RAZERLINE 601 REVIEW
SHARP SHOOTER
Razerline's 601 will turn plenty of heads this summer - especially those filled with thoughts of offshore sportsfishing. The Razerlines hold their own in the incredibly competitive plate-alloy boat market that characterises Western Australia, which is where they are built. The waters here are very rough much of the time, and this demands boats that are very strong, soft riding and stable.
And it's here that Razerline has carved out a niche with a loyal customer base attracted by the boats' quality finish, good looks, ability to customise and strength.
Externally, the cabin appears squat; but sitting on the berths inside, you find a surprising amount of headroom for people of average height. The cabin roof would also make a good place for a small inflatable should you be doing extended runs along the coast.
Sidepockets trace each cabin wall, and the berths are padded cushions over sealed buoyancy chambers, which could be converted to storage bins either at the production stage or afterwards by including some drop-in tubs.
There is a certain amount of gear that stays permanently aboard a boat of this type, so extra under-berth storage would be well received - and much easier installed during the manufacturing stage.
The access aperture in and out of the cabin is larger than average, which is a bonus when moving about on rough days. A 120mm-high sill stops any water on the deck entering the cabin area and is easy enough to step over when traversing the companionway.
The seat modules for skipper and passenger feature storage areas, and are fixed to the floor and cabin liner for extra strength.
Spacious fascias on the dash offer plenty of room for large cabinet electronics - in this case a Navman 4500 depthsounder and a separate Tracker 5500 GPS chartplotter fitted with ease - but I would want a windscreen surround grabrail for this rig to give plenty of security when driving through heavy seas.
The cockpit deck has a monstrous killtank, which could do with a splash sill to prevent bloody water seeping onto the carpet when carving through big waves.
Dual batteries centrally mounted in the transom bulkhead keep the weight over the keel line, and a livebait tank in the top of it is cavernous enough to hold heaps of livies. Fitted with Mercury's 150 OptiMax, the rig presented as a great fishing platform, with enough room to make overnighting comfortable for two. Plenty of punch out of the hole was evident, and it had good manners all round when it came to tight high-speed turns in fairly choppy conditions.
At just over 6m at the waterline, it has a very wide beam of 2.5m that delivers excellent stability. Despite its relatively shallow deadrise of just 15°, the shape and weight of the hull more than handles choppy water with the minimum of fuss.
As Razerline is a semi-custom builder, customers can have a lot of say in how they want the boat's interior fitted out. If money is an issue, the boat can be ordered as basically a shell and fitted out by the customer as time allows. If you're loaded, on the other hand, you can sit down with the boat's designers and really go to town on the layout and options.
That's the beauty of aluminium; but you have to have a good boat as a base from which to start. The Razerline boasts very good build quality and a classic design, and is definitely one to look at for conversion to a full-blown offshore fishing boat, no matter which part of Australia you come from.
Specifications: Razerline 601
HOW MUCH?
Price as tested: $64,500
Options fitted: Depthsounder, hydraulic steering, GPS, VHF radio, CD player, baitboard, bimini top, front and side clears and killtank
Priced from: $52,200
GENERAL
Material: Aluminium plate 5mm bottom, 4mm sides
Length (overall): 7.0m
Beam: 2.5m
Deadrise: 15°
Towing weight: 1680kg
CAPACITIES
Fuel: 200lt
Passengers: Six adults
Water: n/a
Berths: Double berth
Rec/max hp: 150/200
ENGINE
Make/model: Mercury OptiMax Saltwater 150
Type: Direct-injection two-stroke
Rated hp: 150
Displacement: 2507cc
Weight: 201kg
Gear ratio: 1.87:1
Propeller: 17in stainless
MORE INFORMATION
Queensland Power Boat Centre, 3920 Pacific Highway, Loganholme, Qld,?tel (07) 3801 1733 or email sales@boatsboatsboats.com.au
Originally published in TrailerBoat #188