Stejcraft SS64 SD 2023 Review

There are only two Australian brands making sterndrive sports bowriders. One of them is Queensland-based Stejcraft, which makes two models – the 6.1-metre SS55 SD and its newest model, the 6.4-metre SS64 SD.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD is a relatively new model, developed during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and filling an important niche for recreational boat buyers wanting a boat that can haul skiers around a lake one day, and head offshore whale-watching the next.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD’s design brief was pretty simple; build a boat with as much useable space from bow to stern as possible using the outboard-engined version of the boat as a template. While the outboard-engined version of the SS64 BR is more nimble, the inboard version offers a much better drive experience.

Of note, our test boat is used as a surfing platform. The SS64 SD anchors just beyond the break while its owners catch the waves, with the large swim deck providing easy access to and from the water, and a place to stash the boards.

How does the package stack up, then?

Entry to the Stejcraft SS64 SD club starts from around $99,000. For that, you get a versatile watersport and dayboat designed for up to eight people to enjoy.

Buyers can then pick and choose from a vast range of options ranging from exterior and interior colours, flooring and seating, as well as accessories designed to make life much easier on the water.

A basic boat is equipped with a 200hp MerCruiser 4.5L inboard engine, pushing drive to the water via  Bravo 1 sterndrive. The 4.5-litre V6 petrol engine is the largest displacement in its class, producing plenty of useable torque throughout its rev range.

Standard equipment includes a Lowrance HDS multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; under-seat Titan Deep Freeze icebox; ski tow point; stainless steel boarding ladder and handrail; sealed and drained anchor well in the forepeak; lidded and drained glovebox that can also be used as an icebox; a rubbing strake enclosing the entire hull; and a Clarion four-speaker audio system.

Few buyers, though, order a stock boat. Our test boat, priced from around $115,000, sits on a Dunbier dual-axle galvanised trailer painted to match the Stejcraft SS64 SD’s dark hull. It is fitted with the 225hp version of the MerCruiser powerplant.

Highlights of this boat include a Fluidcore wake tower bimini with wakeboard racks; EVA flooring throughout via Stejcraft’s in-house brand, H20; larger Lowrance HDS7 multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; a chemical toilet tucked into the bow; and an extended swim deck.

The boat is fitted with an automatic bilge pump as there is no way of accessing the bilge unless you lift the engine cover.

More than half of Stejcraft’s sports bowrider customers don't bother with a trailer. Part of the owner experience is ensuring there are on-water service facilities that owners can access.

Stejcraft has a long tradition of boatbuilding and regularly exports its products to the US and New Zealand.

Its build process is based on 11 different layers of fibreglass that specialise in either building strength, stripping weight, damping vibration or providing a glossy, long-lasting finish.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD’s hull, shared with the Monaco 640 half-cab, starts with a sharp 27-degree deadrise at the bow, falling to 23 degrees amidships and finishing at 21 degrees at the transom. It uses lifting strakes running aft and ends in a wide, flat chine that helps with lifting the boat onto the plane and stability at rest.

The hulls are fully composite and use a mix of Thermolite and fibreglass stringers. It’s a more expensive way to build boats, but is lighter, stronger and longer lasting than using timber.

Stejcraft backs up its boats with a five-year warranty on the structural components of the hull. Non-structural parts and components are covered by a one-year warranty.

The boat is built so that it will weigh less than 2000kg wet, allowing owners to easily dry-stack it or for those who like a bit of variety, tow it around behind a mid-size family car.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD adopts a fairly typical bowrider layout featuring a lounge up front, a walk-through split console, aft cockpit space including a sun lounge built over the inboard engine, and a companionway to starboard leading through to the transom.

The sides are relatively thin aft to maximise the internal beam, while up front the bow’s fine entry allows the SS64 SD to dedicate the forepeak to an enclosed anchor well that is large enough to take an electric winch and a small bowsprit.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD’s side profile is long and low with a falling sheer line and finishing aft with a Portofino-styled transom. The low-cut, wraparound glass windscreen gives a sense of a US-styled go-fast boat.

The benefit of the sterndrive is the amount of interior space it can yield when done properly. On this front, the Stejcraft SS64 SD does a pretty good job.

If you prefer the outboard-engined version of this boat you lose the rear sun lounge, which is replaced with a bench.

Jump in behind the helm seat and you’re struck with a strong sense of automotive influence to the design.

The helm seat is upright, comfortable and adjustable so that it slides fore and aft, and has a lift-up bolster so you can sit higher and can rotate to face the cockpit. The coamings are padded to elbow height, so you’re not bracing your arm on fibreglass.

Our test boat’s interior is finished in a mix of black and tan. The Relaxn helm seat is wonderfully finished, although lacks an outside armrest.

The console in front of the skipper is a mix of chrome-fringed analogue instruments for the MerCruiser and Clarion audio system, rocker switches for the electrical system, and the digital Lowrance HDS7 fitted to our test boat. Dash space is limited, so the 7.0-inch screen is as big as you want to go.

The rubber and chrome Gussi Italia wheel is set low on the console. If you’re tall like me you straddle it with your legs, which means the driving position is quite upright. The throttle and shift control is mounted on the coaming and falls in easy reach, and a recess in the console front has an integrated footrest.

In front of you is a low-profile glass windscreen that wraps around the console. A centre section opens forward and to port to provide access to the bow lounge, while below it washboards drop in to act as a wind block.

On the co-pilot’s side, the chair is equally comfortable. The seat can swivel to act as an observer’s chair for watersports or to socialise and includes a large drained glovebox that can fill with ice and be used as a cooler, or as dry storage. This seat also has two stainless steel handrails so that its occupant can brace forwards or sideways.

Beneath the port side console is a void that, while too small to act as a changeroom, is handy for storage.

The Stejcraft SS64 SD doesn’t carry a lot of beam forward, so the bow does start to sharpen from about two-thirds along its length.

The result is a bow lounge that narrows in the further forward you go. Stejcraft has minimised the impact of this by creating outboard backrests that angle in slightly so the benches act as a lounge. It’s a comfortable place for three adults to sit.

The bow lounge has cupholders forward, a pair of speakers and storage recesses built in under the armrests. EVA rubber is used on the forward section as a backrest.

Aft of the helm is the cockpit, dominated by the large port side sun lounge. To port is an L-shaped lounge while to starboard, across the narrowest part of the companionway from the bow, is a single seat integrated into the coaming. Both seats can act as footrests for the console seats once they are turned to face aft.

The sun lounge lifts to reveal the inboard engine. There’s plenty of room to tick off the service and inspection touchpoints around the MerCruiser.

Seven cupholders are spread around our test boat, including one each for the console seats.

The first thing you’ll notice about the sterndrive MerCruiser is how quiet it is, at rest and at speed. Noise is well suppressed, meaning the only thing that is interrupting your ability to hold a conversation at indoor voice levels at speed is the rush of wind over the low-set windscreen.

The big-bore MerCruiser is excellent at what it does. Throttle response is instantaneous, and the Stejcraft SS64 SD trims up nicely to reach the best running angle at speed.

The only flaw you can pick with the MerCruiser is the Bravo 1’s tendency to prop walk at low speeds. The rotation of the prop will keep pulling the boat to starboard, meaning you constantly have to put in small steering corrections to counter it. That said, come time to pull into a jetty and you can use the prop walk to dock like a pro.

The Stejcraft’s relatively deep vee means it takes a bit of power to pop up on the plane, but once there it sits comfortably and confidently. Turn the wheel though, and the fun begins.

Sterndrive boats inherently have a much better weight balance than outboard-engined versions, and this is apparent as soon as you roll on some throttle. There is next to no bow lift as the boat gets over the hump onto the plane, and once up sits wonderfully flat and steady.

Performance

Maximum range based on 5% fuel reserve for 200L tank: 185nm@3000rpm

At lower speeds, the Stejcraft SS64 SD rides well, cutting through the Gold Coast Broadwater chop and passing boat wakes with confidence. The fibreglass hull provides a refined ride that takes a lot off the harshness of the water, making things as comfortable as possible for its occupants. It's also still quite manoeuvrable, easily able to turn in almost its own length.

At rest, the wide beam and wide outer chines allow you to walk around the boat with confidence.

It's good that Stejcraft respects its customers enough to provide them with a sterndrive sports boat they can enjoy. Four out of every five SS64 sales leaving Stejcraft's Gold Coast factory will have an outboard engine hanging off the transom, so the SD will always be a fringe player in the market.

But those customers who do take the sterndrive boat will get what is clearly a much better realisation of the sports boat/bowrider formula. If you plan to dry-stack or berth your boat rather than leave it parked up in the driveway, it's an obvious choice.

Priced from: $98,990 including Lowrance HDS multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; under-seat Titan Deep Freeze icebox; ski tow point; stainless steel boarding ladder and handrail; sealed and drained anchor well; lidded and drained glovebox; rubbing strake; Clarion four-speaker audio system; 200hp MerCruiser 4.5L

Price as tested: $115,000 including Fluidcore wake tower bimini with wakeboard racks; H2A EVA foam flooring; Lowrance HDS7 multifunction chartplotter and fishfinder; chemical toilet; extended swim deck; colour-matched Dunbier galvanised dual-axle trailer

Supplied by: Stejcraft Boats