Sea Jay 453 Territory with 70hp Suzuki 4-stroke

Believe it or not, I’m pretty sure that this is the first Suzuki-powered Sea Jay boat that we’ve tested – in modern history, at least. We heard that Mak Marine in Gateshead, NSW (near Newcastle) has put together a demo boat – the 453 Territory powered by a 70hp Suzuki 4-stroke and we thought it’d be a popular boat to take for a run.

The Territory is a reasonably new model in the Sea Jay range which caters for angler who wants a large casting deck and a console located further back in the boat. Coupled with a full height transom, the Territory has found admirers all over the country and not just in the Northern Territory.

This Sea Jay 453 Territory is a shop demo boat for Mak Marine in Gateshead, NSW. It’s a basic boat/motor/trailer setup that’s ready for your choice of electronics.

The heavy duty boarding ladder is standard with the UE2 transom design.

The Territory concept is simple - big floors and big deck with a variety of seat mounting points.

This demo model is fitted with a livewell under the front deck.

Economy of the admittedly light demo was fantastic. Optimum cruising speed of 35km/h at 3,500 rpm yielded 4.7km per litre of fuel.

There’s a small hatch yo access the bilge area for cleaning and repairs.

Factory seats are plush with a solid spigot base.

You can also store a few rods horizontally in these gunwale mounted racks.

The electric motor mounting plate is standard in the basic hull build.

The bait board is basic, but it does have four rod holders to keep your rigged gear up and out of the way.

The 70hp 4-stroke Suzuki is the maximum power rated for this rig.

Sea Jay console don’t allow for flush mounting of electronics - rather a bracket space behind the windscreen.

Looking for’ard you can see the space available in the 453.

The Suzuki was spinning a 19”, 3-blade aluminium prop, which is factory standard issue.

The outboard is a little offset behind the transom line but it’s not really on a pod. The full height transom will give peace-of-mind to those venturing into rougher waters with this rig.

This Territory sports thee UE2 transom, which is standard at full height and includes duckboards and a heavy duty boarding ladder and live bait tank. This will give comfort to those venturing offshore on a calm day in this rig.

The motor is a little set back from the transom itself but it’s not a standard pod-length back.

Economy of the demo boat was borderline ridiculous. At the most economical speed of 35km/h at 3,500rpm, the Suzuki delivered 4.7km per litre burned. With a 70L underfloor fuel tank, that gives the boat a theoretical range of over 300km!

Granted, the test rig wasn’t fitted with an electric motor or battery. Drop a 30kg battery and the same weight of electric motor on the bow and the economy will undoubtedly reduce. Still, with unleaded approaching $2 per litre at the time of testing, it’d be handy to know that it’s costing you less than 50c per kilometre to move around.

This was evident when dropping the throttle on this boat. It seemed a little light in the bow, but add the weight up there and it’d level out nicely.

Large front casting decks mean another thing – plenty of space underneath for storage. The demo boat has a livewell fitted under here, but there’s still more room down there to accommodate plenty of gear and the trolling motor battery.

The helm and side console is also purposely basic. There’s a small pocket to keep your wallet, phone and keys in and out of harm’s way, but other than that, it’s up to new owner of this rig to pick and bracket mount electronics on top of the console.

Mak Marine’s Brendan Macdonald explained.

“There’s been quite a wait on made-to-order rigs since the start of COVID, but our demo is ready to go to a new home – just pick out your electronics and we can fit it all. It means you can have a boat next week, rather than in several months time.”

As tested, the rig priced out at $44,600 on the water and ready to go. You can get more information by visiting www.makmarine.com.au or from the Sea Jay website. Also, you can scan the QR code hereby to see the boat in action by watching the video boat test on our YouTube channel.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Length 4.90m
Beam 2.12m
Depth 1.2m
Bottom 3mm
Sides 3mm
Ribs 10
Capacity 5 persons
Hull weight 442kg
Max HP 70

PERFORMANCE:
RPM Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L)
700 3 5.3
1000 5 3.6
2000 9 3.0
3000 25 3.7
3500 35 4.7
4000 39 4.3
4500 46 4.0
5000 53 3.8
6000 63 2.6
spinning a 19” aluminium 3-blade propeller