Page 59 - BNB Fishing mag

BOATING OATING
& marine
As a budget bay boat, it doesn’t get much better than this! Choosing the cheapest model doesn’t mean a lower-performing boat, with the same basic hull in place across the range.
With the maximum 80hp on the back, the side console SCBX hull ew across the water, feeling properly ighty at speed. The author wouldn’t have it any other way.
The best-value bay boats in Australia
* from P58
As is common in the
versation while travel- ling at 40-50km/h with- out raising our voices too much.
SCBX16T tiller steer might seem odd for a see what they mean,
Broadwater, plenty of pleasure cruisers were motoring about, along with the rest of our SCBX posse and two much larger Haines Group boats including the box-fresh Signa- ture 640F, which you can read about on Page 59.
rigged with a Mercury 60hp FourStroke.
fishing boat, but it’s a necessary omission to work with the modu- lar and modifiable hull design.
with the brand offering everything from bean bags to wheel clamps, with the range set to expand continuously.
Despite the high level of on-water traffic and the relatively low sides of the SCBX hull, it was easy to keep my passenger, The Haines Group’s wonderful na- tional marketing man- ager Paula, and myself completely dry.
Pinning the throt- tle saw us scooting out to about an indicated 65km/h, though it felt quicker than that.
Looking closely at the images, you may notice the gunwales are devoid of rod holders, which
The team was quick to stress Seachange Boat- ing isn’t just a boat- building company, and if you visit seachange- boating.com.au you’ll
For more information and to start the process of ordering the best- value bay boat on offer right now, head straight to seachangeboating. com.au
The quiet ride is thanks in part to the hull’s full flat floor and of course its fibreglass construction, as you don’t get that ‘tinnie slap’ often associated with aluminium boats.
Though it displayed a slightly more ‘nose-up’ attitude than the side console, it remained a breeze to handle, and while it certainly wasn’t slow with the 60hp, this 16’ hull in any configu- ration can absolutely benefit from the extra herbs and spices pro- vided by the maximum horsepower.
Instead, you can delve into the SCBX parts list and pick out a few stain- less-steel clamp-on rod holders to mount to the four standard stainless steel rails on the gun- wales of every hull.
It’s all about the out- doors lifestyle and I love it, with many of the products proudly Aussie made.
At cruise speed the SCBX16C handled like it was on rails, with no hint of cavitation and a beautifully flat and controlled cornering at- titude.
Isn’t it time you had a Seachange?
I found the pedestal seat plenty comfort- able and the rearward seating position meant hopping over chop and didn’t result in bums off seats and uncom- fortable landings.
Pulling up near Jump- inpin, our group mem- bers had the opportuni- ty to try all four SCBX boats and I found my- self equally impressed by each model.
And despite the lack of any real windscreen or cabin (just a wind deflector), Paula and I were able to hold a con- www.bnb shing.com.au
After an unreal lunch at Tipplers Licensed Café, we headed back to Runaway Bay and this time I piloted the
The affectionally named Bare Ass model was set up, including a motor from Gumtree (that actually went pretty hard), to represent a boating package ready to hit the water for under $15,000.
Bush ’n Beach Fishing, August 2020 – Page 59