Facts

The Boat Facts:

Boat make - Haines Hunter

Boat model - 625 Profish

Boat type - Half-cabin with walkaround

Boat Length - 6.25m

Boat Length on Trailer - 7.5m

Beam - 2.4m

Height on trailer - 2.45m

Persons capacity - 6

Maximum Horsepower - 230hp (single or twin)

Fuel capacity - 210 litres

Cockpit gunwale height - 840mm

Retail price - starting from $77,900

Facts

The Test Model fitout:

175hp Honda four-stroke

Easytow trailer with Hydraulic brakes

Stainless Steel rocket launchers

Bimini and clears

Twin batteries

Seat boxes with tackle trays under drivers’ side

Lowrance HDS8 combo GPS and Sounder

Fiberglass baitboard with rod racks

LED lighting

Marine radios

Hull, Trailer and Motor weight 2,200 kg

Retail price as fitted $88,250

Facts

The Dealer:

New World Honda Marine

Unit 1, 97 Monash Drive

Dandenong South / Lyndhurst, Victoria

Tel: 9709 8444

E: --e-mail address hidden--

W: www. newworldhondamarine.com.au

The Haines Hunter Profish 6.2m scores an eleven out of ten if you are looking for an affordable trailer boat built with serious fishing in mind.

The new Profish range from Haines Hunter has the serious angler in mind when it comes to design, features and handling.

The team at New World Honda Marine have fitted this test boat with the 175hp Honda four-stroke and an Easytow trailer. This is a boat that oozes quality.

Continuing the tradition of quality boats, the Haines Hunter 625 Profish can not be faulted with little things that make a top class boat.

Every square inch of the interior is painted (no bare fibreglass), every screw-head faces square on to the boat and there is not a rough edge to be seen. When a boat manufacturer goes to this level of detail, you know the boat has been well built.

The overall design of this boat is a mixture of classy and practical. Inside and out, the boat has fishing in mind in all parts of its design. Even though the small walk-around provides you with great access to the front of the boat, it hasn’t compromised the cabin size at all. This is no doubt one of the best features of the boat.

On test day it was calm seas, but once behind the wheel it is apparent this boat comes with the traditional Haines Hunter handling. The boat, which sits nice and high out of the water on the plane, will handle any offshore weather, while in calm seas it is smooth travelling. The hydraulic steering, a correctly trimmed engine coupled with the Haines Hunter hull make this boat one of the best for grip in the water during high speed turns and overall general manoeuvrability.

The 175hp Honda four-stroke effortlessly got the boat on the plane and held there at a 3000rpm. Top speed was 48knots sitting at 5000rpm. In anyone’s language that is an excellent top speed for a 6.2m boat. I felt the 175hp was ample power for this boat, and while it can take a larger horsepower motor, the 175hp provides a good balance of power versus economy.

In fact, the fuel economy performance of this boat is important if you want to go seriously offshore on long trolling trips.

The boat is very comfortable to drive from both standing and seated positions. The windscreen height is prefect height to offer spray and wind protection with the clears off. The only two things that were missing from the test boat was a windscreen grab rail, which is handy in sloppy conditions, and foot rests for when seated.

These can both be fitted as an optional extra. The dash was well laid out with the Honda instruments evenly spaced and the flush mounted Sounder/GPS unit was central to the driver’s vision. A very neat feature is the Honda slimline flush mounted throttle control with the control box concealed behind the wall.

The 625 Profish features full fibreglass bulkheads, which separate the cabin from the cockpit nicely, and has ample room for four anglers to fish with a very neat cockpit layout. There is no provision for rear seating, making room for anglers to move around or even tuck the knees in hard against the rear of the cockpit when fighting a big fish.

The cockpit layout also allows easy access to everything without folding something down or bending behind anything. The three rear cupboards provide access to the dual batteries, which were fitted to separate sides of the boat as well as the bilge pump and manual fuel pump.

The area behind the cupboards is not cramped either, in fact it was one of the roomiest and tidy under-transoms I have seen, which makes it easy if you need to get in there to service batteries or fuel lines.

The cockpit is also full of fishing storage areas. New World Honda Marine use great size seat-boxes in their fit-out. The drivers side box is fitted with five large tackle trays with a lockable door, so no need to worry about theft of your tackle trays.

In the passenger seat seat-box, there is ample room for a safety grab bag and life jackets. There are three horizontal rod racks under each side gunwale, making storage of gaffs, nets and rods neat and tidy and easily accessible.

One feature of the boat I am extremely impressed with is the very large kill tank. The lid to the underfloor tank is completely removable which allows easy access to your fish at the end of the day and also helps with cleaning.

Also under the floor is the 210L fuel tank. The fuel filler and breathers are well placed at the rear of the boat for easy access from ground level at the petrol station.

The cabin is a roomy 1800mm long and 1800mm wide at its widest point and 1400mm high. You step down into cabin to find an area that is large enough to sleep in for a quick power nap, room for a toilet (optional extra) and plenty of storage in the three compartments.

As I mentioned earlier, this boat has the serious angler in mind. The boat was fitted with an electric anchor winch. Talking of the anchor winch, New World Honda Marine fit the Little Annie drum anchor winch by Quality Marine Fabrications attached to a plough anchor, which is a perfect combination for this boat.

The gunwale height from water is approximately 800mm. Another great feature of the boat is the small walkthrough section at the rear. This feature makes it simple for boarding from ground and also from water if you are having a dive or a snorkel off the boat.

The test boat was fitted with a six-rod rocket launcher which also housed the aerials and LED lighting. Fishing at night would certainly be a pleasure from this boat while the aerials and rods up high make a more uncluttered area around the boat.

So whether it’s trolling, drifting or at anchor, this boat has a comfort factor for fishing up there with the best of the best. A test drive is a must.

The New World Honda Marine team have joined forces with Easytow Trailers to be the first Haines Hunter dealership to supply Easytow trailers. Many years ago, the Easytow was more known for its classy ski boat trailers, but over recent years have developed a great range for the trailerable fishing boat market.

Easytow trailers are a simple yet robust design. They pride themselves on providing full keel support for the length of the boat while using side rollers for boat stability on the trailer rather than weight bearing. Easytow trailers are better for your boat and are a pleasure to tow.

The trailers are fitted with LED lights which eliminate the corrosion factor of globes and they also come with their famous Dura Hubs for bearing protection. The Dura Hub sight glass allows for easy inspection for moisture in the hubs and the rubber membrane eliminates the failure of seals due to hot bearings being placed in cold water.

The Easytow Trailer is engineered for long lasting use with a minimum of maintenance.

The test boat was easily driven on and off the trailer with little effort from the driver as the self-centring trailer makes launch and retrieve a breeze.

The Haines Hunter 625 Profish is definitely a ‘thumbs up’ boat. It is classy yet extremely practicable for the serious angler. The basic unit is very reasonably priced for a boat its size and yet can take every optional extra you can think of to make it to your liking. The team at New World Honda Marine use quality fit-out supplies to match the quality delivered by Haines Hunter.

Anglers in the market for a serious trailerable fishing boat, shouldn’t hesitate and test drive the 625 Profish today.

The Haines Hunter 625 Profish sits well in the water and oozes quality for looks and performance.