Procraft 5.8 well priced for punters

IF you’re in the market for a tough Australian designed and built boat, I’d suggest checking out the new range from Procraft.
Procraft, while still a relative new company, currently manufactures aluminium and fibreglass boats with models to suit most family’s fishing needs and even more importantly their budget.
With the company’s philosophy of ‘performance and quality at an affordable price’ you will find a variety of boats well suited to a wide range of people.

I recently took a couple of the larger fibreglass models for a run on the Broadwater and this review will focus on the Procraft 5.8 Coastal. While the word affordable forms part of the Procraft tag line, that does not mean you get the bottom end of the range for your boating package. In fact, the test boat was fitted with an 115hp 4-stroke Suzuki which is included in the standard base package and comes in just under $50,000.

This is pretty good value for money, especially when the package includes a Dunbier trailer and a quality fibreglass boat measuring 6.2m overall. Also included in this base price is a whole list of extras, too many to itemise in this article, so the best bet would be to contact one of the crew at Coastal Powerboats for the full details.

However, I will touch on a few of the inclusions such as foam-filled under-floor floatation, hydraulic steering, bimini, upholstered seats, bunk cushions, marine radio, marine battery, LED navigation lights, bait tank, boarding ladder and the list goes on. It is evident from the inclusions that Procraft has decided to have these boats totally ready to hit the water.

All you need to do is select the type of sounder or GPS you want (which are not included in the price) and you’re ready to head offshore fishing or cruising around the coastal waterways.
The test boat was fitted with a Lowrance Elite 7HDI sounder, clears, rocket launcher and some colour on the sides which did bump up the price to $52,850, but is still good value for money in anyone’s language.

If you intend to use as a fishing vessel, I’d also option the boat up with a bait board and deck wash.

So how did the Procraft 5.8 Coastal perform?
As expected the 115hp Suzuki had plenty of power to easily get the 5.8 up and moving. But I was reasonably surprised at how level the boat remained during this process.

Throughout pretty much the entire rev range the boat remained very level, giving good vision and control at all times. Even at 3500 revs the boat was already doing 35km/h and was well and truly up and planing. Settling in at 4000rpm and half trim saw the 5.8 Coastal hit 45km/h. Top speed was around 66km/h at 6000rpm.

Not that you are going to drive everywhere at full noise, but you do need to test the boat throughout the whole rev range to ensure it is propped correctly, which this vessel was.

Unfortunately (for a boat test and not a day’s fishing) the weather was perfect and the water was like glass but there were no rods on board – again. But on Gold Coast waterways there is usually the odd larger vessel driving around making waves and this day was no exception, so I did get to play in the wash of some bigger boats.
By play I mean running straight into the waves and doing a series of turns over them.