Reviews

Surtees 5.5 Workmate

A no-nonsense boat for those on a budget, the 5.5 Workmate has a couple of neat tricks up its sleeve

Loading the player...

Watch video of self-loading

  • Flooding under-floor tank makes the boat stable at rest
  • Folding hardtop to fit into garage or carport
  • Single-person launching is possible with the trailer latch
  • Excellent storage for a compact vessel
  • Hull holds well in high-speed turns

Featuring the Surtees self-flooding ballast tank, six fully
welded stringers, a six-year hull warranty and unique self-loading
trailer catch, the 5.5 Workmate is a lot of boat in a small
package.

Plus, Surtees has designed a hardtop and windscreen package that
can fold down, reducing the total height of the boat on the trailer
to a standard 4WD wagon. This allows a bigger boat to be stored in
a garage or carport.

First glance

The boat has an open layout, with a lined forward area of the
cabin with two bunks, which are not quite full-length and covered
in a washable PVC.

A large alloy hatch provides access to the bow area, where an
anchor well holds the anchor and rope. Two broad, lined parcel
shelves provide lots of storage.

The dash layout is simple, with the test boat only having the
standard engine gauges. There is sufficient space for a 7″
fishfinder/chartplotter, as well as a VHF radio.

Although the standard pedestal seats are not adjustable for
height, there is a hinged foot rest.

Great ideas

Perhaps Surtees’ best innovation is the alloy hardtop. The front
is held by pneumatic stays, with a system that allows the front to
be pulled down until it meets the windscreen. This position can be
used when towing the boat, or to reduce wind and spray coming over
the windscreen if a set of clears are not fitted.

Along the back of the hardtop is a rocket launcher with space
for six fishing rods and a floodlight is fitted for night
fishing.

Reducing the boat’s height is a simple matter of unclipping a
couple of catches and swinging the hardtop back into the cockpit. A
further three catches release the windscreen, which again swings on
hinges back into the cockpit, leaving the cabin roof as the highest
point of the boat. The whole process takes just a couple of
minutes.

Behind the pedestal seats the unlined cockpit is open and well
suited to fishing. Gunwales are wide and comfortable to sit on,
with two rod holders on each side. A wide parcel shelf under the
gunwale holds extra gear. Along the rear is a bench seat that folds
up to cover and protect the battery and switches or folds down to
provide a seat for two occupants. A step-through transom is
available as an option.

Details

Under the cockpit floor is an 80L fuel tank, with a fuel gauge
set just below the level of the deck. The tank filler is on the
floor between the pedestal seats. A wet storage area is set in the
rear under a removable aluminium hatch, and this can be drained
into the flooding keel when the boat is on the trailer. An optional
bait board, with further rod holders, fits into a mounting point in
the transom.

Power

Hanging off the stern of the boat is an Evinrude E-Tec
fuel-injected, 90hp, two-stroke outboard. The boarding platform has
a swinging ladder on the port side. On the starboard side a
removable burley pot is set into the boarding platform.

On the water

The test day was unpleasant, and we headed out onto the harbour
in a 25-knot wind with a sizeable chop.

As soon as we powered up the Evinrude the benefits of the
Surtees hull showed themselves. Measuring 5.5m in length and with a
beam of just 2.15m, the deep V hull (18 degrees at the stern) coped
well with the conditions. We were in light trim and the boat fairly
bounced off the wave tops. We managed to get totally airborne but
the landing was no problem thanks to the lack of planing strakes
and soft-riding deep V hull.

Hitting the swell side-on did result in spray coming into the
boat, but that was to be expected. Overall the chines did a good
job of directing it away from the boat. Its possible to allow the
ballast chamber to fill and then close the release gate, which
gives a more comfortable but slower ride.

At rest the flooding keel fills with 320L of water, an excellent
stabiliser on this relatively light hull.

Some high-speed turns proved that the hull holds a turn well.
The chines make up for the lack of planning strakes and enable
tight turns to be made when required.

The 80L fuel tank should provide for a whole days fishing for a
couple of mates without any risk of running dry.

Despite the conditions we managed to maintain a 20-knot speed
heading back. Back at the beach we ran up on the sand, one of the
benefits of an alloy hull. The self-loading latch meant it was a
simple matter of powering up until the boat connected with the
latch and was secured. See the self-loading latch in action
below.

Read in-depth boat reviews in the latest issue of Trade-A-Boat magazine, on sale
now.

See Surtees boats for sale here.

Specifications

LOA 5.5m
Beam 2.13m
Fuel capacity 80L
Motor Evinrude 90hp injected two-stroke
Trailer Surtees multi-roller single-axle
galvanised trailer
Warranty Six years on hull; five years on
motor

Video

 

Previous ArticleNext Article
Send this to a friend