Stabicraft's 1550 Fisher is a super popular choice for inshore and family fishers - in fact we've even heard it's Stabicraft's best selling boat! Therefore, we love fitting these out as we know they'll always be put to good use along our coastlines - offering great capability for inshore and light offshore fishing, but in a small boat package that's simple to tow, store and operate even solo.
This 1550 headed down to the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road; an area where the mountains meet the sea. Down there, Bass Strait protects the coastline a little more than it does 150km west here in Warrnambool; yet it's still an open coastline with unpredictable weather, so a safe boat is a must to ensure safe returns to port every time, regardless of conditions. The 1550 fits the bill perfectly here; foam filled and airtight pontoons (like a lifering), a reliable Suzuki engine, and 60L of fuel underfloor.
Sure, the 1550 is a great package from factory, but we always add some factory options to complete it. These include a hydraulic steering upgrade, rod and canopy arch, bimini with front & side clears, transom live bait tank and the 60L underfloor fuel tank with u-Dek. We wouldn't recommend a 1550 without these!
We chose to finish this one in Stage 1 Gunmetal Grey Metallic paint, which looked great - but took it to the next level with the addition of a custom lower pontoon wrap, in a matching gunmetal grey. This is more durable than paint and easy to replace if damage does occur.
A Suzuki outboard went onto the transom, maximum HP; again, many dealers fit 60s to these to cut costs but we don't recommend it as there will always be a time when you need that extra power. The hull fits perfectly onto the Easytow trailer, with full skids (all welded and custom suited to the hull) with a Boat Catch, Boat Buckles and Fulton componentry. The trailer also had Easytow's optional foldaway drawbar extension, to make Lorne beach launching a cinch.
Electronics wise, this boat was not short of gear! We fitted a Garmin Echomap 95SV UHD2 and GT56 transducer - a simple yet capable setup with pre-loaded Navionics charts - but we also added the Vision+ mapping to add relief shading for additional detail. On the dash went a GME GX700 VHF radio and a 12V outlet, with added courtesy lighting and Stedi lights on the bow for night driving. The battery kit was upgraded from our standard single Delkor M24 kit to a dual battery setup.
Also on the bow went a Lonestar GX1 anchor winch. These are a heavy duty unit, built right here in Australia, and honestly after fitting hundreds over the years we can confidently call them bulletproof (don't test it please!).