KEY POINTS:
There are, as Stabi-Craft Marine has discovered over the last 21 years, some very good reasons to build boats in Invercargill. Commercial land is a lot cheaper for a start. Good staff are also less likely to be poached by competitors. And good old Foveaux Strait is right on your doorstep; if your boats can cope with its rough waters, you know they will be fine closer to the equator.
Founded in 1987, Stabi-Craft has since developed into what is arguably the world leader in aluminium positive buoyancy or "pontoon" boats. Their boats are exported around the world; they are even used as UN boats in Myanmar.
The company now plots their design and build strategies with both eyes firmly on the international stage and this latest offering, the third generation 759 SuperCab, is a good example of that thinking.
To a growing number of successful New Zealand boatbuilders, the market is no longer a country-wide one, it is Australasian. Boats built here to our new CPC Standard also conform to the Australian equivalent.
Stabi-Craft is clearly on top of this concept and the new 759 has been designed accordingly. Bigger on the inside (by 240mm), it is fractionally smaller on the outside; its beam has been reduced slightly to 2.5m to comply with Australian towing regulations. Stabi-Craft did this by deepening the pontoons and making them slightly narrower.
The emphasis for the redesign was to open up the boat's interior. That extra beam obviously helps and so does the new layout. In previous models the cabin bulkhead, complete with lockable, offset door, was standard. Now it's only available as an option and the standard layout is an open one.
The floor has also been raised 125mm, making the 759 self-draining and again complying with Australian survey standards.
Although completely open, the cabin area of the 759 SuperCab is split into two distinct areas _ the wheelhouse and forward cabin.
In the cabin there is sitting headroom and berths of 1.93m are probably okay for overnight stays for most. There are deep stowage lockers under the three squabs and in the raised side coamings on either side. A portable head is an optional extra.
A hatch provides light, ventilation and access to the foredeck (which can also be reached via the wide side decks). There is also a handy access hatch from the cabin directly into the anchor well.
The helm area is simple and practical with a pedestal seat for the skipper and a second for a passenger. A popular option is to fit two aft-facing companion seats immediately behind.
The dash has a near-vertical surface to accommodate the larger style multi-function display units. A large, conventionally angled area is there for the big screen fishfinder/plotter combinations likely to be fitted to a boat of this type.
The redesign has increased the size of the 759's cockpit from 3.751sq m to 4.712sq m and, in keeping with this style of craft, it has been left completely clear. Along the sides, large integral open lockers provide stowage for rods, gaffs, mooring lines and some reasonably bulky items.
There is also no shortage of rod holders: an eight-rod rocket launcher is fitted on the roof as a standard feature and holders have also been strategically placed on the bait station and in the side coamings.
Unashamedly designed for offshore fishing and diving, the 759 SuperCab has a full-width boarding platform with access to both port and starboard.
Stabi-Craft generously offers three transom options: Super Fish, which includes a live bait tank; Super Game, which includes tuna tube; and the standard low-profile variation. Stabi-Craft also offers an extensive custom service for all their models.
Another design change has seen the fuel tank moved further forward. This has created space for a 145-litre underfloor fish bin, complete with waste pump, accessed via a lift-out in the aft section of the cockpit. There are three fuel capacity options: a standard single 275-litre tank, a larger 380-litre tank or dual 275-litre tanks.
Designed to be virtually unsinkable, the 759 SuperCab also carries around 3000 litres of buoyancy.
Like many medium to large offshore boats these days, the 759 can be powered by either a single or twin outboards, with total power up to 300hp.
With a single Yamaha 250hp four-stroke on the back, the 759 SuperCab tops out at 41.4 knots at 6100rpm. With a 300hp outboard this will leap to around 45 knots.
Throttling back to a more economical 5000rpm gives a more than adequate cruising speed of 30 knots.
The new 759 SuperCab's pontoons feature an underwater shape with wide stepped chines that run parallel for over two-thirds of the hull. These provide substantial lift and allow the hull to react more like a conventionally chined boat when cornering. The deadrise at the transom is, as befits a rig designed for offshore work, a deep 22 degrees.
Stabi-Craft has also changed the shape of the hull where it intersects with the bottom edge of the pontoon section. This area now has a gull-wing shape to it, increasing lift and providing a quieter ride than its predecessor.
Stabi-Craft boats traditionally come with their own Stabi-Craft trailers and the 759 SuperCab's one is a tandem braked model.
The 759 has an overall length of 7.8m, an external beam of 2.5m (internal beam: 2.04m) and a trailerable weight of 2800kg.
As featured here, the boat retails for a touch over $144,000 although 759 packages are available from $112,500.
A complete boat test of the 759 SuperCab appears in the latest issue of Propeller Magazine, on sale now.
