Sailfish S7 review | Australia's Greatest Boats 2015

When you line up the Sailfish S7 against the other aluminium fishing boat contenders, it effortlessly combines family runabout and fishing weapon into one complete package.

SAILFISH S7 REVIEW

Whether you’re punching out to the shelf on a sloppy morning, running between swells on a bar crossing, or perhaps just mooching around your local waterway, the Sailfish S7 is the powercat that just keeps on giving.

As far as aluminium fishing boats go, the Sailfish S7 comes with a magnificent presentation. It has an inspiring level of detail and brilliant features, including a very workable layout. Our judges were impressed from the moment they stepped on board by the vast deck area and superior stability afforded by those twin powercat hulls.

There’s a well-appointed cabin with a very good helm, a couple of berths and overnighting capacity, all enclosed by big helm windows with excellent visibility, plus the security of locking barn doors.

Testament to her impressive quality, the Sailfish scored highest in: Suitability for Intended Purpose; Design, Layout and Appearance; Quality of Finish and Stability at Rest. This means the judges handed more than one 10/10 to the ripper Sailfish.

In fact it’s fair to say this 7m alloy fishing boat had them hooked, gaffed and doing death-rattles lying on the deck! The Sailfish S7 is one helluva impressive sportsfisher.

In a previous boat review we said: “The transom is a fisherman’s wet dream, where everything a skirt chaser or bait slinger could want falls immediately to hand.” Sailfish certainly get the piscatorial adrenalin pumping with one of the best fishing layouts imaginable. We challenge any serious fisho to step aboard and not be impressed.

And for those that haven’t tasted the abilities of a two hulls busting through the sea, it may be time you tried. We punched her out through the Lakes Entrance bar in the flick of a tail with the magnificent 150hp Honda outboard motors purring silently on the back.

The Sailfish S7 rides on that cushion of air under the tunnel as if you were in the clouds, and true to her feline appeal, has the tenacity to spring to attention with surprising agility when challenged.

The Sailfish S7 is a real surprise package with a very serious attitude. All of our judges loved the slightly larger Canyon Runner at last year’s AGB on the Gold Coast, but feedback suggested some minor improvements to ergonomics. To the credit of Sailfish, its team took those minor criticisms on board and came back to play this year with a better model that really turned heads.

She not only made new friends with our judges and crew, but all the Gippsland Ports staff whose lives are based around the water took a keen interest in her, too.

There’s no doubt that when it comes maintaining a secure mindset offshore, two outboard motors are better than one and these brilliant Sailfish powercats are capable of getting up and planing all the way home on one engine, should the worst occur. In fact, this package instills confidence everywhere you look, with a place for everything and plenty of them.

From the outside – and on the trailer – she looks immense for a 7m fishing boat, but it comes in at a very realistic towing weight for a vessel of such ability. In real terms, she’s still well within legal towing regulations, and it’s simply the fact the beam is elongated all the way to the bow that makes her so voluptuous.

The Sailfish S7 planes at ridiculously low revs, due to the efficiency of twin hulls and that air tunnel, so she’s enormously fuel efficient for those long days offshore.

No stone has been left unturned in attention to detail – the finished quality, welding prowess, general engineering, appealing fishing and clever layout combined with beautifully produced paint and finished surfaces to take the Sailfish S7 to the pinnacle of her class.

As with most builders of aluminium fishing boats, Sailfish has come a long way in the quality of its Australian build production and this latest presentation appeals not only to the rough and tumble offshore sportsfisherman, but also holds genuine appeal as a family cruiser. What’s more, with such unmatched stability, you won’t spill your drinks.

Sailfish certainly returned to this year’s Australia’s Greatest Boats competition with a vengeance – the S7 simply rocked our seafaring souls. Congratulations!

SAILFISH S7 RATING

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