SURTEES 670 GAMEFISHER HARDTOP OFFSHORE FISHING // FAMILY // ALL ROUNDER 2011 670 gamefisher hardtop with lockable cabin...... 2ND CHANCE... TRADE IN FELL THRU... Surtees has been manufacturing aluminum boats in New Zealand for more than twenty years. Purpose-built for fishing, Surtees boats are very popular in their home country and now highly regarded in Australia. These big, tough production-plate boats are available nation-wide and the range of models is extensive. Surtees hulls are built from heavy-duty marine-grade plate aluminium and designed with a deep vee shape with a deadrise ranging from 15-20 degrees depending on the model size. The 6.7m Game Fisher has a 20 degree vee at the transom and the hull bottom is made from 5mm alloy. The hull sides are 4mm and the cabin sides 3mm. The hull entry forward is fine and the bottom shape smooth with no strakes or spray chines. The outer chines are slightly reversed to improve stability. Under the floor, a series of six full-length longitudinal stringers provide significant strength to the hull and this is further re-inforced by a series of cross bulkheads and gussets. Two large, sealed air-buoyancy chambers are built into the hull to provide flotation. These are pressure tested at the factory to ensure they are air-tight. The 4mm tread-plate floor in the 6.7m Game Fisher is fully welded and sealed. The cockpit doesn't have a self-draining system, but there is a sump-like water catchment area under the transom from where the water is removed with a bilge pump. A key feature of Surtees boats is their self-flooding keel ballast chamber. At rest, seawater floods into the hollow keel chamber through a triangular opening at the transom. This water ballast adds weight (approximately 380kg in the 6.7m Game Fisher) to the keel, steadying the hull in the water and making it more resistant to sideways movement. When you decide to move off and accelerate up onto the plane, the seawater in the chamber drains quickly back out the transom again. The 6.7m Game Fisher also has a gate or flap across the opening of the keel chamber which can be manually opened or closed as required. Retaining a keel load of water when underway can be useful in softening the ride into a head-sea in rough water. The added weight may also reduce pitching, steady the hull and help it to track straight.
