It’s not often that the clouds part and the sun comes out especially for a boat test. We thought were in for a hiding as we drove down the M1 from Brisbane to Nitro Marine on the Gold Coast in driving rain. I was with Matthew Drinkall, the (very) silent working partner in QFM and the one responsible for nearly every awesome boating shot we have ever taken.
And for not missing a print deadline in 27 years … but I digress.
I try to include him in each of the videos of the boats we test - often with a camera pressed against his face. It’s like a Where’s Wally game….
We met Sea Jay’s Garry Fitzgerald at the dealership. Fitzy is all-in as the National Sales Manager and brand advocate for this Bundaberg based boat builder. He hears a lot of feedback about the boats and is the conduit between the public, dealers and designers at the factory.
This Territory is the result of feedback and it proves that the company is agile enough to turn new models around pretty quickly.
Indeed, the Territory was born at the 2019 Brisbane Boat Show (you remember when boat shows were a thing, right?) and has spawned demand for more models. This one tested is the 493, but in an attempt to make length protocols between brands more apples-for-apples, is about to be renamed a 503 Territory, so assume that all of the stats and attributes are transferable between the two.
The “Territory” theory is an open boat will deep gunwales, a full transom and stern weighted seats and consoles. This hull is available in side- and centre-console versions.
Like all NexGen Adrenalin hulls, it features reversed chines and aesthetically pleasing plate sides. The territory in particular also has additional ribs welded in to support them - 12 in total.
Helping to maximise the fishing room in this rig is the concealed anchor well (there’s a cleat and roller up front and that’s about it) that lets you fish as far for-ard as DeCaprio got on the Titanic. BYO Rose.
Under the raised casting deck, there’s a heap of room and plenty of hatches to access it. Upon closer inspection, there’s also an uninterrupted layer of carpet. The hinges are all fitted underneath. Anyone who has stepped, barefoot, on an exposed hinge in the sun will agree that this is a great idea.
The console is Sea Jay standard. There’s a small hatch to keep your valuables dry (like keys, phones and wallets) but no room for flush mounting significant electronics. Outboard gauges will fit. There is room, however, to bracket mount a sounder on top of the dashboard or on a RAM mount beside it.
Driving this rig, It liked a little trim. Get it up and going and you get plenty of bow lift when conditions allow. With the throttle down, it achieved 63km/h at 5,900rpm at 1.9km/L. Drop it to 3,500rpm and the economy gets up to 3.0km/L and you cruise along at 36km/h. With a 90 litre underfloor fuel tank, that’s a theoretical range of well over 250km.
This rig was loaded on a Sea Jay branded trailer (which extends the warranty from two years to three) with mechanical override brakes. With the whole package weighing in around a tonne fully loaded, it’ll be a breeze to tow with anything but a small car.
Want more information? You can call Nitro Marine about this rig (which sells for $43,000 as tested from Nitro Marine) or you can visit Sea Jay’s website (www.seajayboats.com.au) for the full story or to find your nearest dealer.
Remember - this boat will be sold as the 503 Territory in the future - don’t get confused!
SPECIFICATIONS
Length overall 5.24m
Beam 2.32m
Bottom sheet 3mm
Side Sheet 3mm
Depth 1.29m
Floor ribs 12
Capacity 5
Hull weight 493kg
Max HP 90
Max motor weight 165kg
PERFORMANCE
RPM Speed km/L
650 3 2.0
1000 5 2.2
2000 10 1.6
3000 24 2.4
3500 36 3.0
4000 43 2.7
4500 49 2.2
5000 55 2.0
5900 63 1.9
8 июл 2020
