Stacer Nomad Ranger 4.89 with all the trimmings

by Steve Morgan •

Melbourne Marine Centre has really found its feet when it comes to being a marine dealer. We’ve done plenty of boat tests for one of Melbourne’s newest boating establishments, including Patrick Dangerfield’s Verado-powered Northbank, Brian Sanders’ 750 Hard Top and some great entry-level boats.

You know that they’re really getting into the swing of it when they turn up to a test with a boat that’s pimped to within an inch of its life. That’s exactly what happened when Dealer Principal, Andrew Stephen, rocked up to the Patto River ramp with a big smile on his face and this little pocket rocket swinging off the back of the work ute.

An Aussie-built (at Telwater on Queensland’s Gold Coast) plate boat that normally retails in the mid $30K range, the Melbourne Marine Centre team decided to put together the ultimate piece of kit that could fill any boat fishing role you liked in your home state.

Thanks to the Garmin being a hub for the GPS, sounder and Fusion and the Mercury Vessel View displaying all of the engine data, the helm layout is clean and simple.

Simple storage space is very import in any boat to put all of those items you need to get your hands on quickly.

The beauty of any centre console is the ability to fish all around the boat. The 489 is a perfect example of this.

On the test day, the Nomad ate up the small chop with a maximum speed of 65km/h and an optimum fuel efficiency of 2.5km/L of fuel burned.

Thanks to the Garmin being a hub for the GPS, sounder and Fusion and the Mercury Vessel View displaying all of the engine data, the helm layout is clean and simple.

You don’t see a butcher buying meat, and you should see a boat dealer’s own demo boat with all of the bells and whistles. Andrew Stephen didn’t disappoint in this regard.

Quiet at idle, the Mercury gives well over 150km of range with the 77L of on-board fuel.

The 4-bladed Spitfire prop and 90HP 2.1L Mercury jump the Stacer up and out of the hole. The boat and motor paint schemes also complement each other nicely.

That’s a lot of accessories on the front deck, but MMC have shoehorned them in.

The single axled rig is towable by a vide variety of vehicles and as a bonus, they’re easy to manoeuver in the garage or in confined spaces.

Between the outboard and the scupper outlet are some custom LED lights. You can never have too much bling and squid don’t bedazzle themselves.

There’s a casting deck up front that sits higher than the cockpit floor but lower than a specialist lurecasting boat deck – ideal for using the electric motor in rougher seas like in Port Phillip Bay.

With four basic rod holders in the transom, you can expand the capacity with three-way inserts.

With Telwater’s Catch and Release bracket, it’s easy for the owner to single-handedly launch and retrieve the Nomad.

From southern bluefin on a nice day through to Mallacoota bream or Murray River cod, there’s not many situations where this boat would look out of place. Here’s why; created with a full checkerplate, self-draining deck, the Nomad is supplied on an alloy I-beam trailer, also made by Stacer. The Catch and Release hitch on the winch post easily allows one-up launch and retrieval. Mechanical override brakes help you stop on the road.

From the bow, there’s a combination of Lone Star anchor winch and Mud Magnet anchor up front, right next to the MotorGuide Xi5 electric motor, for finesse control of the boat and ‘virtual’ anchoring. Rarely have we seen such a combination, yet it seems to work well on the water.

The deck is 100% self-draining, unpainted checkerplate, which could well do with a coat of paint to soften the glare in more tropical climates. As is, it’s a workhorse that’s easy to clean and as tough as nails. The centre console is the hub of operations, with a Garmin 7408XSV the heart of all sounding/GPS and Fusion functions (with a Fusion Link). A 4” Mercury VesselView displays all of the engine telemetry from the 2.1L 90hp workhorse on the back.

“The 2.1L Mercury has been an awesome motor for us,” said Andrew, “they’re trouble-free, look good and give great economy.”

Melbourne Marine has also added some of their own customisation in the form of a couple of internal, transom mounted live bait tanks. Fitted with clear front panels, they’re a practical and good looking addition. On the outside of the transom, they’ve added some neat LEDs for extra bling and squid attracting ability.

Overall, it’s a rugged, good looking rig that ate up the 5-10knots of breeze on the test day. Make sure that you watch the boat test video on your smartphone by scanning the QR code on this page, or check out the FishingMonthly YouTube channel for all of out digital video content.

As tested, the pimped Stacer came in at $56,060, but basic packages start from mid thirties. For more information about the boat, you can visit Melbourne Marine Centre or visit them online at www.melbournemarine.com.au.

• 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.

Performance
RPM Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L)
750 3 2.0
1000 7 2.3
2000 11 1.5
3000 29 2.4
4000 43 2.5
5000 59 1.9
5500 65 1.9
• fitted with a 17” Spitfire 4-blade propeller.

Specifications
Length 5.16m
Beam 2.22m
Length on trailer 6.60m
Capacity 5 persons
Fuel 77L
Max hp 90
Hull weight 490kg
Bottom sheet 4mm
Side Sheet 2.5mm