Southern Comfort

STABICOVER STORY

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SEE THE VIDEO AT YOUTUBE.COM/ STABICRAFTNZ

WORDS by Tim Barnett & IMAGES by James Jubb

SOUTHERNCOMFORT

The 2250 Ultra Centrecab is the new Stabicraft model everyone’s talking about. When its big brother 2750 hit the water, fishos around the world went ga-ga. The market then asked for a smaller version and Stabicraft responded. Led by Mike Stenton, the R&D team worked day and night to develop the 2250. In true Stabicraft form, the concept went through a rigorous testing regime. One of these tests included a hunting trip to New Zealand’s deep south. For Tim Barnett, co-presenter of the popular New Zealand TV series Red Stag Timber Hunters Club and a commercial free diver for 20 years around the Kiwi coast and Chatham Islands — mostly using small aluminium boats — this was a mission he’d sell his missus to go on.

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STABICOVER STORY

Stewart Island, New Zealand

ADVENTURES AHOY: The R&D team decided Stewart Island would be the perfect test ground. We’d also need some tough bastards to do the dirty work. Don’t let their white gumboots fool you.

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Stewart Island/Rakiura sits at 47 degrees south in the heart of the Roaring Forties. Only 16nm across Foveaux Strait from the South Island port of Bluff, it might as well be on another planet. The island’s 1746sq km (674sq mi) are mostly covered in dense bush, most of it (1400sq km / 540sq mi) New Zealand’s newest national park. There are more real (feathered) kiwis here than anywhere else in the country, but less than 400 actual people. And it rains. A lot. Every day.

This is ideal country to test Stabi’s new 2250 Ultra Centrecab. The waters around Stewart Island can be some of the roughest and most unpredictable in the country. The coastline is remote and rugged, while the heinous seas teem with fish, sealions, penguins and shellfish. There’s also an abundance of wildlife out of the water. The majority of the island is covered in thick bush to the shoreline and it’s home to one of the few populations of whitetail deer outside the US, which draws hunters from around the world. There is no better testing ground for a new boat than Stewart Island — and no tougher crowd to please than the commercial fishermen who harvest this rugged coast.

Our mission was to circumnavigate Stewart Island, exploring the lesser-known, more remote south and southwest while putting the new 2250 Ultra Centrecab through

“THE WATERS AROUND STEWART ISLAND CAN BE SOME OF THE ROUGHEST AND MOST UNPREDICTABLE IN THE COUNTRY.”

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THE WATERS AROUND STEWART ISLAND CAN GET PRETTY UNCOMFORTABLE, PRETTY QUICKLY, SO BEING SMART ABOUT SAFETY IS, ER, SMART.

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STABICOVER STORY

some serious white water. The targets were whitetail deer, a good feed of crays and pauas — with a bit of spearfishing on the side. For this trip, we’d assembled a motley crew of expert hunter-gatherers — tough bastards all.

Dwayne Herbert is a spearfishing legend with multiple national titles, commercial free diver and fisherman. Based in Bluff, he’s got an extensive knowledge of the Stewart Island and Fiordland coastlines. Our token ginger is keen spearo and hunter Sam Wild, who owns the NZ Spearo Forum. His day job as an underwater photo/videographer has included gigs with the Red Stag Timber Hunters Club and Piri’s Tiki Tour. James Jubb is the boss photo/videographer and you can appreciate his piccies herabouts. He’s got years of experience and is an avid outdoorsman.

Then there’s Doug, who likes a bit of hunter-gathering, but has a much more important reason for joining this mission. A contract engineer working for Stabicraft in the development and building of the 2250 Ultra Centrecab, Doug’s job is to see how well the boat does its job. At least, that’s what he told his boss.

THE SET-UP

The waters around Stewart Island can get pretty uncomfortable, pretty quickly, so being smart about safety is, er, smart. We make sure we stow the EPIRB and Garmin within reach, plus life jackets and general safety gear. Warm clothes and a good sleeping bag are a must as it gets damn cold that far south. Even though we’re hoping the hunt will be a good one, we pack plenty of food, water and a few emergency beers.

A good thick wetsuit is a must for spearfishing the icy waters — plus a decent set of freediving gear, an accurate speargun, a good paua tool and gloves for catching crayfish. Our fishing gear is a pretty basic set-up with a double-hook rig to catch a feed of blue cod as quickly as possible. To worry the whitetails, we’ll need a rifle. A Sako 85 Finnlight calibre .243, mounted with a Leupold VX-5HD 2-10 x 42mm scope and loaded with Federal Fusion 95 grain ammo will do the business. Throw in a rangefinder, good binoculars and a trusty set of gumboots — and we’re locked and loaded.

CRAY TALES: Holding a spearfishing national championship, Dwayne Herbert was entrusted with snagging some crays.

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“EVEN THOUGH WE’RE HOPING THE HUNT WILL BE A GOOD ONE, WE PACK PLENTY OF FOOD, WATER AND A FEW EMERGENCY BEERS.”

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A CONTRACT ENGINEER WORKING FOR STABICRAFT IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING OF THE 2250 ULTRA CENTRECAB, DOUG’S JOB IS TO SEE HOW WELL THE BOAT DOES ITS JOB.

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“WHEN IT COMES TO HUNTING STUFF, THE 2250 ULTRA CENTRECAB IS A DREAM MACHINE THAT INCORPORATES SOME FLASH DESIGN FEATURES FROM PREVIOUS STABI MODELS.”

BOAT SPECS

STABICRAFT 2250 ULTRACAB CENTRECAB

Length: 6.9m (22.6ft) Beam: 2.55m (8.4ft) Australian beam: 2.5m (8.2ft) Deadrise: 19 degrees Seating capacity: 8 Dry hull weight (approx): 1630kg (3594lb) Fuel capacity: 300L (79gal) Standard HP: 150HP Maximum HP: 300HP

ELECTRONICS Furuno TZtouch2 15.6”

Furuno TM260 1kW transducer Furuno TZtouch Solid State 25W 36nM Radome Furuno NAVpilot Autopilot system

ENGINE SPECS Model: Yamaha F300XCA DEC 6YC Digital Gauge Displacement: 4.2L 6-cylinder Weight: 260kg (573lb) PRICE New Zealand: from $138,995 with 150HP outboard & trailer

Australia: from $129,995 with 150HP outboard & trailer

United States: from $69,995 with 150HP outboard & trailer

THE PREY

Stewart Island has a long history of commercial fishing and most of the small island community are involved with fishing or tourism — often both together. As commercial free divers, Dwayne and I have harvested paua (abalone), kina (sea urchins) and sea cucumber all around the island. Crayfish are abundant in these waters, often living in cracks, caves and rocky boulder areas. Pauas are also plentiful. Found in inshore areas, often around small boulders, they make for a quick and delicious feed. Free diving is a pretty good way to catch crays and paua.

On the fishing front, trumpeter and blue cod are on the menu. The trumpeter is a top table fish found in good numbers around Stewart Island. They’re a treat for spearos as they’re not often encountered in the rest of New Zealand. Also damn tasty, blue cod are found in good numbers and easily caught on rod or handline.

But the main targets on this trip have four legs. Stewart Island whitetail deer often come down to the beaches to feed on kelp, which supplements their diet, or they can be spotted in small clearings along the coast. This is a unique opportunity to hunt whitetail from a boat and the Stabi proves to be the perfect shooting platform. It’s stable, stealthy, doesn’t draw too much water and when we need to, we can nuzzle up to the shoreline and dismount to hunt our quarry.

THE PREDATOR

When it comes to hunting stuff, the 2250 Ultra Centrecab is a dream machine that incorporates some flash design features from previous Stabi models. Arrow Pontoons from the 2500 hull provides a wider beam for better stability, and the Game Chaser Transom from the 1850 supplies excellent backing-up capability. This means manoeuvring in reverse in those tight, tricky, rocky areas to drop off the shooters is pretty sweet. And the platforms at the stern with an access ladder make for an easy exit from the water for us spearos. In the fishing department, using the 2500’s Wing-Style Coamings gives good surface area for butts, rods and multiholders. And there’s plenty of room to move with the 2750 Centrecab’s walkaround, and the 2500 Ultracab’s wide tread plate floor. The 360-degree walkaround makes it so easy to hit the beach and jump off onto the rocks when the hunt is on — and is a good platform to glass and shoot off.

On the logistics side of things, using box bearers from the 2400 Supercab helped the design team fit in a 300L fuel tank — plus the 2500 Ultracab XL’s vee-berth extension — that big boy tank gave us all the gas we needed for our long-distance adventure. Forward-facing windows keep the screen mostly clear of splash and spray, and create a shit ton of extra space in the cabin. With many conventional cabined boats, during rough weather you need to be aware of the dash to avoid smacking your face. The forward-facing window on the 2250 means you’d actually have to try to get your mug close enough to cop a biff. There also seems to be a lot less sea spray and/or rain on the windscreen. Combined with the twin window wipers, this gives us excellent visibility during stormy conditions. The heater is also an asset when temperatures get to freeze-your-arse-off cold. It pumps out the heat like a volcano on steroids, keeping us all nice and toasty.

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STABICOVER STORY

COOKING THE CATCH

CREAMED PAUAS

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 minced pauas

• 3 thinly sliced pauas

• 2 finely sliced onions

• 1 or 2 tbs cornflour

• 1L (34oz) or more of cream

• Knob of butter or a bit of oil

• Salt and pepper METHOD: Add butter to a medium-sized wok. Once melted, add onion and cook until translucent. Add paua and cook until sliced paua starts to curl (around 2 minutes). Add cornflour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cream gradually until pauas are covered. Cook for a further 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

CRAYFISH

INGREDIENTS:

• Crayfish

• 3 cloves finely chopped garlic

• 100g (3.5oz) softened butter METHOD: Heat up the barbecue. Mix up the garlic and butter. Slice crayfish in half lengthwise and remove the poop tube. Smear a decent amount of garlic butter on top. Cook shell-slide down until most of the meat has turned white. Flip over to finish and brown the meat side.

BLUE COD OR TRUMPETER

INGREDIENTS:

• Blue cod/trumpeter

• Tempura batter

• Flour

• Rice bran oil METHOD: In a non-stick pan or deep-fryer, heat up oil until hot. Slice cod/trumpeter fillets into small pieces. Coat in flour and dip in prepared tempura batter. Deep-fry until golden brown, turning if necessary.

TRUMPETER SASHIMI

INGREDIENTS:

• Trumpeter

• Wasabi

• Soy sauce METHOD: Slice trumpeter fillets thinly (2–3mm thick) across the grain. Lay on plate. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.

VENISON

INGREDIENTS:

• Venison

• Flour

• Egg

• Breadcrumbs

• Salt and pepper

• Oil METHOD: Thinly slice venison steaks across the grain. Roll in flour then dip in beaten egg, seasoned with salt and pepper. Roll in breadcrumbs. Shallow-fry quickly in a hot pan until golden brown on each side and pink in the middle.

BBQ BOAT: Seafood fare included a good feed of crays, pauas and trumpeter, along with whitetail deer from the shoreline.

SWELL CHASER

Putting the 2250 Ultra Centrecab through its paces in some challenging sea conditions is a blast. It’s awesome in the rough weather, performing well above my expectations. There is minimal pounding when we’re speeding through the short, sharp chop, and in a fat swell, she lands way softer than I expected. We are all pretty comfortable in some big seas. To be honest, it’s the softest-riding aluminium boat of its size I’ve ever been in.

Exploring remote corners of Stewart Island is also a major buzz and sparks a bit of inspiration for future trips. We take down three deer — with the added bonus of Sam and Doug both shooting their first whitetails, Doug’s a nice four-point buck — and we come away with a decent feed of venison. And, of course, we harvest some awesome fresh seafood, cooking up a couple of hearty meals on the boat.

FEEDBACK FROM THE FRONTLINE

The 2250 does everything we ask of it and a bloody sight more. Overall, we’re pretty impressed and there was nothing much we’d change apart from a couple of minor points. I reckon move the USB ports so the cables aren’t so close to the gear lever — which is a bit too close to the steering wheel. I’d also round off the sharp lip on both sides of the boat, but mainly the one next to the gearshift as our elbows and hands copped a bit of abuse in the rougher weather. The step for both passenger and driver could do with adjusting, possibly with a flip-up option to give more room to steer in rougher weather. Space inside the cab is at a premium, but weighed up against not having a 360-degree walkaround, it’s a compromise worth making.

HORSEPOWER FOR A DEER HUNT

We test three different Yamaha outboards on the 2250s — a 150HP, 225HP and the 300HP. The 150HP is surprisingly quick, powerful and, given a light to medium load, is perfect for someone trying to stick to a budget. But we reckon the 225HP will be most people’s preference for power, efficiency, speed, budget and performance. It damn sure finds the sweet spot for the 2250. The 300HP is unreal. It’s very quick out of the hole, but has about the same top end as the 225HP. It’s a great choice for people carrying heavier loads (as we are on this trip) and where budget isn’t as much of a concern.

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“THE 2250 DOES EVERYTHING WE ASK OF IT AND A BLOODY SIGHT MORE.”

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