by Bob Thornton •
Stessco has always produced fantastic boat/motor/trailer packages, and being an Australian boat builder, they cater very well to Australian conditions and lifestyles.
While they have always built great hulls for specific purposes, some buyers just want something that will get them out on the water for a day of fishing, skiing, or just relaxing with friends and family! Perfect for this caper is the runabout style hull, of which Stessco produce many. Boaters will be pleased to know that Stessco offer not one but a range of packages for this category of buyer.
This time we will be focussing on the Breezaway 460, with the tested model sporting a Yamaha F70hp at the transom. The Breezaway 460 is part of a family of versatile runabouts, which also includes the 440 and 480. Adrian Beil joined the Fishing Monthly team to take the middle child of this family for a spin.
ON THE TRAILER
The tested Breezaway came to the ramp on a Stessco trailer OEM built by Dunbier, which comes in either a galvanised or aluminium option. The Breezaway, being part of Stessco’s premium range, when housed on one of these trailers comes with a warranty of five years, as opposed to 24 months when not on a Stessco trailer.
Additionally, being a single axle trailer, it makes the whole rig very manoeuvrable not only when towing, but also in the garage with only one person pushing or pulling. There’s no doubt that a boat will have a longer life when put on a purpose-built trailer, and not just any old trailer from a yard somewhere.
For extra peace of mind, the Yamaha F70hp comes with a 4-year warranty.
LAUNCHING
Launching couldn’t be any easier with the Breezaway, with the boat quietly sliding off the composite bunk/roller trailer with ease, with retrieval being just trouble free. Even in windy conditions, launching this boat by yourself would be easily achievable if you were on your own or with people less experienced in boating.
Pulling the loaded trailer back out of the water can be done with a standard family sedan or small 4WD, with no specialised towing vehicle needed.
ON THE WATER
The Breezaway 460 has been designed with one goal in mind, and that is to make it easy to operate, and Stessco achieves this by making everything as open and accessible as possible.
The transom is an open design, meaning there’s ready access to the battery, fuel filter and splash well, which at the same time are well housed and safe from the weather. A small transom door is perfect for accessing the boat from the rear, which is also possible from the bank, as this range of runabouts draws so little water. Not only was this boat easy to pull into the shallow water transom first – we still had to stop it from drifting away! With versatility being the middle name of this boat, it also has a simple mount above the splash well that takes a ski pole or bait board, which Stessco can provide.
The working space behind the cockpit is as open as possible, with only one underdeck storage hatch, which would make an ideal kill tank. There is also storage under both gunwales to stow any small or long items out of harm’s way. This working space is extremely versatile, and perfect for taking extra people, ski tubes, fishing tackle or camping gear.
Up toward the cockpit, the new Stessco bolster-style seats are super comfortable, even with the deteriorating conditions in South East Queensland’s Pumicestone Passage, and swivel easily. There’s no rocking or wobbling, even when punching through a bit of chop, and the seats are well-padded for comfort on those longer boating trips.
The windscreen provided protection from any splash that made it over the bow, and featured a design that allows quick and safe access to the anchor well. Under the front deck is enough room to put any larger items that need to be kept dry, such as camping gear. A lockable glove box is another handy feature not often seen in boats of this size.
The dash layout is very simple and easy to navigate, with a flush mounted sounder diminishing the need to fit and re-fit a unit every time you launch the boat, and gadgets and switches all within flicking distance of the steering wheel.
POWER
The test boat was fitted with a Yamaha F70hp – the maximum horsepower for this craft – and it delivered fantastic fuel economy and a top speed of 57km/h in the choppy conditions. Amazingly, there wasn’t a lot of difference between the most economic cruising speed at 43km/h (4500rpm), which delivered 3.1km/L, and the top speed of 57km/h (WOT), which delivered only slightly less, at 2.6km/L.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This boat, if fitted out correctly, could head offshore, however there are more suitable boats in the Stessco range for regular offshore work. Where the 460 really excels is in the bays, estuaries and lakes with general boating, skiing, camping and fishing in mind. This rig is absolutely perfect for someone who wants maximum usage out of a boat and doesn’t want to have to rob a bank to afford it.
As tested, this rig would come home for around the low to mid $30,000s, with different outboards and optional additions affecting this price.
If you’d like to check out this boat or any others in the Stessco range, you can jump online and check them out on Instagram and Facebook at ‘Stessco’, or visit their website at www.stessco.com.au.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length (mm) – 5054
Beam (mm) – 2100
Depth (mm) – 1150
Bottom sides (mm) – 3
Top sides (mm) – 3
Max. hp – 70
Max. transom weight – 175
Transom height – 20”
Max no. people – 5
Base boat hull weight (kg) –390
PERFORMANCE
RPM……………. km/L ……………………. km/h
Idle…………………. 6.3………………………….. 3
1000……………….. 6.1………………………….. 4
1500……………….. 4.1………………………….. 8
2000……………….. 2.8………………………….. 9
2500……………….. 2.3…………………………. 11
3000……………….. 2.6…………………………. 17
3500……………….. 2.9…………………………. 27
4000……………….. 2.9…………………………. 33
4500……………….. 3.1…………………………. 43
5000……………….. 2.9…………………………. 48
5500……………….. 2.6…………………………. 55
WOT……………….. 2.6…………………………. 57
