw: "We set out to get into the market under 36 feet, to cover the smaller and more affordable end. The idea was to produce a boat which people could jump into from a 20-foot runabout."

Coming from a 20-foot runabout, I was in a good position to gauge the user-friendliness of the new 1050.

The Steber factory tour ended up being fascinating for three reasons. Firstly, I got to see the 1050 hull out of the water, which answered a lot of questions about the boat's performance later in the day.

Secondly, I got to see the reworked top decks for several new versions of the 1050 - there is ute and pro-boat coming - though I can't tell you about them yet.

Thirdly, I found the bathroom after holding on for 300-odd kilometres!

Vital stats

Some facts. The new 1050, which replaces the 34 and, in due course, the 36-foot Steber cruisers, has been designed by Bruce, Graham, Colin and Alan Steber, with input from David Dillon and Peter Harris.

Construction is foam-sandwich using Divinycell (which I once made a cricket ball from and it lasted brilliantly).

The style of the boat is very modern, curvaceous and aimed intentionally at the Asian market. Clearly, the hull is very beamy, too. It has a sharp 17.5 degrees of deadrise, props spinning in tunnels for grip, and flat shaft angles of 7-8 degrees for maximum thrust.

A prominent keel is something I like in a cruiser. The 1050 has one for tracking, and big chines and three strakes for lift. There is an exaggerated amount of flare in the topsides at the bow for shedding water, and an integrated anchoring system that negates the need for a bowsprit.

Examining the boat in detail, from bow to stern, we must start with this unique anchor-retrieval device. It features a moulding that holds a Danforth anchor. Hidden even further back are a windlass and huge cable or chain well.

The idea, says Bruce Steber's son, Alan, with whom I conducted the boat test, is to keep the windlass out of the elements and out of the way.

The second thing he points to is the 750mm-high bow rails with two intermediate wires - to survey standards - and the flat walkaround non-skid decks.

"The emphasis went on making the foredeck workable and useable," Alan says. And this it most definitely is.

Surveyed safety

There are port and starboard side-steps from the cockpit which double as seats, and rails that help you move around the fold-out Reelax outrigger bases. It really is safe enough to send the kids up the front, and ideal for walking a fish around or accessing rods with baits set from the bow.

The cockpit is what Alan likes to describe as a "deep well". It has a unique scupper system whereby cambers have been given to the corners of the deck to prevent water retention and the annoying staining it causes. The marlin door is coming, and it won't be a toy perspex number.

Under the flybridge ladder on the starboard side is a deep icebox that could easily be turned into a fridge/freezer. Port and starboard side lockers and twin hatches into the lazarette provide storage aplenty.

Form and function

One step up from the cockpit is the saloon, which is well shaded and sheltered by a flybridge overhang that's 1.2 metres long. We'll head up the ladder instead, through a long hatch that helps you avoid hitting your head.

The flybridge is simple. It has an island helm console, which can be relocated fore or aft, with a pedestal seat for the skipper, ample room for flush-mounting electronics on a raised brow, and possibly an overhead radio box on future boats. The controls are single-action Morse.

The hardtop is made from foam-sandwich fibreglass and is just roomy enough for a 1.8-metre boat tester to stand underneath it. Stainless grabrails trace the windscreen.

There is no moulded seating on the flybridge but a practical upholstered lounge facing forward and two aft-facing seats in the bow. Hardcore game fishers may prefer a custom seating arrangement, but importantly the skipper's seat offers a clear view to all parts of the boat and to the workings of the cockpit.

Interesting innovation

The saloon is where the innovation gets interesting. There is a multi-fold door that, when retracted, creates a huge entrance and a balcony effect between the saloon and the cockpit.

Great for socialising. And if the mossies are on the chew while you party or sleep inside, simply reach for the retractable fly screen, which is concealed behind the door. It's a clever touch.

Cream-coloured carpet and a fully-moulded white headliner create a sense of spaciousness inside. Lots of Tassie oak, quick-draw blinds and four opening windows add to the airiness.

On the starboard side is a U-shaped dinette (if you want a lower helm station it will be shorter and L-shaped), which can seat a family or fishing crew of four. You can convert the lounge into a full-size double bed in 40 winks.

Lockers, sumps and galleys

The port-side of the saloon was left naked, with just a few loose and moveable chairs, although you could add a lounge. The tackle-locker incorporated in the wall could store at least four heavy-tackle outfits out of view of tackle thieves.

Head underfloor and you're into the engine room, which has a huge amount of space around the motors and excellent sump access because the Yanmar donks are mounted off the floor on aluminium engine bearers.

Step down and forward from the saloon and you'll be made the cook. The galley to port is L-shaped with a serving bench facing aft, vinyl floor covering (you can have wood if you like), a 240-volt microwave running off an inverter (you can add a little genset if you want) or shore power, a 140L fridge, and a sink with hot water through a heat exchanger on the motor.

The benchtops are laminex, the cupboards plentiful for stores.

Opposite is the head with an electric loo and a holding tank, a shower created by extracting the sink tap and hanging it on a hook, a sump pump underfloor where you can access it when it clogs up with human hair, and it's all finished with an easy-clean fully moulded interior liner. There were no hard edges on which to hurt yourself.

Finally, the master bedroom, which is in the bow and includes an island berth without the hull needing to be overly fat up front. A big hatch directs light and air inside.

The walls are lined in a kind of frontrunner fabric. Storage is in sidepockets and under the island double berth, although there is room for hanging lockers if you want somewhere to swing the blue blazer and tie.

Similar to the saloon, the forward cabin has a unique retractable door, a material curtain that pulls out of a recess and, using a magnetic strip, seals off the sleeping area.

Perhaps there is some fine-tuning needed with its design, because it seemed a tad temperamental. And on future 1050s, a white, moulded headliner will help to jazz up the forward cabin.

On the water

Though the 1050 is modern-looking, with raked and rounded lines and nary a hard, perpendicular edge inside or out, Steber boats are best known for their performance on the water. No, not the Manning River, but rough, wind-swept bluewater where big fish roam.

So off to Crowdy Head we head, via the township of Hastings overlooking the Manning River bar. It's a nasty bar and reason why, perhaps, Steber boats don't balk at the sight of broken water.

Forget Taree, Crowdy Head is the place for me - and the 1050, which was moored in the harbour alongside a flotilla of planked wooden trawlers too lazy to head outside. The wind was from the south and about 15kt. There wasn't much swell, at least the water was clear and even bordering on blue, though the ocean was best described as messy.

Steber's new 1050 hull was, however, a joy to throw around the churning sea. It holds on in tight turns and the speed doesn't wash off. It jumps out of the hole to planing speeds and can be thrown around like a sportsboat. Coming from a 20-footer, it is anything but daunting to drive - and that's a real credit to its designers.

Cruise speed at 3000rpm was 19.6kt, 3500rpm gave 25.1kt and top speed at 3850rpm was 29kt.

The new, little 300hp Yanmar 6LP engines, revvy and racy, were a nice match. You'll see more of these lightweight diesel motors in gameboats in coming seasons.

A dry argument

But best of all was the boat's seaworthiness. For all the circuit work it didn't even work up spray on its windscreen. The flare shed the water and, with the chines, gave great lift to the hull.

Yet the sharp entry tapering into a keel means you land without a boom, crash, thud. Running down-swell, the hull doesn't steer from the nose but the tail, so it keeps beautifully upright.

Though it has been designed with the family, newcomer to cruisers, and the Asian market in mind, the 1050 has the genes and genius to take long-distance travel in its stride.

It's a Steber trait and something which, having driven to Taree and back in a day, I can now fully appreciate. I think we'd both rather have been fishin'.

Box Story: A NEW BENCHMARK?

As much as he'd like to deny it, BlueWater's Boating Editor, D Lockwood Esq, gets to have all the fun. Well, most of it... In fact, it's only on the rare occasion that an attractive new-release vessel actually slips past his grasp and yours truly gets to spend some time on board.

That's more or less what happened in the case of Stebercraft's new 1050. With the BlueWater crew scheduled for a quick recce of the Coffs Harbour area during last month's Hot Currents tournament, Alan and Bruce Steber offered to coordinate the 1050's visit to the northern NSW port so we could spend some time on board.

Unlike David's time with the 1050, our Coffs session took place in bright sunshine and relatively light seas. It was an opportunity to really throw the little Steber around, back it down onto pretend blues and generally try and get it to misbehave. I was wasting my time. The new 1050 didn't put a foot wrong - it is a very impressive package.

Its new generation Yanmar powerplants are responsive, muscular and economical and the overall performance of the hull is stunning. In fact, in terms of standing-start acceleration, turning and general 'wieldiness' the 1050 not only shades almost all of its direct rivals but also vessels considerably smaller.

The 1050 may not be the prettiest boat on the water, but it offers room to move in a package that's typical Steber in terms of innovation and top build quality. A quick look at the clean curved mouldings that abound on the boat gives a good clue to the development time that's gone into it.

How good is the 1050? I'd go so far as to say that there's every indication that with the 1050, Stebercraft has created a new benchmark for user-friendly 30-something game fishing craft.