BOAT REVIEW Surtees 750 Game Fisher

What does it take to own a new Surtees 750 hard top? A lot of hard work and savings no doubt, or if you are lucky, you could win one! Surtees have been building and providing the boat show prize since 2016 and this year the Surtees/Yamaha boat prize package is worth over $300,000.
That is an amazing prize for one lucky attendee of the show, and I wondered to myself: how do you get lucky enough to win such a prize? Maybe you need some good karma? And I recalled one past boat show winner who really did deserve to win the boat after a good deed.

Good karma

It was December 2011 on a fine day, and I was fishing with friends on their 4.5m boat in the Kaipara Harbour. We had a bin full of fish, it was early evening and were about to head in when out of nowhere, we were hit by a strong gust of wind and a rain squall. And as we packed up in a hurry, the outboard wouldn’t start. The battery had seemed fine earlier, so we checked cables and tried everything we could think of, but there was no power.

We called Kaipara Coastguard on the VHF, which was also failing, to give them our status but with the intermittent signal, we couldn’t be sure that they knew our position. We had no option but to wait at anchor, huddling under the canopy trying to keep dry in the constant squalls with darkness soon approaching. We looked to be in for a rough night on the boat.

About an hour later we made out a small open boat with an elderly gent on his tiller outboard coming towards us out of the hazy gloom. As he came alongside, we all had beaming smiles as he asked us if we were the boat in trouble. He had been at the family bach listening to the VHF radio and heard our Coastguard call. He told the operator he would head out.

He threw us a line and slowly towed us back while also getting drenched in his boat. Back to the ramp we happily gave him money for fuel and thanked him profusely – as we hadn’t fancied a night on the harbour in such cramped and wet conditions.

The following year his daughter went to the Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show and, lo and behold, she won the boat prize for the family bach! Well, it couldn’t have gone to more deserving family, so maybe the karma approach works!

750 Game Fisher 

The 2024 boat prize is the 750 Game Fisher, which has an enclosed cabin model with lockable doors, a huge cockpit for fishing, and a rear platform with rails that wraps around the impressive Yamaha 300hp V6 outboard.

Although the 750 Game Fisher features a 20° deadrise – deeper V hull designs usually trade-off some stability when underway or at rest – but Surtees offset this with their Anti-Roll ballast stability control. The 750 has provision for 530 litres of water ballast.

The hull construction includes six fully welded stringers, 6mm hull plates, spray deflection chines and airtight buoyancy compartments, all of it backed by Surtees’ 10-year hull warranty.

As the name suggests, the 750 Game Fisher is designed for extended offshore cruising or game fishing, with a large 400-litre fuel tank and an 80-litre freshwater tank, so perfect for weekend adventures.

I also liked the fully enclosable cabin, which is ideal for overnight weekends and also provides better security at anchor and on the trailer. There’s plenty of storage room and a generous double berth with comfortable squabs. Boasting an electric hot water cockpit shower, a sink, an Engel electric fridge/freezer, an electric toilet, and amazingly comfortable twin Hi-Tech Plastic carbon deluxe bolstered seats, these added features should ensure whoever wins this prize enjoys their time on the water.

Having fished on many Surtees boats before, I have always liked their ‘fishability’ and this big hardtop is no exception. The 2.5m beam provides a large, uncluttered cockpit with a convenient walk-through transom access (with drop-in door) to the enclosed platform – perfect for jigging or dropping deep water baits.

The boat has practical Exploding Fish rod holders that allow anglers to change and lock their rod angle in 5-degree increments and Ocean Blue outriggers for trolling out wide for gamefish. Grey SeaDek is used throughout the boat  – comfortable when standing on the cockpit floor and platform, while also protecting the side decks. The boat’s unique vinyl fish wrap design really complements the white hull, too.

Yamaha F300 Offshore

The Yamaha’s F300 V6 Offshore 4.2-litre engine looks great in white and the V6 packs serious offshore grunt with refined engine features offering next-generation control, integration, and reliability.

Taking the 750 out on the Waitemata in a strong 20-knot nor’ easter with wind against tide provided messy harbour conditions with a short chop. The big Yamaha quickly had the Surtees up to 30 knots in the challenging sea conditions and the ride was comfortable – the boat’s handling impressed. Using the Automatic Zipwake trim tabs was easy and they did a good job controlling pitch and roll at speed.

The motor features Yamaha’s Thrust Enhancing Reverse Exhaust system, which delivers increased prop grip and thrust in reverse for improved manoeuvring when docking and backing up when fishing. The Total TiltTM system tilts the outboard fully up and down from any position with a simple double push of the Up or Down Tilt buttons.

With Yamaha’s Helm Master EX control system also onboard, providing a fully integrated boat control system, navigating and getting to your destination is even easier. And once you arrive, it provides a whole new level of control allowing you to precisely position the boat exactly where and how you want it using the joystick control.

High spec

The boat prize comes with Garmin electronics valued at over $20,000. At the helm, the large 16-inch Garmin GPSMAP 8416xsv provides the key details of what’s going on below and above the water via a premium sonar and transducer package and the Navionics Platinum plus New Zealand card with relief shading for super-detailed cartography. In the cockpit is a 9-inch GPSMAP 953xsv remote screen sheltered under the wheelhouse roof overhang. This is invaluable while fishing, letting you keep an eye on any fish sign and structure below.

The Garmin LVS4 Livescope Panoptix transducer provides real-time 3D imagery below, while the GT51M-TM transducer is perfect for inshore and offshore fishing. This transducer has medium-frequency CHIRP traditional sonar, CHIRP ClearVü, and CHIRP SideVü scanning sonar. With a Garmin VHF 115i, 25-watt radio for communication and Garmin FantomX radar in white, the electronics package is extensive.

To keep the crew upbeat when on the water, a Fusion Apollo MS-RA770 Stereo with XS sport speakers and an XS sport subwoofer on

a 5-channel D-class amp has also been fitted.

The 750 Game Fisher is supplied on a Futura tandem-axle trailer – a fully anodised aluminium, weld-free design that minimises any risk of corrosion. The tandem axles are equipped with a stainless steel, load-sharing, torsion suspension system, designed to reduce the load on each axle for a smoother towing experience.

To add to the ultimate grand prize package, the lucky winner will also receive a remotely controlled Lone Star Drum Winch to take care of anchoring, a Hella Marine comprehensive LED lighting package, Icey-Tek and Kai Cooler products to keep the catch cold, and a Shimano fishing gear package to catch them with. Hutchwilco has provided lifejackets and safety equipment, there’s a RescueME EPIRB1 with 10-year battery life for peace of mind and Yamaha Marine Insurance to round out the prize.

The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show prize boat package would be every Kiwi angler’s dream to own. To go into the draw to win it, visit the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show from 16-19th May. You need to be there to have a chance to win, but in the meantime, a good deed or two can’t hurt your chances. Karma and all that!

How to enter:

1. Purchase your ticket to The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show online or at the show.

2. Attend The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show.

3. Register your ticket online or at the show. If you purchase your tickets online, you can register your ticket prior to the show by filling out your details upon purchasing or following the link on your unregistered tickets and add your details. If you purchase tickets at the event, you can register your ticket at the iPads throughout the show.

4. Scan your ticket at ALL scan points throughout the show before 4pm on Sunday 19 May 2024 (see Show Guide or event signage for locations). You can easily check which scan points you’ve scanned at, and what scan points remain, by following the link on your online tickets or scanning the QR code on your physical tickets. You can also ask one of the friendly team to check on your behalf.

5. Once you’ve scanned your registered ticket at all locations, you’re automatically entered into the draw.

If you purchase your tickets online BEFORE midnight 15 May 2024, you will be automatically entered into the draw TWICE upon completing steps 1-5. If you purchase your ticket AFTER midnight 15 May 2024, you will be automatically entered into the draw ONCE upon completing steps 1-5.

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