by Steve Morgan •
What do you get when you cross arguably Australia’s most popular mid-range outboard with an aluminium hull configuration that’s favoured by recreational anglers Australia over? You get the Stessco Breezaway 480 powered by Yamaha’s sensational F70 outboard.
Cheap to buy, cheap to maintain and cheap to run, runabouts in this size class are a favourite of anyone who likes to drop the anchor, set a couple of fresh baits, relax and wait for the fish to find you. Stessco’s Breezaway does all of this in comfort and style.
We took the 480 out on the water on Queensland’s Jumpinpin recently and you can watch the boat test video by scanning the QR code on this page or by jumping on the FishingMonthly YouTube channel.
Starting at the transom, we cornered Yamaha’s Will Lee to explain just why the F70 was one of the most popular Yamahas on the market.
“The F70 is the lightest 70hp outboard in its class – that’s two-stroke or four-stroke,” Will said, “and the reason that they’re so light is the single overhead camshaft design. With four cylinders and four valves per cylinder, the F70 gives awesome power-to-weight that’s applicable across a whole range of popular hulls.”
And we can’t argue the point. The F70 is a very common and popular motor. With the Stessco carrying a duckboard and fold down aluminium steps, getting into and out of the boat is easy for the whole family. The hull draws so little water that you can just swing the transom around to the beach and load up that way.
The test package had an optional bait board and bimini top, which helped set it up nearly perfectly for whiting fishing. Anchored in the channel and with a couple of rods hanging over the transom with live bloodworms – who can see themselves in this picture?
The front seats swivel around to watch the rods, you sit in the shade of the bimini and there’s a mile of cockpit space to work in. You just need to convince your spouse that it really is their job to pull up the anchor when you’re moving spots. And that you need to move, because you had no bites in the last 15 minutes.
The bimini top on the test boat is an optional extra, but I’d argue that it’s virtually a mandatory option no matter where you are in Australia.
“The Breezaway is a boat that we sell to anglers both downsizing their bigger boats or upsizing from a plain tinnie,” said Russel Tippet, Stessco Sales Manager.
Indeed, with its ease of use and user-friendliness for anglers that like to slow the pace down a little, it should be on your shopping list when you’re after a craft of this ilk. Packages start at around $30,000 – the test boat weighed in at $31,500. You can get more information from www.stessco.com.au, or like Stessco on Facebook.
• Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.
Specifications
Length: 5.18m
Beam: 2.18m
Depth: 1.16m
Bottom: 3mm
Sides :3mm
Max hp: 80
Capacity: Five persons
Hull weight: 480kg
Fuel: 70L
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