Stessl Trophy 590 Territory with Mercury 150 ProXS

This is the first boat test that I’ve done in the Northern Territory! And it’s even more special since we dodged COVID restrictions to get it done. A window of opportunity opened and we caught up with Mick Denny and his capable team from Precision Marine in Darwin to check out some of the rigs that get a lot of use in the Northern Territory.

It says a fair bit about a boat when the dealership chooses it to be their demonstrator/staff boat for the season. It means that it’s the rig that the guys want to go out fishing and camping in (as well as taking customers on test drives, I suppose).

And although this looked like a new rig, Mick assured me that it had already been on a few adventures.

Chief Precision salesman, Dan Hayes, explained the benefits of the Territory build of this popular Platerix2 hull.

“With the 2.5m beam on this hull, we have been able to have this rear centre console rig that allows you to move between the seats, and also fish in the bluewater from the back of the boat,” Dan explained.

Powered by the 3L Mercury 150hp 4-stroke, the test rig reached 70km/h at 6,000rpm at an economy of 1.35km/L.

The test rig has been set up as a Precision Marine staff/demo boat, so you can be sure that it’ll get some serious use over the next 12 months.

Everything you need to reach or check is accessible at the transom.

Territorians love the three-across seating. It makes sense to sit towards the back of the boat where it’s most comfortable. Check out the new Stessl console, too. It holds some big electronics.

Keeping your live baits kicking in the built-in transom baitwell is as simple as flicking a switch.

The 24V system for the electric motor is secured under the deck up front.

Yep, that’s a mountain of room under the front casting deck.

There’s room for your biggest electronics, as well as your accessory gauges at the helm. And some very dry storage for your valuables underneath.

The Stessl Trophy hull is deep, strong and ready to take on any of the trips you want to take in the Northern Territory, or your part of Australia.

The other side of the new Stessl console shows a handy grab rail for when you’re moving around while underway.

You can see the gunwale here that holds Railblaza mounts and accessories. Very handy.

A massive front casting deck not only gives you height for sight fishing and lure casting, but it makes space underneath for a big esky – a Territory must-have!

With the size of this rig, a twin axle trailer is a must. Driving on and off is pretty easy, as long as you get the tides right.

The 590 Trophy hull cuts a mean shape heading down the river.

A transom door and rugged, aluminium fold down steps are standard. The abundance of freeboard keeps out the biting lizards.

Some rigs in the Territory keep the seats right against the transom that removes this option.

Stessl’s new style console is also impressive – it holds a 16” sounder flush-mounted. You can’t do that in some boats that are much longer than this rig.

“We like our big electronics in the NT and the customers have been responding favourably to this option,” Dan continued.

The other part of the equation is the huge, raised front casting deck. In the Northern Territory it is important to keep your esky out of the sun and there is more than enough room under this front gate to keep the big esky out of trouble.

Also under the front deck is a pair of 12V batteries to give 24V power to the front electric motor.

“It is also the small details that make this a great rig for the NT,” explained Dan, “There is not much plastic on this rig, everything is welded that can be: cup holders, rod holders and so on. It makes it last up here!”

Precision Marine boss, Mick Denny, explained the rationale of running this boat with the 3L 150 Pro Access rather than the maximum 175hp V6 Mercury.

“It makes the package around $5,000 dollars cheaper and the 150hp motor is actually more efficient than the 175hp,” he said, “That 3L block is as reliable as they come and the transient spark technology gives this rig heaps of power to get up and on the plane.”

Of course, Territorians will take advantage of Mercury’s 6-year warranty. You get three years right out of the box and an extra three years if you choose to get your local Mercury dealer to do the annual servicing.

“It takes all of the risk out of buying a new outboard,” Mick continued.

The test rig was supplied on a twin axle trailer, which is the bare minimum for a boat of this size.

As tested, this rig comes in at around $80,000, although package prices with the 150hp outboard start from around $70,000. For more information ask at your local Stessl dealer or give Mick and his team a call at Precision Marine in Darwin.

Specifications:
Length: 6.0m
Beam: 2.5m
Depth: 1.5m
Bottom: 4mm
Sides: 4mm
Max hp: 175
Capacity: 6 persons

Performance:
RPM km/h km/L
1000 5 1.42
2000 11 1.41
3000 26 2.16
3500 35 2.18
4000 40 1.87
4500 48 1.71
5000 53 1.65
6000 70 1.34