Hiring the Sea Adex 6.5m Armour Hard Top

by Gary Brown •

When I was asked whether I was interested in taking out the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top powered by a 250hp 4-stroke Suzuki outboard for a boat test, and at the same time go down rigging for kingfish in Sydney Harbour. I couldn’t resist an offer like that?

In this boat review I am going to cover two aspects of the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top. Firstly, an insight into the design and construction of the rig, and secondly, the advantages of hiring it from Finz Boat Hire.

When I first saw the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top on their website, I saw a beast of a boat. It looked as solid as a brick and tough as nails while having at the same time the sleek lines of an extremely well-designed boat that would give you hours of safe, pleasurable boating and fishing time on inshore and offshore waters.

The idea of the design of the boat came from a Brisbane-based company called Sea Adex. The owners Adam Mortimer and Rex Willis put many hours into designing at boat that you would deliver ultimate safety in really bad conditions.

The access ladder on the trailer makes launching and retrieve to boat by yourself so easy. All you need to do is drive the boat onto the trailer and allow the Boat Catch System to attach the boat. Turn off and raise the motor. Climb down the ladder, attach the safety chain and then just drive off.

The Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top slides up very easily onto the Dunbier trailer and then clips onto the Boat Catch System.

Plenty of rod holders, comfortable seats for you and the crew, plus everything you need for a day’s fishing/boating on the water. After you have finished your days fishing, all you need to do is ring up Chett from Finz Boat Hire and he will meet you at your pre-arranged pick-up point and take the boat away for you.

At the rear of the boat you will find a number of hatches that will give you access and storage. There is also a collapsible/removable seat with a non-slip cover, that can be used when you have more onboard.

Anchoring up with the powered winch and the Scarca anchor makes it so easy. It’s just a flip of the switch. The forward hatch will give you access to the front of the boat to tie off the rope to the front bollard. The non-slip covering on the front will save you from slipping.

At the rear of the boat you will find an extremely sturdy chopping board that has more storage underneath. There is also a wash down hose that will come in handy when cleaning up at the end of the day. The four rod holders are spread far enough apart so that the reels won’t bump into each other when get one out to fight the fish.

When you hire the boat Chett will include the use of the Scotty Depth Master down rigger if you need it.

When you hire the boat Chett will include the use of the Scotty Depth Master down rigger if you need it.

The plumbed live well at the rear of the boat would hold enough squid or other live baits for a fishing session. What I would do is maybe put some kind of netting over the opening as on the day we had one small yellowtail jump back into the water.

The Sea Adex Armour 6.5 metre Hard Top Godzilla is powered by a 250hp, 4-stroke Suzuki Outboard. When the motor is just in gear and moving forward at about 4 knot the RPM is at around 1000. Even though the 15hp 4 stroke outboard is there as a survey requirement you could also use this for trolling at a much slower speed.

From the area of the cockpit, you are able to access the front bunk area where you could store some of that extra fishing gear or the esky with the food and drinks. It could also be used as a small change room if needed.

While in the cabin and you are driving the vessel, you have plenty of clear vision out the front and on the sides. The 27mhz and UHF Marine radios are just at arm’s length making it easy to communicate with other vessels. There is also a light for inside the cabin for those dull days.

Everything that you need is at your fingertips on the dash in front of the helm. The touch screen Garmin GPS 7408 is showing a number of kingfish arches on the screen, but we weren’t able to temp them into biting.

Even though I am a bit on the short side, I could easily see over the dashboard while sitting at the helm. It was also very easy to see and use the array of electronics that I had in front of me.

Andrew, our skipper for the day, was giving us a safety talk and explaining where the life jackets and other safety gear is stored.

To learn more about how the design of the Sea Adex Armour range came about I watch a short video that Steve Morgan from Fishing Monthly put together when reviewing another one of the Sea Adex range.

Adam explained that around six years ago he built a 4m prototype in a weekend and then sea trialled it in 30 knots. It didn’t sink even though it was completely full of water. So, his next step was to show his designs to a naval architect, and together they created the range you see today.

On the day that I tested the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Godzilla that you can hire from Finz Boat Hire, I was only able to meet Chett and Andrew at the Rose Bay ramp at 10:30am. So, getting the preferred kingy bait squid proved to be a bit difficult. Chett did have a couple of slimies and a yellowtail in the plumbed live well.

As the 250hp V6 Suzuki 4 stroke outboard pulled us out of the hole and onto the plane within 50m from idle, the rig settled down to a slow cruising speed at 20 knots. Once we rounded the corner at the entrance to Rose Bay, we encountered some very large wake from a passing ferry, which Andrew powered the boat through and over with ease. So much ease that it felt like we were floating on a cushion of air.

While idling at at 1000 RPM, it only took the an increase to 1200 RPM to achieve an increase of 10 knots. Once the boat was pushed to its limit at 44 knots, the RPM was at 4300, giving you great fuel economy for a large boat. This would be due to the design of the 23° constant deadrise of the hull at the transom and the slightly reversed 30cm chines/sponsons on the side of the boat. What also adds to the stability and safety of the boat is that over 2 cubic metres of surveyed approved foam has been jammed into the hull. At one stage we had three adults on one side and there was very little tipping of the boat and the high sides gave you plenty of reassurance that you weren’t going overboard.

Its 6mm aluminium sides and bottom, which have been full-length welded, lock the entire build of this boat together. It also has a self-draining, scuppered deck that makes it easy to wash out and clean the floor after a hard days fishing. At one stage I lost count at the number of different places that you can store items on the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla. At last count there was at least 10.

Maybe the design of this rig doesn’t suit your needs. Not a problem. Adam and Rex will customize the boat to suit your needs. Customisation options include: different configurations with kill tanks, live bait tanks and full tanks; dash layout; side door access; single/dual/triple motor options; placement of hand rails; where and how many rod holders; what type of bait board you would like; the seating arrangement and types or anything else that you may want.

Now the question for you is, “Do I buy one or do I hire one?” Let’s face it, if you were interested in this rig you could hire the boat for a day or two and if you were impressed with it, you could contact Adam from Sea Adex and get him to custom design one for you from their great range. If you want to buy one you can contact Adam at: info@seaadex.com.au or call 0435 453 455. You could also visit their website, at www.seaadex.com.au, or call into the office at Shed 2/82 Redland Bay Road, Capalaba QLD if you’re up that way.

If you would like to hire the Sea Adex Armour 6.5m Hard Top Godzilla, you can contact Chett at: fbhsydney@gmail.com, or visit their website at www.finzboathire.com.au. They also have a Facebook page, which is called simply Finz Boat Hire.

Features
The Sea Adex Armour 6.5 metre Hard Top comes with a Fusion Sound System, Garmin GPSMAP 7416, a Garmin GPSMAP 7408, a Garmin Autopilot with Shadowdrive, 1kw Chirp TM256LM Transducer, a 600w Chirp GT51M Transducer, Wishbone Outriggers, 250L Fuel Tank, Live Bait Tank, Boat board, Garelick Seat Suspension, Windscreen Wiper, King/Queen Seats, EPIRB, fire extinguisher, 27mhz and UHF Marine Radio’s, Fish Bag/Box, 16 rod holders and all the required safety gear.

Specifications
Designer                            Sea Adex
Hull Construction Material     Aluminum
Hull Type                           Hard Top
Construction Material           Aluminium
Length                               6.4 M
Beam/Width                        2.49 M
Number of Fuel Tanks          1 x 250L underfloor
Passenger capacity             5 for offshore and 7 for inshore
Length maximum on trailer    7.2 M
Width                   2.49 M
Side thickness       6mm
Bottom thickness   6mm
Max Motor hp        400hp
Tested on the day  250hp
Tow Vehicle       Heavy 4WD or 6 sedan