Northbank 750HT with twin Mercury 225hp Verado

by Steve Morgan •

Every so often at Fishing Monthly we get to test a rig that gets the heart racing. We knew that when Brian Sanders arrived at the Patto River Boat Ramp that we were going to have one of those days.

With a freshly wrapped and spanking new Northbank 750HT (hard top) powered by not one, but two 225hp supercharged Mercury Verados, the fishing lust quickly subsided and was replaced by the need for speed.

This boat offers the best of both worlds – a massive fishing platform and the power to propel it to speeds that get the heart racing.

Usually, a calm-ish day on Port Phillip Bay has us lamenting the lack of waves to test the true rough water abilities of a boat, but the test day had us smiling, because it was calm enough to let us run this rig at wide open throttle. And run it did.

You’ll never miss this rig when it’s out fishing or filming. The Northbank 750HT with twin 225hp Mercury Verados delivered by Melbourne Marine Centre is a truly impressive rig.

All test days are a compromise. There wasn’t enough chop to truly test the rough water capabilities of the Northbank, but we could really get a feel for the top end. I’m glad we weren’t paying the fuel bill.

Rigged with a full arsenal of rods, the Northbank turns heads wherever it goes.

What’s better than a Mercury Verado? A pair of 2.6L supercharged Verados ready to rumble.

The whole point of a hard-top is that the driver and crew can travel in a dry and comfortable environment. Northbank’s 750HT delivers this in spades.

This is what a happy captain looks like. Brian was truly impressed by the level of detail that Melbourne Marine Centre achieved in their assembly of this rig.

The style-sided gunwale door allows for easy entry of the boat while on the water and at the dock. I’ve seen unhinged versions of this in other boats and we definitely prefer the hinged iteration.

The style-sided gunwale door allows for easy entry of the boat while on the water and at the dock. I’ve seen unhinged versions of this in other boats and we definitely prefer the hinged iteration.

Often forgotten, the twin axles Transtyle trailer is a vital ingredient in this rig, especially when travelling long distances.

There’s a pair of 7412 Garmins – one flush mounted in the helm and another on a bracket. Rigged to display radar, autopilot, chart plotter and fish finder information, they combine with the Mercury Vessel View to give the driver all the information needed at your fingertips.

There’s a pair of 7412 Garmins – one flush mounted in the helm and another on a bracket. Rigged to display radar, autopilot, chart plotter and fish finder information, they combine with the Mercury Vessel View to give the driver all the information needed at your fingertips.

Rigging the radios above the windscreen is a standard practise in most hard-top boats nowadays.

An auto catch system lets you launch and retrieve this rig single-handedly. That’s a lot of boat to wrangle one handed, so setup is important.

This deck wash helps keep the work and filming area all neat and tidy.

A clean transom lets Brian get on with what he does best – catching fish.

There’s plenty of room in the cabin to store gear, sleep and just take five from the elements.

You don’t see a butcher buying meat and you don’t see a fishing guru with clapped out, old fishing gear!

Reaching 87km/h with both Verados singing at 6400rpm, The 750HT isn’t for the faint-hearted when it comes to fuel consumption. At wide open throttle, the Northbank delivered a scary 450m/L of fuel burned!

Twin rigs like this really make the functionality of Mercury’s Vessel View shine, with metrics from both outboards easily viewable from the helm. The digital throttle and shift combined with the native power steering of the Verado L6 platform make it easy for anyone to drive. Fishing Monthly’s partner Matthew Drinkall’s teenage nephew, Zac, grinned from ear to gear when he was let loose at the helm. That’s how easy it is to drive.

Naturally, back at cruising speeds, the economy improved markedly, with 3000rpm over doubling the economy and although 1km/L isn’t cheap to run, it’s not bad considering the size and capability of this rig.

When it comes to fit-out, the team at Melbourne Marine Centre worked overtime to get all of the extras rigged and ready for action. A pair of Garmin 7412s are the base for the autopilot, chartplotter, fish finder and radar while a Narva spotlight is very handy for night time sojourns.

Of course, nobody’s going to anchor this big rig manually, so a Lone Star Marine Elite (brushless) winch does all the heavy lifting up front. It’s hard to give the Northbank’s massive cockpit due credit in the pages of this magazine – check out the video review of this boat by scanning the QR code hereby or searching for this boat on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel.

Also impressive is the style-side gunwale door that allows easy egress while diving and landing big fish.

Not to be forgotten is the aluminium I-beam Transtyle twin axle trailer under the rig – this is particularly important when travelling long distances.

There’s not much to fault in this rig, apart from the price tag. As tested, Brian’s boat came in at $217,000. If you wanted a base model with a single 300hp Verado, you’ll need $165,000 to get you started. Call Andrew and the staff at Melbourne Marine Centre for more information.

Specifications
Length: 7.37m
Beam: 2.45m
Height on trailer: 3.20m
Length on trailer: 8.7m
Capacity: 8 persons
Max hp: 400
Hull weight: 1,650kg
Fuel capacity: 350L
Deadrise: 21°
Freeboard: 100cm

Performance
RPM Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L)
Idle 5 1.3
1000 9 1.1
2000 16 0.8
3000 36 1.0
4000 52 0.8
5000 69 0.75
6000 80 0.6
6400 87 0.45