Baysport Offshore 620 Review
I'd been eyeing off an Offshore 620 from Sunshine Coast boatbuilder Baysport Boats for a while now. Why, you ask?
LAYOUT LOW-DOWN
The Baysport Offshore 620 boasts the modern curvy lines found in so many newer boats, along with a small walkaround off the cab. It makes for a spacious and simple layout that will suit family boaters as well as dedicated anglers. Best of all, it carries an attractive $49,990 price tag.
In the stern, the layout is pretty standard with a small transom door, baitboard, livewell, rear fold-up lounger with access to batteries and plumbing behind and a few rodholders. Anglers will find the stern section spacious and uncluttered, and it will work well for bait and gamefishos.
The gunwales are a good height and have deep sidepockets with decent space to wedge your toes under, and there is also some nice padding. The deck is fully carpeted for extra comfort under foot and there's a killtank / stowage area between the seats.
Moving forward you'll find a neat and spacious seating and console area. The skipper gets a single-seat configuration with a seat box below, as does the passenger, although the box here extends back to form another seat which also serves as an Esky-type cooler or extra storage space. I felt it was a nice design, but I couldn't help but notice the seats could be sturdier, and with adjusters.
On the skipper's side there's a recessed control box mount, moulded footrest, and a neat moulded dash section that has enough space for gauges and switch panels. While it lacks a decent flat area to flush-mount a good-sized sounder / GPS, I don't think this is a major problem as the remaining dash is still available to mount other sounders on brackets.
The passenger side also has a moulded footrest as well as a separate sidepocket and grabrail on the main dash. When I'm a seated passenger I prefer to have a grabrail next to the seat and on the front dash, so that I don't have to lean forward and hold the front handle. All it takes is one good thump over a wave and you could face-plant into the dash. Again, on this boat it wasn't a major problem as it'd be simple to fit another one on the side.
CABIN FEVER
The open-plan cabin has reasonable-sized bunks which will suit over-nighters. The cab may not be plush-lined right through, but it serves its purpose and is spacious with extra stowage room. Remember, this isn't a luxury boat, but there's nothing to stop you spending a few more bucks to tart it up (and impress the lady-friend).
Access to the bow is either through a narrow walkaround with non-slip and a bowrail, or through the cabin hatch. The narrow walkaround makes the bow a bit more accessible than a full cab, while still managing to retain a decent space in the cab.
IF IT AIN'T BROKE…
When you spend a lot of time around the latest factory-fresh boats and four-stroke engines, it's something of an eye-opener to climb back to a "traditional" two-stroke - in this case, a Yamaha 130hp V4. New-tech motors are fantastic in so many ways, but many anglers find it hard to beat the gutsy, low-down grunt from a Yamaha V4.
Holeshot was like lightning, and getting up to wide open throttle (WOT) took no time at all. These engines are incredibly responsive and - as anyone who has ever owned one knows - exceptionally reliable. Of course, it's a compromise, and you pay for it in economy, emissions and noise.
This engine is one of the more prominent reasons why this boat is priced as is, and it's up to you to decide what works best for you.
If you don't use a boat on a regular basis then older technology will work for you. If you get out on the water more often you might opt for newer technology, primarily for the fuel savings and lower emissions.
HOW'S IT GO?
As for the ride? Well, I was quite intrigued by how the concave-plank design off the transom would work. Would it make a difference? After testing it I feel it certainly does, as the boat planed very easily. This may have been due to the wider planing surface off the plank and more air being pushed through by the concave section.
Low-down I could crank it into full-lock and gas it out of the hole. At higher speeds, I could crank it into fairly hard turns, and the hull didn't mind a bit of a thrashing. It felt good on the water, and if anything I found that it seemed to perform better doing a bit of speed over the swell and chop. While the test day was calm, there was still enough swell and chop to get a good indication of how the boat could handle.
At 25kts (46.3kmh) I could comfortably sit and drive; at 30kts (55.5kmh) I could still sit but opted to stand and drive. Stability was good, as was the handling, and the overall ride was pretty damn nice. As an offshore boat I reckon it's comfortable enough to tackle some long trips in mild conditions.
THE WRAP
The Offshore 620 is a good-looking boat that rides well, has plenty of fishing space and would serve just fine as a multi-purpose family boat. On top of that, the entry-level price is not bad for what you get, and like any boat you can add to it over time to make it quite special. If anything I would suggest going over to a four-stroke if you were going to use it on a regular basis.
On the plane...
Good package price
retty good ride and handling
Neat finish
Dragging the chain...
Seats could be sturdier
Rodholders in the sidepockets would be nice (but Baysport is not alone on this one)
BAYSPORT OFFSHORE 620
HOW MUCH?
Price as tested: $49,990 (standard package with Yamaha 130BETOX)
GENERAL
Type: Deep-vee fishing /
family combo
Material: GRP
Length: 6.20m
Beam: 2.48m
Weight (dry hull): 950kg
Weight (package): Approx. 1900kg
Deadrise: 21°
CAPACITIES
People: 7
Rec. HP: 130
Max. HP: 175
Fuel: 170lt
ENGINE
Make/model: Yamaha 130BETOX
Type: V4 two-stroke
Weight: 169 Kg
Displacement: 1730cc
Gear ratio: 2:00:
Propeller: Stainless 17in
MANUFACTURED BY
Baysport Boats
Web: www.baysportboats.com.au
SUPPLIED BY
Brisbane Yamaha
174 Eastern Service Road
Burpengary, Qld, 4505
Tel: (07) 3888 1727
Web: www.brisbaneyamaha.com.au
Story and photos: Kevin Smith
Source: TrailerBoat #285