Reviewed: Stingray 195 FX & Volvo Penta Sterndrive
Bowriders aren’t fishing boats, right? Normally we’d agree but this cross-over sports boat definitely blurs the boundaries.
YOU won’t see too many boats like this in Boat Fishing magazine. On first glance it looks to be totally out of place. Why would we run a ski boat in a hard-core fishing magazine? I thought pretty much the same thing when I checked the boat out at the Nowra Powerboats showroom prior to the on-water test. It looked a nice enough boat for skiing and hooning around in, but it wasn’t really something as a keen fisho I was personally interested in. After actually fishing out of it, however, my attitude has changed somewhat.
Stingray is an American boat company that builds a range of ski and pleasure boats. From all accounts, these boats are extremely well made, feature some innovative designs, are priced well and do what they’re designed to do with considerable aplomb. If you’re into water skiing, or just cruising around with the wife and kids, then Stingray probably has a boat for you. If you’re a fisho, well, the 195FX tested here is the only boat in the Stingray range which has any fishing credentials to speak of.
The FX is based on Stingray’s LX, which is a stock standard bowrider/ski boat. The main differences between the FX and the LX is that the FX has forward and rear casting decks, a mount for an electric engine, tackle storage, and a livebait tank (mounted under the rear seat). The hull, seating arrangements, engine options and basic layout are fundamentally the same.
The FX is spruiked by Stingray as being a “fish and ski” boat and that’s a pretty apt description. It’s not designed as a pure sportfishing boat. Believe it or not, however, it’s actually a surprisingly good boat to fish out of, and a lot of that has to do with its engine, or more accurately the type of engine.
The 195FX we tested was fitted with a fuel injected 4.3 litre V6 Volve Penta sterndrive. Rated at 225hp, this is a sweet engine that gives this boat excellent performance and fuel economy. Apart from being a particularly nice engine to drive, the fact that this is a sterndrive design means that there is no great big outboard to worry about at the transom. The FX’s flat rear deck, which is actually the engine cover, offers unimpeded casting and fishing access. Most of us are used to having an area at the back of the boat taken up by the outboard – that’s a significant amount of fishing area lost. In this boat it’s all open, meaning you can cast and fish out the back with no hassles. This is a major benefit that has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
Also, the weight of the engine is transferred from being directly off the transom to more amidships. This has a major bearing on how the boat handles at speed as well as influencing its lateral stability. There didn’t seem to be any issues with shallow water access with the sterndrive – the leg seemed to trim up and allow the boat into water of 30-50cm when retrieving a few wayward lures.
To date, sterndrives haven’t been an option for estuary/impoundment anglers. Currently, all boats in this market, whether they’re basic alloy punts or top-of-the-line Skeeters or Pro Strikes, are outboard powered. This Penta powered Stingray, while not in the same league as the aforementioned boats in terms of overall fishability, is nonetheless an interesting option to consider simply because of its sterndrive powerplant.
The 4.3 litre Volvo also comes as a carby variant, which rates at about 190hp (and shaves five grand off the total price); the boat can also be fitted with a three-litre MerCruiser, which is even more affordable.
I was surprised to discover that the 4.3 Volvo Penta is cost effective when compared against outboards in the same horsepower class. Our test run revealed that it’s very quiet – even at full noise – and that it offers blistering performance and exceptional fuel economy. A bonus is that the Stingray comes standard with a “cone clutch”, a hydraulic assembly that provides super smooth forward and reverse gear engagement, making this boat extremely nice to operate.
Fuel efficient
The 225hp Volvo in the FX uses about 55 litres of fuel flat out at 4500rpm, according to data provided by Volvo Penta. A fast cruise of 28 knots at 3500rpm sees about 22lph used; 22 knots at 2500rpm results in just under 16 litres of unleaded being used. Fuel capacity is 130l of unleaded, giving plenty of range.
A comprehensive test Boat Fishing did on 200hp outboards revealed average fuel use for these engines – a mix of four-strokes and DI two-strokes – of about 73lph at WOT and 21lph at a 300rpm cruise.
That’s pretty interesting stuff … The sterndrive seems to perform just as well as an outboard, uses less fuel and costs the same, maybe even less. Why don’t we see more of these modern, highly efficient sterndrives on bass/bream boats?
We managed 45 knots two up in the test boat when heading from the ramp at Nowra towards a bass spot on the upper Shoalhaven River. The comfy padded pedestal seats and curved windscreens made it seem like we were travelling at a much more sedate speed. I’ve ridden in similarly quick boats but the sensation of speed in those craft is augmented by the slipstream ripping your face off and the rush of wind in your ears almost deafening you. This boat is far more refined.
The river was dead calm for our test run, so it was hard to assess rough water performance. This sort of boat is designed primarily for inshore use – although Nowra Powerboats owner – and national Stingray distributor – George Klapsis regularly takes this boat out fishing in Jervis Bay, which can get pretty choppy. While I don’t recommend the 195FX for this sort of work, George reports good performance, even in decent swells.
It needs to be noted that the FX has more a vee than most bass/bream style boats and is thus probably more suited to choppier conditions. The boat’s hull is worth noting here as it features a unique design involving a system of inverted strakes. Stingray calls this its “zp” or “z-plane” hull and has actually patented the concept. The zp hull works, according to Stingray, because it does away with the traditional raised strakes that most boats feature on their hulls. The strakes cause turbulence and bubbles, Stingray claims, which reduce performance and fuel efficiency. The inverted strakes in the zp hull “act as horizontal planing faces when submerged, and when very near the water’s surface the outside edge … acts as a spray release. This revolutionary design passes through the water with no bubbles or vortices formed by the hull shape”.
Fishability
The only way to get an idea of a boat’s fishability is to go fishing in it. George and I targeted estuary perch and bass from the FX, with two chunky little EPs to me and a solid Shoalhaven bass to George. This fish was chasing prawns along a rock wall and George landed a cracker cast hard up against the rocks with a green coloured Chubby diver to get a solid strike the second the lure hit the water.
The test boat featured a 55lb Minn Kota electric, which powered it more than effectively. A panel with tilt and trim for the Penta, plus a waterproof socket for the electric and controls for the livie tank and sounder, is handily located towards the bow. Wiring throughout the boat is factory fitted marine-grade tinned cabling with all switches featuring circuit breakers instead of the more common fuses. Onboard lighting is LED and there’s a kick-arse stereo with MP3 capability fitted as standard. Deck hardware is 316-grade stainless steel. A folding SS boarding ladder is fitted on the transom, along with built in ski hooks.
The front casting deck is a bit narrower than you’d find on more purpose designed fishing boats but still allowed two anglers to fish comfortably. The rear deck is more spacious; both decks feature seat spigots for the padded pedestal seats which come as standard. Removable cushions can be fitted to both the front and rear casting decks, effectively transforming the boat from a useful estuary sportfisher to a luxurious bowrider.
There’s plenty of storage under hatches in the front deck; a big central hatch between the seats is ideal for rod storage; and there also storage for the pedestal seats and a removable bimini suncover in the engine bay under the rear casting platform.
Then test boat weighs in at just over 1200 kilos, and was towed on a tandem Dunbier trailer with mechanical brakes. Tow weight is about 1800 kilos, meaning the average six cylinder family sedan or wagon should easily pull it.
I didn’t like the sounder set-up in this boat. Nowra Powerboats had mounted a Lowrance HDS 8 on a RAM mount on the starboard side of the front casting deck. The transducer was mounted to the electric, which posed obvious disadvantages when motoring along with the big engine. You could see the GPS screen while driving but it wasn’t ideal. There was limited room for a sounder/GPS on the dash but a RAM mount would allow a unit to be mounted in front of the driver, which would be a preferable set-up.
All up, I was surprised by the efficiency of the Stingray 195FX as a fishing platform. There are no doubt better, more specialised fishing craft out there but the general fishability of this boat, combined with the excellent performance and economy of the Volvo Penta sterndrive, make the Stingray an interesting option to consider – especially if you like skiing as well as fishing.
