NEW Marco 600 SouWester
I join the Marco team on the maiden voyage in the muddy waters of the Waihou river.
Marco boats in Morrinsville have been hard at work releasing their newest model the 600 Souwester hard top, which had been rigged and set up by the team at Peninsula Marine for a happy customer on the Hauraki Plains.
I got the chance to join Dayne Horne from Marco and Alan Thomsen from Peninsula Marine on the maiden voyage in the muddy waters of the Waihou river.
This boat is an all new hull design featuring raised sheer line and fully welded gunwale; it keeps the same 16 degree deadrise from the original 600 it replaces, but with a finer entry to soften the ride when hitting head on into a sea.
Sitting on the trailer you can tell this boat packs a lot of punch for its size, with plenty of deck room for fishing and a spacious wheelhouse providing a decent amount of head space, alloy spoked steering wheel and hydraulic steering. There are storage areas under both seats, underfloor between the seats, hatch on the passengers’ side, as well as the shelves running along each side. I was impressed with bolster seats giving it that extra bit of comfort while at the helm or as a passenger these seats are standard in the new Marco range along with the new bunk squab material.
Marco has run the cabin on into the bowsprit to keep the lines similar to the 625 and larger models, and intends to bring a similar looking 560 version out as a cabin boat along with the 800 Souwester to complete the new range for next year.
Peninsula Marine colour coded this model to match the customer’s ute with a 3M metallic blue vinyl wrapped wheelhouse/cabin done by Marine Protection Solutions.
The customer has gone with a Livebait tank which is situated below the walk thru transom, sealed into the corner of the boat so water and dirt can’t get behind or under it, and it is drained straight out through the back of the boat to save any scales or sand clogging up the bilge pump. The live bait tank is an optional extra.
Performance
The boat was rigged with a Mercury 115XL Command thrust 4/stroke outboard, fitted with a 19” Vengence stainless propeller.
The 115 was a good match for the 600Sw; holeshot performance was excellent, well under 10 seconds, pushing on the plain with ease, settling at a cruise speed of 46KPH at 4500rpm. A quick burst at full throttle gave us a speed of 60kph at 5950 rpm.
The hull performance felt good, the hull was stable on the plain, and was very comfortable on hard turns. The finer entry in the hull design was certainly evident in a short chop, making for a softer ride.
At rest as a fishing platform, the boat felt solid and steady, with 2 guys leaning against the gunnel on one side, the boat moved slightly to the flat of the chine then steadied, easy enough to pull a big Kingy into the boat. With a walkthrough transom and fold down T ladder, perfect for diving.
The package included a Marco 600 Sou Wester to standard specification, including rod holders, bilge pump, navigation lights, wiring and switch panel, interior lights, carpet lined cabin and hardtop, glove box, cleats, bow rail, rocket launcher, bunk squabs, underfloor fuel tank, underfloor storage, battery locker. Package is on a Dmw braked mulitroller trailer, rigged with a Mercury 115 xl CT outboard.
Options included in this package, walkthrough transom, t boarding ladder, bait station, live bait tank, auto anchor winch, Garmin 9’’ sounder /chartplotter, vhf radio, Fusion stereo, top side wrap. Price as tested: $78,000.
All in all, this 6m boat has a lot to offer and is a great contender for the NZ market using space and comfort well; the protection of the hard top for a boat of this size makes this very capable for heading out wide for a day’s game fishing or trips out with the family. If you would like to know more information, contact the team at Marco Boats.
