Horizon 515 Northerner with Yamaha F115hp

• by Wayne Kampe

If there’s a better place in South East Queensland to review a boat than the Southport Broadwater, I’m yet to find it. The launching is easy thanks to several sheltered ramps, the scenery is quite picture perfect, and there are a variety of conditions ranging from the near calm of the Broadwater to the open ocean just through the Seaway entrance to test a craft’s mettle.

AN ENTIRELY NEW BOAT
I’m grateful for Scott James of Horizon Boats for arranging my time with his new 515 Northerner and he pointed out that this year there’s an entirely new craft in the Northerner range with 4mm bottom sheets, 3mm side sheets, a new transom and a massive front storage area, just to name some of the additional features.

The entire Northerner range – craft from 4.15-5.40m – all focus on fishability and a large degree of user-friendliness that carries over to laidback family fun days as well as serious ‘set the alarm for 4am’ angling pursuits.

The new Horizon 515 Northerner combined virtually everything that makes alloy mid-sized craft so popular. It’s strongly built and offers a compact, easily towable size involving versatility in both storage and mobility while the economical side console layout always provides as much work room as possible for a given size of craft. Two anglers fishing up front and another two aft would be entirely feasible in quiet conditions.

The rail and windscreen equipped console was a lesson in practicality as it offered mid-shelf storage, foot room within the base plus a large area up top to set up even a very large sounder as well as multi-function gauges for the Yamaha 115 on the stylish new Horizon Fast Back Transom, which is 700mm high – same as the sides. Offshore runs on good days – why not?

Bolster-style console seating is a bonus for the skipper and mate, but another additional two seating positions provide options with balance and fishing space.

The 515 Northerner’s excellent hull design ensures there’s minimal lean in a hard turn to port.

The Northerner’s under floor storage is complemented by the big catch well in the cockpit area.

A carpeted cockpit aft offers plenty of room for a couple of anglers to work in comfort.

Bolster seating of this quality is a rare feature in a mid sized sports boat and certainly represents a bonus to skipper and mate.

Seeing is believing; there’s a 110L ice box set under the northerner’s front deck area.

This image gives a complete look at the easy, uncomplicated work area of the Northerner. Note the close spaced side ribs for extra rigidity, the additional seat spigots to provide flexibility in seating.

Under the Northerner’s 40cm high front casting platform there’s a generous hatch which conceals a 110L ice box.

A boat with off shore capability deserves a large anchor well so just check out the size of the 115 Northerner’s!

A dedicated fishing craft needs a live well and the Northerner’s is a beauty at 75L capacity .

A full height transom allows the 515 Northerner’s lucky owner to enjoy a huge range of fishing activities, all enhanced by a wide work area.

The Northerner’s name is well recognized but the 515’s eye catching design represents an entirely new boat.

The Northerner’s freeboard certainly shines through in this image, as does the fact there’s room for additional anglers to work as well.

At 1.8L capacity the 115 Yamaha certainly made easy work of powering the solid Northerner’s hull.

Up front an elevated deck sat watch over a massive hatch, concealing a 110L ice box, with adjoining side storage compartments also handy. Not to be overlooked, of course, was the big under-floor storage aft, which doubled as a catch well. All the floor areas were carpeted, naturally, and an electric motor pad and cockpit side pockets completed the picture.

Decent freeboard is a big feature of the Northerner and it’s certainly a feature that adds to overall versatility. Confidence in sea conditions is a great asset in any craft and the easy, soft ride of the 515 Northerner – whether in the calm of the Broadwater or out towards the end of the Seaway walls – was a bonus.

SMOOTH YAMAHA 115
In my view the 115hp Yamaha 4-stroke on the transom certainly contributed a lot to that particular boating experience. Whisper-quiet at idle, the 1.8L engine easily shot the rig onto the plane at 15.6km/h (2700rpm) and ran her up to almost 62.5km/h at full throttle. Top speed doesn’t tell the whole story; at one point we had five folk (maximum) aboard her yet the 515 cruised smoothly at 4800rpm/47.3km/h.

In a nutshell, the 515 Northerner is a very competent fishing package and combines plenty of work area, excellent storage, comfortable seating and great sea keeping and handling. Best of all was an overall feeling of comfort while underway or walking around the hull to note its steady attitude in the water.

If you’d like to check out the this boat or the others in the range, visit www.horizonboats.com.au, or call into Chelsea Yamaha, 13 Ashley Park Drive, Chelsea heights. You can also call them on (03) 9772 1212.

PERFORMANCE
Rpm         Speed (km/h)       Economy (L/h)
1000…………………. 7.4……………………. 2.4
1500……………….. 10.6……………………. 3.5
2000……………….. 11.8……………………. 5.6
3000……………….. 36.2……………………. 9.1
4000……………….. 41.3……………………. 7.0
5000……………….. 53.3……………………. 8.6
WOT…………………62.5…………………….40.1

SPECIFICATIONS
Hull length – 5.15m
Beam – 2.40m
Depth – 1.23m
Bottom – 4mm
Sides – 3mm
Weight hull – 480kg
Min hp – 90hp
Max hp – 115hp
Hole Shot – 4.80 seconds
Number of people – Five