Boat Test: Edencraft 6m Offshore

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FMG Steve Morgan

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au When we were driving back from a BARRA event in North Queensland, we passed a convoy of cool looking boats heading north as we were heading south. You get to see them up close because the Bruce Highway is mostly a single lane death trap where you’re separated from the oncoming B-doubles by a couple of feet of white paint.

We didn’t know at the time, but it was Edencraft’s travelling roadshow that visited various places up the East Coast, with Cairns as the

Main: Taking the Edencraft 6m Offshore out from Cairns was the first time we got to ‘Ride the Legend’. Above: The boat was fitted with twin 140hp BF Suzukis with SPC (Suzuki Precision Controls), which is digital throttle and shift. redesigned and indispensable dive door through the starboard gunwale.

Edencraft also feature a ‘wave breaker’ on the top of the windshield glass. It’s a strip of stainless steel that directs the waves and slop back downwards when you’re running in nasty conditions.

Otherwise, it’s a boat with a big cockpit that offers a lot to an angler. at the top speed of 74km/h, the engines deliver only 800m per litre of fuel burned, but drop back to 3,500rpm and you get nearly 1.5km per litre combined. That’s acceptable for a rig that’s nearly 2.8t on the trailer.

There’s a keel hugging 350L fuel tank that will give this boat a range of nearly 500km at cruising speeds. Less if you’re heavy on the stick.

The single-stick driving option was very useful in the rougher water, with the outboard rpm synchronised.

If you yearn for a smooth riding and quiet 6m boat where the manufacturer isn’t afraid to make a heavy hull, then the Edencraft may well be for you. Package prices (with a 300hp single outboard) start from $145,000. Michael’s rig as tested costs $225,000.

Get in touch with Edencraft for more information at www. edencraft.com.au. More outboard info from your nearest Suzuki dealer.

Hooked a sneaky barracuda. It was difficult to get the team focussed after that.

final destination.

Just hours later, I got a call from Suzuki marketing boss, Lewis Croft, asking if we wanted to test an Edencraft powered by the twin 140 Suzukis… in Cairns.

There was no way I was driving back for a test but Matt Drinkall and I jumped on the big flying kangaroo to go and have a look.

This was my first interaction with Edencraft boats, which are made in Geelong and not Eden as I assumed.

First impressions are that they are a solidly built, heavy hull that’s designed for tackling rough water and making the ride as smooth as possible.

It didn’t take too long to come to this conclusion as we headed out from Trinity Inlet in a standard, stinking northerly. Shallow water and tide versus wind makes for choppy conditions. As with all hulls, there is a comfortable cruising speed and the weight of the Edencraft hull combined with the deadrise made that speed nearly 40km/h in the prevailing conditions.

The test rig was powered by twin 140hp BG Suzuki outboards. These motors are a 2.0L block four-stroke with an offset drive that brings the centre-of-gravity closer to the transom. They also used Suzuki’s new SPC (Suzuki Precision Controls).

Suzuki’s Shane Darlington explained.

“These are not only the lightest 140hp outboards in their class, but they are the smallest with flyby wire technology. You can also get the 115hp with SPC,” he said.

Boat owner and Edencraft staffer, Michael Lynch said that these were his third set

SPECIFICATIONS

Length (transom).....6.2m

Length on trailer

(transom)............... 8.46m Max beam...............2.4m Hull deadrise ......... 22.5° Cockpit area............6m2 Fuel tank .................280L HP (min-max).150-400hp Windscreen height (on trailer) .......................2.4m

Rocket launcher height

(on trailer) .............. 2.95m of Suzukis.

“I really like the balance of these outboards and the weight of these 140s make the combination perfect for this boat,” he said.

Michael has also been instrumental in modernising the 6m design. This iteration features a single piece lockable and removable cabin door, flush mounting for MFDs up to 16” and a

PERFORMANCE RPM............Speed (km/h) ... Economy (km/L)

700.......................... 4 ................................. 1.4 1000........................ 7 ................................. 2.0 2000...................... 12 ................................. 1.2 3000...................... 20 ................................. 0.9 3500...................... 33 ................................. 1.4 4000...................... 43 ................................. 1.3 4500...................... 52 ................................. 1.1 5000...................... 62 ................................. 1.2 5700...................... 74 ................................. 0.8

Top: We love a dash where you can flush mount a 16” unit. Above: The ample and well finished side pockets have extra rod storage for travelling on the road.

Top: The business end is lined by some quality stainless bar work. Above: The cabin is ample for a couple of anglers to take a break. Here is Suzuki’s new SPC binnacle mount and push button start/stop.

There’s 6m2 of cockpit space. The cabin door is removable and lockable and there’s plenty of places to hang on for passengers 3 and 4.

Top Left: There is a centrally located live bait tank on the transom. Top Right: The current 6m offshore has moulded dive doors that seal well and offer great convenience on the water. Bottom Left: Even the flowcoat work is nice on an Edencraft. Bottom Right: The difference in cost between standard and SPC controls on the Suzuki 140 is only around $500 per engine.

Mercury launches new V-10 350 and 400HP

Verado Outboards

It definitely was not my first rodeo. The invitation came from Mercury Marine to travel to Orlando, Florida to cover a new outboard motor launch. I had done a few of these before. Usually, the product is veiled in secrecy. Nobody knows what it is until the velvet cloth gets pulled from the new, shiny outboard.

Mercury has been working on a few concept projects. For instance, the Avator motor series is a fully integrated, electric motor that looks like it’s from 30 years into the future. Maybe we were going to see the extension of this concept into consumer sized outboards? When we entered the launch function, however, the outboard under the cloth was big. Seriously big. It was definitely not something powered by battery. Doing the maths beforehand, there was a gap in Mercury’s outboard line. They had released a V6, V8 and V12 platform in the previous years. V10 was missing. The very first Stateside outboard launch I attended was their L6 400hp launch around 10 years ago. Was this the year that that product completes its life cycle and is replaced with a V10? Short answer, it was. The music played, the cloth was removed and there it was. Around 6 feet tall and 400hp of the V10 Verado. propel boats ahead with exceptional speed and acceleration. A class-leading 150-amp alternator swiftly charges onboard batteries and intelligently supports the boat’s electrical system. ALL-NEW GEARCASE “The platform’s all-new hydrodynamic gearcase is engineered to improve performance and durability across multiple applications while also maximising fuel efficiency. Mercury engineers went back to first principles engineering and designed the all-new Revolution X propeller to perfectly match the V10 Verado in every way. “Larger diameter and wider blades combined with the deep ratio of the new gearcase provide excellent handling, thrilling acceleration and high efficiency from low speed all the way to wide-open throttle. EFFICIENT ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE “Calibrated to deliver full performance on Regular Unleaded (91 RON), these outboards also feature efficiency-enhancing technologies, a closed-loop fuel system and Advanced Range Optimization (ARO). INTUITIVE FEATURES AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES “Adaptive Speed Control maintains engine rpm despite changes in load or conditions, making climbing large swells easier and cruising at low speeds smoother. Transient Spark Technology electronically adjusts spark timing to optimize low-end power.

Left: Here’s the first ever Mercury V10 outboard launched to the world. Right: Of all the boats available, we focused on the smaller, single engine installations.

This platform shares its DNA with its siblings on either side. It doesn’t come with a steerable, two-speed gear case, but it is fitted with a larger, re-engineered leg. It’s advanced midsection (AMS) is reminiscent of those on its V8 brothers and from the cowling lid down, it’s like the V8 on steroids. When I interviewed Randy Caruana that evening, he promised me the quietest outboard Mercury had ever made and that I would be impressed the next day on the legendary Lake X. There were 26 boats fitted with the V10s to play with. Talk about information overload. NATURALLY ASPIRATED 5.7L V10 ENGINE “The new platform features the outboard industry’s first V10 naturally aspirated powerhead. It leverages class-leading 5.7L displacement and a performance-inspired quad-cam design to

Scan the QR code to learn more about the Mercury 5.7L V10 350HP and 400HP Verado 4-Stroke outboards.

“The V10 engines will also be compatible with a new Mercury electric steering system for multi-outboard vessels, set to be introduced in April 2023. The new system will offer enhanced steering responsiveness, dramatically simplified rigging and a more than 50 percent reduction in energy consumption. “The new Verados will be offered with an optional dualmode 48V/12V alternator to seamlessly pair with Navico Group’s Fathom e-Power System, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity to eliminate an onboard generator system. “We challenged our engineers to improve acceleration and overall performance with the new V10 Verado outboards, while also making them quieter and lighter than competitors’ outboards in this horsepower range,” said Tim Reid, Mercury Marine Vice President of Product Development and Engineering. “Once again they exceeded expectations while also incorporating technologies that make boat operation and maintenance intuitively simple.” WHEN DO WE SEE THEM? The V10 platform is expected to land in Australia in April 2023. For more information, see your local Mercury dealer or the Australian Mercury Marine site. LAKE X If you are a fan of Mercury history, you will recognise Lake X immediately. It’s distinctive control tower and research building with Jetson-style circular windows are unmistakable. Things I didn’t know was that it was full of alligators and snakes. Seriously. There were three in the lagoon that housed the small boats... and they were scared of nothing. We had around four hours to go joyriding. Of course, there is no way that we could get into all of the boats in this period. With this in mind, I focused on the smaller, single engine installations on both less than 30 feet. The best way to see these engines and boats in action is to scan the QR code hereby. It contains sound, running footage and commentary from boat builders. We got to drive the boat as well, and Randy was correct. For a big motor these were smooth, quiet and powerful. I will lift some information from Mercury’s press release to tell you about some of the technical features of these outboards.