Aquamaster 490 Centre Console with Suzuki 70hp

by Steve Morgan •

Most people I know go through boating phases. We graduate from being a bank angler to a tinny and then to bigger and bigger boats. We then tend to downsize when we get older. Aquamaster’s 490 Centre Console is an ideal rig for those who feel limited by a tinny. When there are too many days that are just a little too rough to go and run the crab pots, or when you’re tired of running for cover then the afternoon sea breeze kicks in… Sometimes an extra metre of boat and 50hp of outboard will let you stay out and fulfil your fishing desires.

Priced from less than $30,000, the basic Aquamaster Centre Console is a fantastic blank canvas for those wishing to fit out a 5m centre console to be their next fishing boat. With a narrow console for true 360º access and a flat floor that runs from the bow to the transom, there’s capability for this boat to be a great crabbing platform, a super tuna chasing craft or an electric motor fitted rig for casting at snapper in season. There’s also a bug anchor well to turn this into a rig that you can fish into the night and bag a PB snapper on a livey on a shallow reef.

Aquamaster is a well established (if not heavily advertised) aluminium boat brand that have been punching out fully welded hulls for the last 30 years. They were an original adopter of the upswept bow – a feature that many other manufacturers have thought was a great idea since.

They have a couple of dealers, including Australian Marine Centre in Slacks Creek on Brisbane’s southside. AMC’s Rod Elliott took us for a drive in the first Aquamaster I’d tested for Fishing Monthly.

“These are a fully welded boat that we have absolutely no problems with,” Rod said at a calm morning’s meeting at the Raby Bay boat ramp. “There are eight centre consoles in the range and they vary from 4.2m to 6m.”

We think that he won’t be the sole Queensland dealer for long.

Moreton Bay’s near-shore islands like Peel are easily within the reach of this boat, even on days much rougher than the test day.

Powered by Suzuki’s 70hp 4-stroke outboard, it’s a frugal rig. At maximum economy of 3.4km/L it gives a theoretical range of well over 200km with a 70L underfloor fuel tank.

With a reasonable shallow transom deadrise, this centre console is definitely not built as a true nasty-water boat. You’d need some more vee and another tonne of hull to claim that. It does, however, offer decent stability and some limited nasty-water performance.

Suzuki’s 70hp 4-stroke is one of the most frugal outboards in its class. It’s an ideal match for this hull, even though it’s rated to take 20hp more.

There’s a few built in rod holders scattered around the gunwales.

Aquamaster maximise their internal space by having no false transom. The result is the widowed battery box – no biggies.

The transom is high enough to make this boat well capable of handling rough water.

There’s some wet, underfloor storage under the front deck. Don’t leave your keys and mobile phone in here.

The console windscreen folds over for boat storage, which will let you get this boat into a smaller garage.

Aquamaster have opted for a narrow console to maximise accessibility. There’s dry storage underneath and room to mount a big sounder on a bracket up top.

Looking back from the bow you can see that it’s easy to walk around the console. It’s always a balance between protection and access.

There’s a big, inbuilt anchor well up front with a bollard and roller.

This is definitely a ‘console for’ard’ rather than a ‘console back’ rig. It gives you a bigger cockpit space.

Simple side pockets keep your accessible gear off the floor.

There’s no denying that there’s mountains of room in this boat and the narrow console gives great 360º access.

Arriving on a single axle Redco trailer, the test rig weighed in at around 1000kg, meaning that there’s not many vehicles around that won’t tow it. And that single axle coupled with a folding windscreen means that you’ll shoehorn it into plenty of suburban garages.

On the water, these Aquamasters feel solid. There’s no noise where it shouldn’t be and this hull rode and trimmed nicely at all parts of the rev range.

It’s no rocketship with the 70 fitted, maxing out at 52km/h, however if speed is your thing, you’re allowed to drop a 90 on it. Economical cruising speed was at 4,000rpm and 34km/h where the 75L tank gives over 200km of theoretical range.

Fishability is great in this hull configuration. The narrow console gives full 360º access – ideal for when a longtail tuna is circling the boat for the 20th time. Additionally, there’s a stack of room for all the camping gear you’d want for a weekend away with the lads.

For more information on Aquamaster boats, visit Australian Marine Centre, 3491 Pacific Hwy, Slacks Creek, 07 3808 7333 or go to www.amcboats.com.au or www.aquamaster.com.au. The test rig was priced in the low $30,000 range.

Also, check out the video boat test by scanning the QR code on your smartphone, or by visiting the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel. You can see this rig in action there.

PERFORMANCE
RPM.. Speed (km/h)……. Economy (km/L)
700…………………… 4……………………….. 7.1
1000…………………. 6……………………….. 4.7
2000………………… 10……………………….. 3.8
3000………………… 17……………………….. 2.8
3500………………… 27……………………….. 3.3
4000………………… 34……………………….. 3.4
4500………………… 40……………………….. 3.3
5000………………… 47……………………….. 2.6
5700………………… 52……………………….. 2.1

SPECIFICATIONS
Length…………………………………….. 4.90m
Beam……………………………………….. 2.20m
Hull weight……………………………… 400kg
Depth……………………………………….. 1.05m
Fuel…………………………………………… 75L
Max HP……………………………………… 90
Bottom sheet…………………………….. 3mm
Side sheet………………………………….. 3mm
Capacity…………………………………….. 5 persons