Stessco Catcher 449 LTD 2018 Review

Overview

For general purpose fishing, where you need one boat to do it all — from snapper fishing in the bay and harbour to trout fishing in the freshwater impoundments — you can't beat a mid-sized open vee-bottom alloy boat. If this sounds like the kind of boat you're looking for, then Brisbane's Stessco Boats has you covered.

Stessco is a well established brand with a huge range of vee-bottom alloy boats. There is a configuration and layout to suit nearly every activity. Customers can choose from full line-ups of side and centre console boats, runabouts and bowriders, cuddy cabins, half cabins and more.

For the budget conscious angler, or first-time boat buyer, Stessco has several different open boat lines. We reckon the best value, most versatile of these are the Catcher LTD models. Available in 409, 429 and 449 model lengths, the Stessco Catcher LTDs each have vee bottom hulls, smooth, high topsides and spacious interiors.

For this review we scored the flagship model, the Stessco Catcher 449 LTD rigged up with a Yamaha 50hp electric-start, tiller-steer four-stroke outboard.

Stessco Catcher 449 LTD price and Equipment 

The Stessco Catcher 449 LTD is essentially a great big, basic two-thwart tinnie — but with additional features to make it more user-friendly.

Among these inclusions is a flat, low-level carpeted plywood floor (between the two big thwart seats), wide, fully welded side coamings and a forward casting deck. Importantly, these additions are not high cost items so the boat package remains very affordable.

Rigged with a Yamaha 40hp electric start, tiller-steer (and power trim/tilt) longshaft (20") four-stroke outboard and a single-axle Stessco (by Dunbier) alloy braked trailer, Whitsunday Yamaha Marine has the Catcher 449 LTD priced at $16,599.

The standard boat also comes with a large, moulded anchor well on the foredeck with sturdy tie-off bollard and bow rail, a storage locker beneath the elevated casting deck, two foam-filled seat thwarts (to Basic Flotation standard), cockpit side pockets, rear fuel tank and battery racks, stern rails, dual large transom bungs, duel towing eye, rowlock holders, port side boarding platform, stern carry/lifting handles, transducer bracket, and a bilge pump mounting plate.

As you would expect, Stessco has a range of optional extras available for easy customisation. Some of these include an overhead bimini, hull paint, vinyl hull wrap, rear casting deck, side console helm with remote controls, a spray chine, an electric trolling motor plate to the bow, and a bilge pump. This boat is in many ways a blank canvas.

Our test boat was not fitted with any options. What you see in the attached photos is a completely standard boat package save for an engine upgrade to the larger Yamaha F50 electric start, tiller-steer outboard engine.

With this bigger engine (maximum hp for the boat), the BMT package price rises to a still-affordable $17,499. That's still a terrific price for a bay/harbour/estuary fishing and boating package.

Construction

The Stessco Catcher 449 LTD is a sturdily built boat with a 3mm pressed allow hull bottom, 3mm transom and smooth 3mm topsides.

The hull is stiffened by the welded foredeck and 190mm wide side coaming/deck extrusion and reinforced by an internal keel and heavy duty internal cross-rib structure.

A quick count revealed there are 13 internal floor-ribs, most of which extend up from the internal chines to the gunwale to brace the side-sheets.

The two 425mm wide foam-filled seat thwarts, which also stiffen the alloy topsides, are welded between two of the chine to gunwale cross-ribs.

There's also a full-height bulkhead at the base of the casting deck, stern corner reinforcing beams, and a V-shaped transom outboard mounting structure with welded diagonal bracing struts to handle outboards up to 50hp.

Out on the water, the hull felt easily strong enough for recreational boating and fishing applications. There were pleasantly few rattles or squeaks and the transom felt solid - coping easily with the weight and thrust of the Yamaha F50 four-stroke outboard.

Design and layout

The layout inside the Stessco Catcher 449 LTD is little different to a regular vee bow dinghy - albeit beefed up in construction strength and outfitted with a range of features to make it more comfortable, easier to use.

Chief among the inclusions is the carpeted, flat plywood floor which stretches 1.6m between the over-sized seat thwarts. In boat manufacturer parlance, this set-up is commonly described as half floor - because it does not extend out to the internal chines, but instead just slots in between (and on top of) each of the floor ribs.

A full-width floor is available as an option, but the downside to the more elaborate (and costly) floor is that it sits higher. This lifts the centre of gravity within the boat and in turn makes it less stable.

To my way of thinking, the half floor fitted does the job perfectly well for most fishing and boating applications. It provides a flat surface to walk on (and to stow stuff) but at a minimal cost.

The casting deck forward is also made from marine plywood, then carpeted front and back to protect it against rot and mildew. The deck stretches 1.24m between the anchor well bulkhead and the front of the bow seat thwart. It has a maximum width of 1.6m and feels strong and solid.

A single hatch in the casting deck provides access to a large general storage and safety gear locker. There is also storage in the elevated side pockets which flank the centre cockpit area. We commend the inclusion of these side shelves as it makes it easy to stow all sorts of stuff -- from fishing gear to deck-lines.

We also applaud the addition of an alloy pad welded to the top of the starboard side pocket for the fitting of a bracket-mounted fish finder/GPS.

The rear of the boat is dominated by the second of the two extra-wide seat thwarts. We found it well positioned in the stern of the boat to allow the skipper to operate the engine, and to steer the boat using Yamaha's beefed up tiller arm - which incorporates the throttle, power-trim and the gear-shift.

Having noted the above, big tiller-steer outboards are always going to be more tiring to use than an identical engine that is operated with a steering wheel and remote controls

To this end, you can option the boat with a side console helm station - but that kind of defeats the purpose, adding cost to what started out as a budget boat package. Moreover, if you want a console boat there are plenty of other Stessco models to choose from.

On the water

The Stessco Catcher 449 LTD performed well in smooth conditions on the Noosa River on the Sunshine Coast. There was little in the way of wave action to test out the boat, but the mild-vee Stessco hull carved up other boat wakes pretty easily and comfortably.

While the hull has a shallow transom vee there is enough sharpness at the bow to smooth over the chop, yet without detriment to stability at rest.

50hp is a realistic maximum power recommendation for the Catcher 449 as it proved more than quick enough. The test boat shot out of the hole with an easy twist of the tiller-arm throttle, before accelerating on to a full speed of 29.2kt (over 50km/h).

With two adults onboard, the test boat handled nicely too. It felt manoeuvrable through turns and maintained a pretty even trim regardless of whether you had the second person sitting on the forward thwart or back in the stern with the skipper.

Having noted the above, when you have two people sitting aft, you do need to ease gently off the throttle to slow down (or slow down in increments) to avoid any splash-back over the transom (which can occur when the boat drops quickly off the plane). It is for this reason we believe the Stessco Catcher should have an outboard splash well/tray fitted as standard equipment.

Verdict

The Stessco Catcher 449 LTD is a big, basic, traditional vee bottom open boat with a few key features which make it a practical, user-friendly and versatile boat for a mix of bay, harbour, lake and impoundment fishing.

We'd think about adding a bimini cover for sun-shelter and an entry level fish finder/GPS, but that's about it.

The Catcher 449 LTD does not need much else, and limiting the additions will keep a lid on the package price, and ensure it remains affordable for budget conscious families and fishermen.

PERFORMANCE - SPEED
3.0kts (5.6km/h) @ 1000rpm
4.2kts (7.9km/h) @ 1500rpm
5.2kts (9.7km/h) @ 2000rpm
6.3kts (11.7km/h) @ 2500rpm
11.8kts (21.8km/h) @ 3000rpm
16.0kts (29.7km/h) @ 3500rpm
19.0kts (35.2km/h) @ 4000rpm
22.1kts (40.9km/h) @ 4500rpm
25.0kts (46.3km/h) @ 5000rpm
27.7kts (51.4km/h) @ 5500rpm
29.2kts (54.2km/h) @ 5700rpm (WOT)

PERFORMANCE – ECONOMY
1.5 l/ph @ 1000rpm
2.4 l/ph @ 1500rpm
3.6 l/ph @ 2000rpm
5.1 l/ph @ 2500rpm
6.4 l/ph @ 3000rpm
6.9 l/ph @ 3500rpm
8.7 l/ph @ 4000rpm
10.2 l/ph @ 4500rpm
12.6 l/ph @ 5000rpm
16..0 l/ph @ 5500rpm
18.6 l/ph @ 5700rpm (WOT)

MAXIMUM RANGE ON 95% OF 24l FUEL TANK: 52.9nm @ 3500rpm

How much does a Stessco Catcher 449 LTD cost?
Price as tested: Around $17,499 including a Yamaha 50hp electric start, tiller-steer four-stroke longshaft (20”) outboard with power trim/tilt, single axle braked (mechanical over-ride) Stessco aluminium trailer, and 12 months QLD boat and trailer registrations.

Priced from: $16,599 - as above but with a smaller Yamaha 40hp electric start, tiller-steer four-stroke longshaft (20”) outboard with power trim/tilt.

Length overall: 4.65m
Beam: 2.1m
Depth: 1.1m
Hull weight: 260kg
Weight on trailer: Approx 600kg
Bottom & transom alloy: 3.0mm
Topsides alloy: 3.0mm
Maximum power: 50hp
Maximum transom weight: 135kg
Engine as tested: Yamaha 50hp four-stroke
Fuel capacity: Portables
Flotation standard: Basic
Maximum persons: Five

Supplied by: Whitsunday Yamaha Marine