The Seacruiser 4800 Bulldog is one of Australia's most heavy duty tinnies - often far exceeding the capabilties of your standard 4.8m boat! This one was well equipped to fish out of theNSW Central Coast area - where a small boat is required to navigate the many small bays and coves in the area, yet offshore capability is still a must to take advantage of the spectacular longtail & yellowfin tuna runs - and of course the marlin! For this, the 4800 Bulldog fit the bill perfectly - just as it does down south here as a cray diving boat and a Top End barra vessel.
The 4800 begins life in a shed in Wallaroo SA, where our fabricator Wayne Howell transforms the aluminium sheets into a functional, rugged hull. We don't fit much to these hulls in SA - from here, the 4800 is towed back to Warrnambool on a custom Easytow trailer where the full fitout begins. Max HP on these boats is 100hp, and that's what exactly what went onto this one, a 100hp Suzuki outboard. Bulldogs are configurable in both centre console and tiller steer, but this one was set up as a centre console - with upgraded hydraulic steering. Ed's become a huge fan of jacking plates, so on went an Action 4" setback jacking plate with LED guage for precise engine control. We also added an SE Sport 300 hydrofoil to the rear to improve the ride whilst underway.
Lots of additional fabrication took place once the hull entered fitout. A massive cast deck with hinged hatches and spacious storage underneath, an enclosed transom, a custom roll bar with rod holders and a tow point, an 80L underfloor fuel tank, and the centre console with a grab rail, ladder and anchor well cover - safe to say the welder was busy this week!
The whole floor was covered with custom DECKD flooring which not only looks incredible - but reduces noises, is hard wearing, long lasting and increases grip dramatically when wet. On the console went a Garmin Echomap Ultra 2 105SV - pre-loaded with mapping and with the included GT56 transducer. This is a fantastic package that won't break the bank but will give the customer everything he needs for inshore work.
The 4800 also got a full electrics package including dual batteries, compass, GME GX700 radio, wireless phone charger, nav lights, anchor light, bilge pump, switch panel, fuse block and wiring. It's the perfect all-round boat for all the East Coast inshore fishing and we can't wait to see what it gets up to!