SIGNATURE 575RF REVIEW | AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST FISHING BOATS
There’s no doubt about it, the Haines family is back with a vengeance as this latest new generation Signature 575RF shows.
SIGNATURE 575RF REVIEW
And the Haines are in it to win. It’s been 40 years now since John Haines Snr got the “shiny arses” out of their management chairs and back into the factory to produce one of Australia’s favourite boats. This time around, history has repeated itself with all hands on deck to invigorate the Australian fibreglass boating fraternity with one hell of a walk-through runabout.
Fishos love Signature boats for their highly individual style, functional ergonomics and all-round great looks. But fishing boats need more; they also need hull integrity and a great ride. Signature introduced the SVDH (Signature Variable Deadrise Hull) many years ago and combined the ride of a big deep-vee with the stability of a punt at rest.
It was fitted with the sensational 175 Suzuki four-stroke; an engine that took the outboard market by storm with its quiet, effortless power. This outboard simply rocks the hull out of the hole and keeps it thundering right through the rev range. The power match is exhilarating, the engine driving the hull through tight turns or simply pushing the boat to its outright manic top speed.
This is a highly refined hull with a beautiful entry, a series of quite aggressive strakes and a keel plank for added lift. John Haines Jnr has certainly inherited his father’s design DNA.
SIGNATURE 575RF RATING
Fishing suitability | 9 |
Innovation | 8.6 |
Design and layout | 9 |
Quality of finish | 8.6 |
Handling and ride | 8.2 |
Stability at rest | 8.2 |
Ergonomics | 8.3 |
Standard equipment | 8 |
Value for money | 8.8 |
X-Factor | 8.2 |
TOTAL SCORE | 84.9 |
UNDERSTANDING THE RATING SYSTEM
| Meet the judging panel | The rating criteria explained |
THE JUDGES’ NOTEPAD
Angelo Sangiorgio: “Signature basically wrote the book on the runabout-style fishing boat and I think they’ve hit it on the head here again. The walkthrough is great. It gives you access to the bow for starters, but opening it up means you can stand in there on the casting deck and have a flick. The race bucket seats with flip-up bolsters are brilliant – they’re running the new stainless seat bases as well, with space for an Esky underneath. Everything old is new again!”
John Ford: “You could probably have about 18 people fishing from this boat, because you can spread them out up the front too. The walkthrough makes it easy to anchor and I like the cuddy cabin. It’s not really designed for sleeping in but it gives you plenty of storage. The fold-down baitboard is a fantastic innovation and the way they’ve sail-tracked the bimini onto the screen is good as well. A lot of thought has gone into it and those little things add up to a solid package.”
Kevin Smith: “I’ve spent a helluva lot of time on this boat already. We’ve really properly tested this boat, in foul weather, in this competition, for fishing and as a camera boat. So I’ve spent plenty of hours on this boat and it’s earned a lot of respect. The fold-down lounge packs away neatly so it doesn’t affect your fishing in the stern and you’ve got the Eskys that serve as seats as well, so theoretically you could seat six or seven people pretty comfortably and that’s excluding the cab up the front.”
Matt Jones: “The Signature was very well setup for fishing, I thought. It’s a very strong, very well-built hull. I do like horsepower and this one definitely gets up and goes. It’s quiet, responsive and powerful – a great match and pretty good fuel economy. I’d even pay the excess-baggage fees to take one of these home to New Zealand with me.”
SIGNATURE 575RF SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 5.95m
BEAM: 2.38m
WEIGHT: Approx 1900kg (BMT)
MAX. HORSEPOWER: 175
BASE PRICE: $68,000 (Std w/140hp)
PRICE AS TESTED: $81,000