BOAT TEST
SEACAT 565 CC By Yamaha
By Heinrich Kleyn HE Seacat 565 CC was tested back in 2007 by my good friend Kevin Smith (see November/December 2007 issue of SKI-BOAT magazine), and now, 11 years later, I got to test an updated model which has had a few modifications made to it. I tested the Seacat 565 FC model in 2009 and was eager to give the centre console a try, so when I got the call from Erwin Bursik telling me to call Ryan Hansen from Durban Yamaha to arrange a test I was over the moon. There are so many boats on the market these days, so how does a manufacturer convince you to buy their product? One way is to make a couple of changes that will make it much more comfortable on the boat and more to your liking. This is exactly what Grant Read did for Yamaha when he did some changes to the Seacat 565 CC.
was not the first time I’d seen the boat. I was, however, very excited to see what changes have been made to make it more appealing to the fisherman, because in my opinion this boat was already one of the best in the marketplace. One surprise on the new boat was that Ryan Hansen from Durban Yamaha fitted two-stroke engines on her stern. At 70hp they weren’t very big engines either considering the size of the boat. A little skeptical about that aspect, I approached her on the Durban Point beach where she lay on the sand ready for the tractor to push us into the water. I was accompanied by Malcolm Fischer from Durban Yamaha while Erwin Bursik, Ryan Hansen and Shaun Lavery from Yamaha would be on the photo boat. I have to add that this was the first time we’ve ever started a boat test before sunrise and that Shaun Lavery was there before 8am!
FIRST IMPRESSIONs There are quite a few Seacat 565s among the local fishing fraternity so it
WEATHER CONDITIONS We were a little concerned that the weather would not play along and that
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it would be raining, but the day before I saw that there was a gap in the weather and we might be lucky to have a little sunshine. Still concerned on the morning, we got pushed into the water with a slight north-easterly wind blowing and some clouds around. By the time the sun came out the clouds had drifted away and we had a stunning sunrise with a slight wind blowing. The swells were a little bumpy, but if I timed it right it would be good conditions to do the test. I generally prefer the test conditions to be a little like a washing machine anyway, to give me a good indication on how the boat will react to all conditions. In short, the conditions were perfect for testing. TRAILERING Like all the other Seacats, the 565 CC comes standard on a galvanised breakneck trailer manufactured by Grant Read at his factory. This means that the trailers are a perfect fit for the boats. Towing is easy and dropping her off on the beach is simple — if you let your tyres down to the required pressure. Loading her back onto the trailer was a