Its customers were asking for it and now Surtees has delivered. The company’s new flagship 8.5m Gamefisher is ready for action and Trade-A-Boat gets first dibs. We headed to Whakatane to give it a thorough workout in its home waters.
Cost aside, bigger is generally always better, and after falling
for Surtees’ superior build quality, clever tricks, fishable
features, and smooth ride, its customers begged for more. The new
bigger 8.5 Gamefisher is arguably its best trick yet; in true
Surtees style it wouldn’t settle for anything but the best, taking
a painstaking year to design and build using only the best
materials available.
Surtees markets its boats as ‘built to fish’, and it’s no secret
they come packed with clever features to help fill the bins. The
cockpit is large with an equally large bait station featuring a
freshwater tap, four angled rod holders, and two cup/sinker
holders. The wide, thigh-high gunwales have a further three rod
holders and complementary refreshment holders per side. Two further
rod holders on the transom are specifically angled for trolling
lures.
A canvas shade extension offers some sun protection while still
allowing plenty of open casting room. While it does impede access
to the eight rod holders in the overhead rocket launcher when
extended, it can be slid back into the hardtop or completely
removed when required.
A removable walk-through transom door drops into place to reduce
water intake when backing down on a rampaging marlin, with the
easily-accessed and viewed live-bait tank directly below. Two large
underfloor bins provide plenty of catch and dive gear storage. A
drop down rear seat is also a good spot to sit while wrestling with
a shrunken wetsuit. There are also plenty of additional features
and customisation options available.
Wave-defying ride
After a late evening photo shoot I dragged the Surtees team out
of bed bright and early with the promise of blue skies to show off
the 8.5 Gamefisher’s pristine paint job. It took a while for the
blue skies to respond to the invitation, but at least there was
plenty of chop and swell around early on to put the boat’s
credentials to the test.
We headed out through the sloppy Whakatane bar towards Whale
Island, taking the opportunity to unleash the 300 horses bolted to
the stern along the way. Pushing the big Surtees way past the
realms of recreational use proved no issue for the solid hull. High
speed turns were tight and cavitation free, and running at WOT
through a snotty sea left all our joints and fillings intact.
The hydraulic flooding keel holds a whopping 600 litres and can
be opened and closed with the flick of a switch from the helm; the
crappy conditions allowed this feature to be fully tested and it
does make a noticeable difference to the ride in rough water by
reducing hull lift and forcing the sharp, strake-less hull to slice
through – a.k.a. ‘wave devastation mode’. You lose a bit of speed
and holeshot but gain plenty of comfort. As a comparison, at
5000rpm with a following sea and the ballast closed we recorded 30
knots. Flicking the switch to open and discharging the ballast saw
our speed climb steadily to 33 knots for the same revs.
The 150hp Honda four-strokes have a great sound to them, which
isn’t too loud considering all that grunt – smooth would be an
understatement. Of course, having two engines makes the sound and
smoothness even better, and they also enhance manoeuvrability. But
how well would the big boat go in the unlikely event of one engine
failing? Well, we couldn’t get it to plane on one outboard (with
the other trimmed right up), but at 3000rpm she’s doing 9 knots,
which should still get you home quicker than a tow would. Single
outboard and diesel inboard options are also available.
Loaded as standard
The team at Surtees is full of good ideas, and a lot of features
that are optional extras on its smaller boats are standard on the
8.5 Gamefisher; in fact, everything apart from the electronics and
engine(s) comes standard.
One user-friendly upgrade is the hydraulic ballast flap, which
is easily operated via a switch on the dash. Anchoring can also be
easily controlled with a substantial Savwinch drum winch, offering
an electronically-controlled variable speed drive for working
different depths. It also comes loaded with 200m of anchor
warp.
Surtees has gone to a clear Perspex front hatch over its usual
aluminium model to let more light into the cabin. This is further
complemented by plenty of large glass windows all-round. A full LED
lighting system provides an attractive glow after dark, with
underwater lights for an extended fishing fix.
Sliding side windows open both front and back and a further rear
window drops down to allow good ventilation. Large bi-fold doors
open out onto the cockpit to ensure great flow in and out and keep
the skipper in touch with the action out back. There’s also good
headroom throughout with plenty of underseat and underfloor storage
to maintain a clutter-free environment. The hardtop is insulated
for year-round comfort and reduced condensation.
As is the case with all Surtees boats, no space has been left
under-utilised. A comfortable L-shaped couch lies to port with a
drop-down table and bunk extension creating a second bed to
complement the large double berth up front. The table twists
sideways to create extra standing room if required. Stylish
anti-slam drawers are located at either end.
Twin gas hobs and a freshwater sink lie to starboard with a
75-litre electric fridge neatly fitted beneath the deluxe helm
seat, which itself features a flip-up bolster for either back of
leg support or extra standing room.
Up front, 1.9m bunks with in-fills allow two people with long
legs to enjoy an uncramped night’s sleep. An electric toilet
resides below with a privacy screen available as an option. This
boat will comfortably overnight three adults or your average family
of four with younger children.
Reap the rewards
Expansive views, a well laid out dash, ergonomic controls, and
automatic trim tabs certainly make the 8.5 Gamefisher an enjoyable
and rewarding boat to helm. Of course, the sports car-like
performance and smooth, predictable ride also helped in this
regard. Relinquishing the helm at the end of the test was no easy
feat.
At almost 3.5 tonnes she’s certainly a big, solid boat to be
towing around, but with a capable tow vehicle no fish will be safe.
The Surtees-built tandem-axle trailer features braked stainless
steel callipers on all four wheels, and the Carlisle Hydrastar
electronic braking system means any able vehicle can be used to tow
it without requiring specialised wiring. The electronic controller
simply plugs into your cigarette lighter, allowing the trailer’s
braking force to be adjusted to suit. With Surtees’ clever
self-loading trailer catch, launching and retrieving was a simple
drive on/drive off affair, which, judging by the look on their
faces, left many other boaties at the ramp feeling rather
jealous.
Go big
Surtees Boats managing director Phil Sheaff explains why they’ve
decided to go bigger: “A lot of guys with Surtees 6.7s and 7.3s
wanted a bigger boat and wanted that boat to be a Surtees. With us
not having a bigger model they had to go to other brands, so we
decided to go after that market. We’re really happy with the
outcome and tried hard with the styling to make sure the 8.5
Gamefisher looks like a Surtees.”
All Surtees boats are built from start to finish by one
boatbuilder, who gets to weld their initials on the outboard pod to
instil a sense of pride in their workmanship. Sales manager Cliff
Schick says it also creates a sense of camaraderie between
customers and staff down at the boat ramp.
Surtees boats are in hot demand, and at the time of writing
Surtees has 126 on its order books. Sheaff says it’s also making
inroads in Australia: “We’ve got a really good network of dealers
in Australia now with two in Victoria, two in New South Wales, and
one in every other state.”
Quality is paramount
This year will see Surtees celebrating its 20th anniversary as
well as the fact that it’s never had a hull failure. To commemorate
the milestone, plans are taking shape for a special edition
Surtees. Sheaff hints at what it might look like: “The first boat
Neil Surtees built was a 6.1 Barcrusher so we thought we might
revamp it, but possibly take it up to a 6.3m or 6.4m hull, which
would fit nicely between our 5.8m and 6.7m models.”
Even with 21 boat show awards to its credit, Surtees Boats isn’t
resting on its laurels, nor will it sacrifice build-quality to
increase profits. Schick explains why it’s so obsessed with
quality: “Our boats come with a six-year worldwide hull warranty.
We send them up to the Pacific islands and also have a few in
Vancouver, Sweden, and England now, so imagine the cost if
something failed over there. That’s why everything’s
over-engineered on our boats.”
Schick says with its production numbers it would be more
economical to import parts from China, but that’s not going to
happen on his watch. “We like to support our local guys and try to
use as many local products as possible. The more money we spend in
New Zealand the better it is for us, and everybody benefits.”
Surtees has just installed a state-of-the-art paint booth to
allow better quality control and a quicker turnaround to try and
keep pace with demand. Every boat that leaves the Surtees factory
is CE-rated and is also built to meet Survey standards, only
requiring a windscreen swap to 6mm clear glass to get approval.
It’s one of only a select few New Zealand companies to achieve the
stringent CE certification.
The last word
Surtees’ biggest and cleverest offering yet certainly sets the
bar very high. Its head-turning looks, comfortable accommodation,
and all-round capabilities make it a winner in my book. With the
new 8.5 Gamefisher, heading out wide in comfort and style is all
but assured.
For more information on the Surtees 8.5 Gamefisher contact Cliff
Schick at Surtees Boats on 07 322 8461, email cliff@surteesboats.com or
visit surteesboats.com.
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Photography: Matthew Jones