Page 58 - BNB Fishing mag

BOATING OATING
& marine
IThe best-value bay boats in Australia
F you are looking kicks off at a scarcely sure plenty of prospec- for the perfect bay believable $11,900 for tive boaters reading this and estuary boat, the boat only, but you’re are rubbing their hands
Boat Review
by DANIEL TOMLINSON
the SCBX range of fi- not a fan of tiller steer with delight.
breglass boats from Seachange Boating could be just what you need.
el length is offered: a proven 4.85m (16’) hull available in four open boat configurations.
way and build it your- self’ philosophy.
and you’d love to have a centre console with icebox to sit on.
I recently had the op- portunity to sample all four configurations in the SCBX range around the Gold Coast Broad- water and Jumpinpin.
Built with the re- nowned nous of the Aussie Haines boat- building family, the SCBX line-up is in- tended to make high- quality fibreglass boat- ing more affordable for the masses.
Discerning readers may have put the pieces together and figured out that this is in fact the much-loved Haines Signature 485SF hull, albeit altered internally to suit Seachange Boat- ing’s ‘build it your own
That’s right, if you’re handy on the tools, you no longer need to have the boat fitted out by the factory or a dealer, you can do it yourself in the shed at home!
Simply jump into the brochure or onto the Seachange Boating web- site, head to the parts page and order a cen- tre console ($985) and 40-litre cooler ($299) to install at your leisure.
Departing Runaway Bay Marina, I was lucky enough to find myself in the rocket of the pack: the SCBX16C side console powered by an 80hp Mercury FourStroke.
Initially just one mod-
The hull is a modular design, so modifying with SCBX accesso- ries such as consoles and casting decks won’t reduce its structural integrity and won’t re- quire days of measur- ing before committing to making the final cut, as while your boat might start as a blank canvas, there is a pre- determined location for everything.
The 4.85m hull is rated from 40-80hp, so I was stoked to have the maximum number of ponies sitting on the back of the boat I was commandeering.
Say your budget is tight initially, so you start with the BA (Bare Ass) model, which
What a cool concept!
As far as tiller-steer boats go, the SCBX16T was one of the com est the author had ever ridden in.
It’s a revolutionary approach to boatbuild- ing and buying, and I’m
Once clear of the ma- rina and six-knot zone, I punched the throttle and the hull jumped straight onto the plane and into an easy 40km/h cruise heading towards Jumpinpin.
A sleek beam of 2.05m doesn’t negatively affect stability while Xdeck greatly enhances under-foot feel.
Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, August 2020
The SCBX16CS centre console has the chops to target big sh in arenas such as Hinchinbrook Island, as proven by YouTube and Instagram personality Brooksy (@frothcafe2).
www.bnb shing.com.au
* continued P59