Everyman 750 EV boat review

Gamefishers know the ability to spot fish increases your success rate. Few trailerboats can give you the height. Everyman is out to correct that with the 750 Flybridge.

We’ve tested Everyman’s 750 as the outboard-powered Sport Fisher and with the new compact Mercruiser diesel engine as the Game Fisher. The first of the brand’s Blue Water series, the 750 has been joined by 720, 820, 850, 950 and 1080, and while the its smaller models have fairly standard features, these bigger boats are perfect for customising.

A prospective buyer in New Caledonia wanted a towable flybridge boat to trailer around the island. A serious game fisherman, he wanted to equip his model for offshore trips with an extended cabin, plus fridge, cooker and toilet plus game poles and an abundance of rod holders.

The reef encircling New Caledonia means inside the lagoon coral lurks just beneath the surface, so an elevated driving position would allow him to target reef fish without becoming a reef ornament. Adding a flybridge seemed obvious – except no production boat offered one as an option.

EXTENDED CABIN

Discussions with local agents Quality Boats and Russell Spiers at Everyman in Hamilton, they came up with a configuration that could support a flybridge while remaining manageable on a trailer. The starting point was the extended cabin (EC) version of the 750 Sport Fisher. The longer lock-up cabin provides sheltered berths for five, with a triple bunk forward and the double benchseats amidships converting to a cosy double berth.

Although the longer cabin eats into cockpit area, there is still a large open space available for action and the wide boarding platform with safety cage out the back further extends the fishing area. Overall, this boat gives little away in terms of usable space.

THE FLYBRIDGE

Fitting a robust flybridge that fitted the lines of the cabin and didn’t affect the stability of the boat took a fair bit of design work and the client had a lot of input. A three-seater bench design was chosen, with the upper helm position centred rather than on the port as usual. This enables better weight distribution, a critical factor when raising the centre of gravity in this manner.

Access to the flybridge is by sturdy ladders either side of the cockpit and, as the photos show, this is easily climbed even when wearing stylish but inappropriate footwear.

Surprisingly, the flybridge is claimed to add just 40kg to the overall weight of the boat, a relatively insignificant part of the estimated 2550kg towing weight. Equally important, the seat and helm station only add 500mm to the overall height of the standard 750 Sport Fisher, keeping the whole package road legal at 3.70m overall on the trailer.

Counteracting the higher centre of gravity when people are sitting up on the flybridge was a major concern, so a ballast tank was fitted below decks. With an electric pump to fill and empty it, the ballast can be loaded when the boat is light, such as when the 345-litre fuel tank is getting low, and emptied for efficient long-distance running when the flybridge isn’t in use.

THE LOCATION

As New Caledonia has its own bureaucracy to tackle, the boat was shipped without motor, accessories or trailer and finished off by Quality Boats to the client’s requirements. We take testing seriously here at Trade-a-Boat so I had no hesitation in agreeing to fly to New Caladonia to test the finished vessel. This time of year the trade winds blow a steady 15kt, so the water inside the huge coral reef area was choppy. The temperature hovered around 30C and despite daily showers the humidity hovered close to 90 per cent.

THE INTERIOR AND HELM

The timing of our visit meant that while the fit-out was almost complete, finishing touches like flooring in the cabin and cockpit and final carpeting of some interior surfaces hadn’t been done. Still, the bulk of the accessories had been installed and crucially the flybridge controls were operational.

The helm is dominated by the huge Simrad NSS12 touchscreen display, a magnificent piece of electronics that provides for every feature a skipper could want. Here, Chartplotter and fishfinder functions were installed but radar and autopilot options are possible on the same unit. A Yamaha Commandlink digital engine display ensures critical engine functions aren’t hidden by the fishfinder display on the big Simrad and a Fusion stereo system provides music when required; the VHF radio was still to be installed.

Overnighting is supported by a combo gas cooker and sink unit in the galley located behind the skipper seat. A small fridge lives under the sink, and space under the skipper seat will be occupied by a freshwater tank. Large sliding windows either side of the cabin assist airflow from twin swing-doors on the back of the hardtop.

The flybridge helm station was made possible by installing the new Yamaha digital throttle and shift controls at the main helm and upstairs. Control switches instantly between stations at the press of a button from either position. Similarly, hydraulic steering enables steering at both positions to be continuously active. A Yamaha control panel enables the engine to be started or stopped from the flybridge but no other electronics are fitted up top due to its weather exposure.

ENGINE

Hanging off the back is a gleaming 300hp Yamaha V6 four-stroke outboard, right at the upper end of recommended horsepower for this model. Launched in 2009, the V6 is still the lightest 300hp four-stroke currently available, weighing 255kg. The first marine engine to use Yamaha’s plasma-fused sleeveless cylinders, the engineers increased displacement to an impressive 4.2 litres without needing a bigger and heavier block. The capacity allows the engine to be normally aspirated, offering greater torque and arguably better reliability than the competition. Combined with electronically controlled throttle valves and precise multi-point fuel injection, Yamaha claims 17 per cent better economy at cruising revs than the best of the competition, while the lower weight aids acceleration and handling.

Circumstances meant we couldn’t test the fuel economy of the review boat but our previous review of the Everyman 750 Sport Fisher with the same engine produced exceptional figures. On that occasion we managed a three-day gamefishing trip using just 320 litres of fuel for around 370km travelled (200nm). The more efficient cruising speed proved to be around 25kt, with a top speed beyond 30kt.

THE RIDE

The biggest concern was the impact the extra weight on the cabin top would have on stability. During the review the ballast tank wasn’t plumbed in and we had very little fuel and this combination caused the vessel to exhibit slight instability during low-speed manoeuvring, although surprising less than we expected. With the ballast tank full, or a full load of fuel, we’d expect this to disappear.

At higher speeds the strakeless hull evened things up and we could throw the boat around without concern. As with previous tests, the hull cuts through chop easily and has the weight to smooth out smaller stuff. The lack of strakes eliminates crashing when waves are taken at speed, while the chines and high freeboard ensure spray is kept away. Another surprise was that there were no trim-tabs fitted, but this did not cause any issues during our testing.

At rest the boat was typical Everyman – stable and comfortable. The 18-degree deadrise seemed just right; shallow enough for stability at rest while steep enough for smooth running at speed. Overall, properly ballasted the flybridge has little impact on the excellent stability of the standard Everyman 750.