SUMMER 2009/2010
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
Soft rider
WORDS + PHOTOS: WARREN STEPTOE
Evolution got the details right with its new 500 Sportsfisher.
It's not often I test a boat and find at the end I have nothing but praise for it. Well, it didn't quite happen with Evolution Boats' 500 Sportsfisher either?but you only have to option carpet on the deck to earn it full marks.
Far from being just another 5m fibreglass runabout, Evolution's 500 Sportsfisher in fact manages to set a standard by which 5m runabouts (and a lot of other boats, for that matter) can be judged.
The 5m hull tested here is an all-new design added to the Evolution range at the 2008 Melbourne Boat Show. While it looks pretty conventional on casual inspection, an in-depth perusal discovers lots of little things to get excited about.
SOFT AT HEART
Our test on Port Phillip Bay quickly revealed that this is an exceptionally soft-riding 5m hull with a fine set of sea manners indeed. Evolution principal Paul Junginger showed me why when we hauled the 500 Sportsfisher onto her trailer.
From the keel line to the first strake, this hull is concave, increasing the deadrise angle in this critical area where the hull cuts rough water. There's also a subtle downslope to the strakes to deflect water downwards where many hulls use more or less horizontal strake angles.
read on below advertisement
Evolution recommends no less than 75hp for this hull and while this sometimes indicates a hull that will take some keeping on the plane at low speeds, the opposite was true. Powered by a 90hp Evinrude E-Tec, it planed effortlessly at a mere 6.1 knots and 1750rpm, which bodes well for trips home on those days when the bureau gets it all wrong and the weather turns bad.
At higher speeds too I couldn't fault the handling after a vigorous workout. Cruising revs from the upper 2000s to upper 3000s produced speeds from around 15 knots up to the mid-20s and it only needed 4500rpm to reach 30 knots. It was an impressive performance all round.
FULL OF IT
Inside, the entire below-decks area of the all-GRP hull?including inside the stringers?is forcefully (closed cell) foam filled (Paul tells me at 2000psi), leaving no space for water in the event the hull is penetrated. Many other hulls use loosely fitted flotation, which allows space for bilge water. This foam fill makes the boat notably quiet over the water and it's a fair assumption it will contribute mightily towards structural integrity too.
Inside, there are rod racks along each side (in the side pockets, I fiddled a seven-foot rod in and out of one a couple of times in celebration) plus one of those neat snapper racks across the back (it's optional).
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Evolution got the details right with its new 500 Sportsfisher.
It's not often I test a boat and find at the end I have nothing but praise for it. Well, it didn't quite happen with Evolution Boats' 500 Sportsfisher either?but you only have to option carpet on the deck to earn it full marks.
Far from being just another 5m fibreglass runabout, Evolution's 500 Sportsfisher in fact manages to set a standard by which 5m runabouts (and a lot of other boats, for that matter) can be judged.
The 5m hull tested here is an all-new design added to the Evolution range at the 2008 Melbourne Boat Show. While it looks pretty conventional on casual inspection, an in-depth perusal discovers lots of little things to get excited about.
SOFT AT HEART
Our test on Port Phillip Bay quickly revealed that this is an exceptionally soft-riding 5m hull with a fine set of sea manners indeed. Evolution principal Paul Junginger showed me why when we hauled the 500 Sportsfisher onto her trailer.
From the keel line to the first strake, this hull is concave, increasing the deadrise angle in this critical area where the hull cuts rough water. There's also a subtle downslope to the strakes to deflect water downwards where many hulls use more or less horizontal strake angles.
read on below advertisement
Evolution recommends no less than 75hp for this hull and while this sometimes indicates a hull that will take some keeping on the plane at low speeds, the opposite was true. Powered by a 90hp Evinrude E-Tec, it planed effortlessly at a mere 6.1 knots and 1750rpm, which bodes well for trips home on those days when the bureau gets it all wrong and the weather turns bad.
At higher speeds too I couldn't fault the handling after a vigorous workout. Cruising revs from the upper 2000s to upper 3000s produced speeds from around 15 knots up to the mid-20s and it only needed 4500rpm to reach 30 knots. It was an impressive performance all round.
FULL OF IT
Inside, the entire below-decks area of the all-GRP hull?including inside the stringers?is forcefully (closed cell) foam filled (Paul tells me at 2000psi), leaving no space for water in the event the hull is penetrated. Many other hulls use loosely fitted flotation, which allows space for bilge water. This foam fill makes the boat notably quiet over the water and it's a fair assumption it will contribute mightily towards structural integrity too.
Inside, there are rod racks along each side (in the side pockets, I fiddled a seven-foot rod in and out of one a couple of times in celebration) plus one of those neat snapper racks across the back (it's optional).
next page »
« go back
