Stessco Sunseeker 620 with Yamaha F150hp

• by Steve Morgan

Stessco’s 2018 Media Event on the Noosa River was held in between rainsqualls. As it happened, those were ideal conditions in which to test out a cabin boat. After all, that’s exactly what cabin boats offer – a space out of the weather, be it sun or rain, and a massive platform to fish with several of your mates.

And I’ll be upfront here – one of the most attractive parts of this Stessco/Yamaha package is the price. These Sunseeker packages start from the mid $50K. As tested, this unit priced up at around $65,000. You get a lot of boat for your bucks.

Stesscos are made in Brisbane and have only recently outsourced their trailer supply out of their factory. The 620 is a new release and the biggest model in the Sunseeker range (the others are 490, 520, 550 and 580). The hull is aluminium bottom and sides with a fibreglass cabin bolted on top to go with the fibreglass hard top. It gives the hull a smooth look up top but the resilience and light weight of a tinnie down below.

The test boat was headed to Whitsunday Marine for a northern customer, so it was ordered with the new fibreglass hard top option to keep the tropical sun out, but this iteration of the Sunseeker hull will be suitable for all Australian environments from Port Phillip Bay through to the Great Barrier Reef.

Powered by Yamaha’s bulletproof F150 4-stroke outboard, the Sunseeker delivered remarkably good fuel economy. At best cruising speed (3500rpm) it yielded just under 2km/L burned. With a 145L fuel tank, this gives a theoretical range of over 250km – plenty for any day trips you’ll do.

Drop the hammers and you’ll get over 70km/h, but at the expense of economy. It’ll cost you nearly twice as much at the pump to keep this rig at wide-open throttle all day. Your choice.

Stessco Standard structural warranty on their premium boats is 2 years, if it is purchased on a Stessco trailer or Stessco trailer by Dunbier, then their structural warranty is increased to 5 years/60 months.

With a beam of 2.48m, the Sunseeker provides a massive platform for virtually any on-water activity.

The test day on the Noosa River was both raining and hot – standard Queensland weather in autumn.

Under the hard top, the layout is pretty simple with lots of cockpit room to fish you and several of your mates.

With a fold-down boarding ladder that gets you on the duckboard, it’s easy to get in when the boat is parked stern-on to the shore. The transom door also helps.

A pair of comfortable seats are mounted on bases that have some clever storage underneath. The helm is simple and made of moulded fibreglass.

Now there’s some cockpit space to work with.

This underfloor kill tank will hold plenty of fish on ice until you can get back to fillet them.

A freshwater deck wash is a real luxury and rare in a boat in this price range.

It doesn’t need to be tackle stored in here. Anything that doesn’t like salt spray will be happier in here than in the side pockets.

Pop up through here from the cabin to stow and deploy the anchor. Unlike Victorians, Queenslanders haven’t really discovered anchor winches– yet.

There’s no denying that the bait station is sturdy. This one holds a couple of rods as well.

Yamaha’s F150 is an ideal match for this rig and delivers nearly 2km/L at optimum cruising speeds. Theoretical range is over 250km on the standard 145L tank.

If you’re a side-pocket lover, the Stessco isn’t for you. There are a couple of small spaces to store your frequently used gear.

Preparing to disembark, the hull draws very little water at rest and allows you to get up close and personal with the shore.

“We’re very happy with the way we build our packages, so five years of warranty isn’t a worry for us,” said Stessco’s Adrian Beil. Indeed, if you shop around, you’ll find very few rigs with that after-sales coverage. Combine that with Yamaha’s four-year warranty and there’s plenty of trouble-free boating ahead for the owners of this package.

We were pretty impressed with the massive cockpit area in this boat, the high cabin and the dimensions of the fibreglass hard top. The new windscreen design of the modern Sunseekers is also on point.

The hard top does need a little extra support and the guys in the factory are already on it.

If you want to see this rig in action, check out the video review of this boat by scanning the QR code hereby or by searching for it on the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel. Subscribe while you’re there for notifications about all of our video boat and tackle tests.

For more information, check out www.stessco.com.au or email sales@stessco.com.au.

PERFORMANCE

RPM        Speed (km/h)       Economy (km/L)
1000……………….. 7.2…………………… 2.3
2000……………… 12.0…………………… 1.6
3000……………… 26.4…………………… 1.8
3500……………… 36.6…………………… 1.9
4000……………… 44.2…………………… 1.8
5000……………… 57.8…………………… 1.5
6000……………… 71.5…………………… 1.1

SPECIFICATIONS
Length overall – 6.55m
Beam – 2.48m
Depth – 1.48m
Hull weight – 750kg
Weight (on trailer) – 1550kg
Bottom – 4mm
Sides – 4mm
Maximum hp – 175
Fuel capacity – 145L
Capacity – Six persons