Leading New Zealand boat builder Surtees has just released its new Workmate Pro model range, the first of which are now here in the West, as BARRY WISEMAN reports.

The most noticeable advance in the Surtees Workmate Pro, compared to previous vessels in the range, is that its solid one-piece aluminium hard top offers greater cabin protection from the elements.

The Surtees brand is well known for its collapsible hard top, which is open in fine weather for ventilation, but can drop and be secured to close the windscreen and roof when the weather turns foul.

With this latest Pro, the naval architects have pushed the cabin back a farther 420mm than on the original Workmates and have added around 26 percent more windscreen and side window glass for greater safety and vision.

The cabin sides and roof are now a one-piece, very solid structure, offering good head room plus safety grab sails overhead and on the rear supports. 

For our summer conditions, a canvas awning slides into the aft roof section to cast sun protection over the rear deck. 

The top of the cabin is solid enough to function as a storage rack for swags, with the side grab rails securing the rachet tie downs.

Moving the cabin back has allowed for greater side-wall protection to the seating area for the skipper and co-pilot, plus standing passenger inside the roomy helm area. 

When I say passenger I mean one good-sized adult like me. 

However, you could easily get a couple of ankle biters alongside Mum and Dad to watch what’s going on. 

Otherwise, they can play in the very tidy cabin up front with its side bunks. 

It’s a well-ventilated area due to the forward hatch when opened, plus the rear is vacant to the helm. 

Parents have good vision of the kids in the cabin if they tire during a day’s fishing or picnic outing to Rottnest Island. 

There’s room between the bunks for a toilet plus a canvas privacy screen clips into place at the helm to close the cabin area off. 

The dash is also designed to suit the range of larger electronic navigation aids and devices on the market today, plus engine management monitors and anchor winch switches. 

The review boat had a Lone Star drum winch on the bow between the split safety rails, the controls for which were located on the port side of the dash, leaving more room for gadgets. 

The power switch panel was on the right of the steering wheel.

Extra deep shelving for safety gear, binoculars, car keys, sunscreen or your sunnies have been added to the side pockets in the helm, with Fusion sound system speakers mounted underneath.

The armchair swivel seats with bolster cushions provide comfort in both good and rough weather, plus with a flick of the lever you’re facing the cockpit ready to dangle a line over the side while enjoying a cuppa.

Unbelievably, there are dedicated rod holders on this Surtees 575 Workmate Pro for 17 rods/gaffs/boat hooks.

The rooftop targa holds seven, the bait station astern has four, plus there are three each side on the gunwales.

I was introduced to the Surtees brand here in Perth more than 20 years ago when Neil Surtees from Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty on New Zealand’s North Island designed and made a vessel for their open water conditions in the late 1990s.

Ever since the company has been seeking feedback from its customers. 
This latest 575 Workmate Pro has resulted from much of that information gathering, including the addition of extra dry storage in the transom area.

Additional lockers are added along the rear wall, obviously to house the batteries but leaving room for tackle bags and tools, or the dedicated Surtees seat covers that come with the boat. You can never have enough dry storage.

The baitboard has been made larger – pushing out to 800mm. 
A glass-front live-bait tank is located under the transom doorstep on the port side.

There’s more storage in the aluminium seat pedestals, plus the full-length cockpit side pockets can take heaps of gear. 

They also double as steps to alight from the vessel alongside the jetty. 
Great idea, particularly for toddlers and those of us who are more mature!

The wash down hose is located on the port quarter, while trim tabs are fitted on the transom.

Low power LED lighting is used in the interior and along the flooring, plus floodlight under the roof. 

On the dash, the review boat came with a 12-inch Garmin GPS/Sonar combo with the GT51M-TM all-in-one MID-CHIRP transducer. 

The unit was loaded with the West Coast Navionics-Plus chart. 
A new model into the Surtees fleet, this 575 Workmate Pro provides those extra features normally referred to as options.

So often people will buy a boat and then must add extras, spending more time with the vessel back in the dealer’s workshop rather than on the water. 

Or when they do get out there, they discover they should have this or that to make life on the ocean easier or more comfortable for others onboard. 

Then there’s the launching at the ramp. 

Especially for those new to boating and fishing, there’s a lot to learn. 

Getting the boat off and back on the trailer may look easy, but it can be fraught with danger. 

A slippery ramp for a start and then the wind can play havoc. 

It can take a long time to get the launching and recover process to go smoothly, plus your fellow boaters will appreciate your skills as they wait their turn on the ramp. 

Surtees has its Quick Hitch system installed, which allows for drive-on mounting, with the bow automatically clipping into lock position. 

Other features inside the vessel after listening to customer feedback include the addition of high-density foam Seadeck flooring for safety and ease underfoot. 

This same material has been used extensively on the wide gunwales, especially for boarding, along the coamings to lean against when fighting a fish over the side, plus also inside the side pocket walls to give protection to anything stored. 

Sinker/drink wells are next to the rod holders on the gunwales, and these side decks are nice and wide, great for parking yourself while waiting for a bite.

For bathers and divers, the marlin board spreads across the full transom and the folding ladder suits divers wearing fins. 

Again, the non-skid foam decking has its use here too.

Looking at the Surtees, you get what you see. 

No bog covering the welding of the plate ally, the runs are faultless. 

The side plates measure 4mm while 5mm has been used on the bottom. 
Under the deck there are port and starboard sealed buoyancy tanks adding to the safety features of the craft. 

The keel has a flooded ballast tank system; a transom flap can be closed to trap 200 litres of water below deck to add stability at rest, then opened when underway to get the boat on the plane quickly. 

If running conditions get rough, ballast water can be added to the keel tank by slowing down and closing the rear flap. 

This lowers the centre of gravity in the vessel. 

The sharp entry and reverse chines soon separate the waves when power is applied.

Our review vessel from sole Perth agent Chivers Marine was fitted with the latest Yamaha F115XB four-stroke motor, including Yamaha’s 6Y8 digital gauges with the fuel management feature. 

This allows you to finely tune the running of the vessel for the best economy from what is a most miserly and extremely popular engine.

Gunwale rubber has been fitted along both sides of the boat, adding more protection at the jetty and the new metallic paintwork on the latest Surtees boats is incredibly unique.
It takes a little getting used to and while not everyone is a fan initially, dealers say it grows on you.

Our vessel was the metallic green version, with black roof and rails. 
You can also get the red, bronze and triton blue. 

Surtees even boasts they will make a colour to suit you if you don’t like its range.
Our green version certainly proved to be an eye-catcher at the ramp, being one of only two in WA on this day.

Blow me down, when we returned to the ramp at Woodies there at the next jetty preparing to leave was its sister boat. 

Same vessel, same colour, with new name decals applied and snapper rods in the baitboard rack, just a week out of the Chivers stable in Bibra Lake.

There were big grins as we exchanged greetings with the owners. 

He had worked on their vessel just days before and they were delighted to be heading out on what was an unusually calm sea during this wet and stormy winter season.

The Perth Boat Show is being held this September at the Convention and Exhibition Centre and Chivers will have a broad range of Surtees on display.

Be sure to check out this new 575 Workmate Pro.

It has plenty to offer and rides particularly well.

NUTS & BOLTS

MODEL: Surtees 575 Workmate Pro
LENGTH: 575m
BEAM: 2.15m
POWER: Yamaha F115hp XB four-stroke (digital gauges)
FUEL: 125 litres
BOTTOM: 5mm aluminium plate
SIDES: 4mm
WEIGHT: 1300kg (hull only)
MANUFACTURER: Surtees Boats; Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
TRAILER: Mackay galvanised braked. 
AGENT: Chivers Marine; 31 Port Kembla Drive, Bibra Lake, WA, 6163; (08) 9434 1822;  www.chiversmarine.com.au; e: sales@chiversmarine.com.au .
PRICING: $126,500 as tested. (Including 12 months registration.)

PROS & CONS

PROS

• New hard top gives greater protection on the Pro series, plus bigger dash.
• Customer feedback has ensured many optional extras.
• Ballast keel system adds 200kg of water to aid stability.
• Heaps of rod storge as well as dry lockers.
• Roomy and airy cabin with hatch.
• Non-skid foam on the deck and widely used for safety and storage protection.

CONS

• Look beyond the colour scheme. It’s the vessel that counts and what works for you. This latest Surtees 575 Workmate Pro has much to offer and is a popular workable size for most. 
  
• Unique colours – like it or not. Surtees will also make a colour to suit.