Revival 590 Cruiser with Mercury 150hp 4-stroke

by Steve Morgan •

There’s no doubt that there’s a big market in Australia for a family-cruiser style boat. We’ve tested plenty over the years and there’s something special about being able to spend a night or two on your pride-and-joy and then trailer it home. Such experiences are usually reserved for big boats that you need to keep on permanent moorings.

Melbourne’s massive boat dealership, JV Marine, sells Melbourne-built Revival boats and we got JV’s Barney Friend to take us out in a Revival 590 Cruiser.

Recently, JV Marine became a Mercury motor dealer, so the test boat came fitted with a Dunbier trailer and a 3.0L Mercury 4-stroke outboard – a rock solid power plant that’s been tried and tested for many years now.

“Revivals are built by Sam Catanese of Stejcraft fame right here in Melbourne,” Barney said.

And you can tell that Barney loves selling these boats.

“We like to build a boat to suit a family’s requirements,” Barney said. “We take them through the whole process from ordering through to options and the build. By the end they become your friends and that’s what we like in boating.”

Indeed, the story of this Revival is its versatility. Fitted will an all-round canopy, it’s a comfortable base for a day or weekend on the water. Spend a few minutes removing the canopies and it turns into a boat that’s eminently capable of matching the rest come snapper season. There’s plenty of wet underfloor storage for your catch and options to flush mount the sounders you need to find them.

With easy through-transom access from the dock or on the water, the ‘canopy-on’ version is very family-friendly.

Supplied on a Dunbier, mechanically-braked, twin axle trailer, the Revival is towable by most family SUVs.

The combination of boarding ladder and step-through transom makes access from the water or on the ground easy.

That’s 20 degrees of transom deadrise to help smooth the ride on a rough trip home.

Custom cut and routed deck coverings look great and are easily cleaned.

There’s a huge wet storage area underfloor that can hold your catch or the swimming gear. It works for both.

Check out that dash space! There’s plenty of room to mount your preferred combination of electronics at the helm and it seems to be viewable from where you’d fish.

Lined side pockets hold a few rods and the tackle that you need to keep quickly accessible.

There’s no space wasted - the passenger has a neat little area to dry-store your essentials.

The cabin access is fairly open and it’s well appointed up front.

The seat-base mounted table is highly functional for family activities, yet stows away in seconds when you want to change the Revival into a fishing machine.

There’s not much to say about the 3.0L Mercury 4-stroke platform, apart from the fact that it’s a great match for this hull. JV staff and customers have really embraced the switch to the brand.

With 200L of fuel underfloor, the Revival doesn’t struggle for range. The 150 Mercury delivers 2.1 km/L at 3250rpm and 32km/h, suggesting a theoretical range of over 400km. Drop the hammers and the rig maxed out at 5500rpm and 72km/h – and drank more fuel – you’d get just over half as far at WOT than you’d get at the best cruising speed – something to keep in mind if you’re worried about pain at the bowser.

It also doesn’t struggle for torque, throwing up the (admittedly empty) hull easily in a few boat lengths.

Height-wise, it won’t fit into a modern 2.15m high garage, but JV can configure it to fit in one with a clearance of 2.35m.

On the water, the 20° of transom deadrise offered a great ride at all sea angles and speeds. There wasn’t a trim combination that made me feel uncomfortable, even if the hull did sound a little noisy at speed.

Supplied on a Dunbier twin axle trailer with mechanical brakes, this rig will tow well behind most modern SUVs as it weighs in at just under 2000kg.

It is, however, the price that will turn the heads of those in the market for a boat like this. As tested, the Revival with 150hp Mercury costs $73,999 – and basic packages on the same hull start from the low $60Ks. You’ll find it hard to buy cheaper in the new boat market.

SPECIFICATIONS
Length 5.9m
Length Overall 6.2m
Beam 2.34m
Deadrise  20í
Transom XL
Fuel 130L
Max hp 175hp

PERFORMANCE
RPM         Speed (km/h)        Economy (km/L)
RPM         km/h                         km/L
650……….. 5…………………………. –
1000………. 7………………………… –
3000……… 32………………………. 2.1
3500……… 42………………………. 1.9
4000……… 51………………………. 1.8
5500……….72………………………..1.2