AFTER SELLING MY LAST BOAT, A 2004

HAINES Hunter 680 patriot with a 225hp

Yamaha 4 stroke, only lasted about three weeks

before having seller’s remorse. After getting

married and having two children my wife and

myself were not using the Haines anywhere near as much as

we would have liked and our boating had changed from

mainly offshore fishing and overnighting to day trips with the

family, pulling up on the beach and letting the kids have a run

around.

So I had to look for something slightly different than what we

had previously owned. So I drew up a list of requirements for

my new boat, these were:

• The boat needed to be easily handled both on and off a

pontoon and or trailer setup so we were looking around the

five metre mark;

• The boat had to be able to comfortably seat our family of

four with adequate gunwale height for security;

• The boat had to have adequate protection from the

elements by the way of sun and wind protection;

The boat had to be easy to get on and off when pulling up

on the beach, without having to perform some form of a

gymnastic feat;

• The boat had to be universal in the servicing our family’s

needs and a competent rig to go fishing on both inshore and

when the day suits out the 50 fathom line of the Gold Coast;

• And most importantly the boat had to be an excellent riding

stable hull to deal with Broadwater chop and offshore

conditions. This was particularly important as my wife and

kids hate banging through any rough stuff.

Now that I knew what I wanted in a boat, the

search began, alloy boats were ruled out

because of noise when travelling and the lack of

storage when compared to glass boats. Then

after much inspecting our choice was finally

narrowed down to the Evolution 500 Sportfish.

Evolution is a small specialised builder in

Victoria which in a few short years has

produced some of the finest trailer boats to hit

the Aussie market. And if there growing list of

awards is anything to go by they are heading in

the right direction. So why did I pick an

Evolution?

• First thing that impressed me was the quality

of fit and finish and the level of detail. The

fibreglass work is sensational and the boat is

all fibreglass, no wood is used in the

construction of the boat. There is many

features such as the integrated 50 litre kill

tank with its own bilge pump, the fully

insulated 40 litre ice box built into the floor

between the helm and navigator seats and

the storage, tell ‘em about the storage. Up

front under the front deck either side of the

bow access walkway is two large storage

areas which will easily accommodate a large

tackle box, nets, life jackets and accessories or

substantial anchors such as a super sarca

anchor.

Moving backwards there is a handy glove box

easily big enough to handle multiple mobile

phones, wallets, sunscreens or any other small

valuables. The side pockets that run down

either side of boat are wide and long and with

built-in rod racks able to handle seven foot

rods. The side pockets are raised off the floor

for toe access in rough conditions.

Across the stern there is three large

compartments, the starboard and centre

compartments can easily fit two group 31

batteries and the fuel water separator with

plenty of room to spare. The port side

compartment while smaller fue to the plumbed

live bait tank overhead, can still be used for storing fenders or

lifejackets. All of these compartments are raised off the floor

for toe access and to keep main electrics clear of any water.

As mentioned in the port stern is a sizeable plumbed live

bait tank which has a clear window into the cockpit for keeping

an eye on how the yakkas are doing. What is also noteworthy

is the live bait tank overflow. Evolution has fitted a large

louvered vent which drains out over the transom. Why this is

notable is that most manufacturers will only install a small drain

and most bait fish will art some time stick their nose in there

and block the drain, resulting in the live well overflowing

through the top tid and quite often back ito the boat.

• The second item which impressed me was the boat’s

layout, the working cockpit of this boat is huge for a five metre

boat which can be attributed to the wide beam of 2.25m. The

transom is fitted with two optional rear steps which add to the

visual line of the boat and make entry in and out of the boat an

easy affair. A removable full width lounge is fitted to the stern.

The lounge seat squabs sits on top of a moulded fibreglass box

with even more storage underneath. The lounge can easily be

removed when fishing calls for a clear transom area. Moving

forward there is two custom bucket seats with good sight lines

through the windscreen. There is enough room to stand at the

helm, however people over six foot might find the steering

station low. I am only 5’7 so it is an ideal height.

The centre part of the windscreen is hinges as too is the

centre deck hatch, this allows very easy access to the anchor

locker. While the anchor locker is on the small side, as

previously mentioned, additional anchoring equipment can be

stored in the two large storage compartments either side of

the walkway. The bow is fitted with a bow sprit and stainless

steel roller. The boat can be optioned with either a normal or

low profile bow rail. I opted for the low profile unit to aid

entry on and off the boat easier.

Thirdly, Evolution boats have had an excellent reputation for

ride and handling of all their models and the 500 series is no

exception, with some writers regarding it as the best riding five

metre hull on the market. I would have to agree with the small

amount of use the boat has had since its pre Christmas

delivery and the appalling weather south-east Queensland has

experienced. The boat’s ride and rough water handling truly

defies its size. This is a hull which excels in rough water. On

each occasion I have used the boat in the small breaks of

weather it has been blowing 20-25kts and with massive

amounts of boat wash due to the amount of traffic on the

Broadwater the Evolution was in its element. There is no

banging, no sudden direction changes, stability underway and at

rest is excellent and this boat is dry. The ride and handling is

due to the 21’ stern deadrise, a fine entry bow which is heavily

flared and large down turned chines.

Lastly, Evolution is a small Australian company; they use their

boats and take pride in their workmanship. They are open to

customers’ suggestions so personalisation is something that can

be easily achieved.

 Taking delivery of the boat

I had ordered my boat though Logan River Marine (who

unfortunately at time of printing was closing down) I specified

my boat with one of the new Honda BF90 outboards; I have

had a lot of experience with Honda engines in the past and am

a big fan. The new engine did not disappoint, as it is

exceptionally smooth and very quiet. At idle and speeds under

six knots the motor is barely audible at cruising speeds, from

20-30kts it is barely over that of a normal speaking voice. Fuel

economy is very good with the motor only consuming 1.7LPH

at 4kts, 2.8LPH at six knots, 13LPH at 20kts 18LPH at 28kts

and WOT was 29LPH at 38kts.

We also opted for a bimini cover for sun protection;

however a removable extension from the back of the bimini to

the stern will be fitted in the near future for added sun

protection.

Electrically we opted that the boat be delivered in a very

basic format with only engine harness wiring bilge and live bait

tank and navigation light wiring being supplied. This was so that

I could spec the rest of the boat myself.

• The first item we addressed was the heart of the electrical

system, because I was planning on running plenty of

electronics, lights, live bait tank and deck wash. Because I had

the room and the hull had a lot of stern buoyancy I opted for

a dual battery setup using two Deka Seamate 8a31DTM

AGM batteries which have a 105ah rating and 800 cold

cranking amps and weigh 31kg each. These batteries are

without doubt one of the best dual purpose batteries on the

market today. Some may say this is an oversized system but I

always prefer to have extra rather than to little.

Battery management is handled by a BEP mini four position

battery switch (off, Bat 1, Bat 2 and both) along with a BEP

125amp dual sense voltage sensitive relay. This will ensure that

both batteries are maintained regardless of which battery is

being used. Minor circuit switching is addressed using two

waterproof BEP Contour Gen 2 six way switch panel with

fuses.

Charging while on the water is via the standard 44amp

alternator fitted to the Honda BF90, and while the boat is on

the dock or trailer charging is then handled by a Xantrex

Truecharge 10 smart battery charger.

• The second item which we were to address is lighting.

Because the boat will be extensively for fishing in both the

day and night times lighting was another item to be

addressed. The boat is fitted with LED navigation lights as

standard out of the factory, so this did not need to be

addressed, however cockpit, deck and underwater lighting did.

I opted for two 600mm QLED LED strip lights for the under

gunwale lighting in the cockpit, two 450mm QLED LED strip

lights for lighting in the two underdeck storage

compartments. This gives a massive amount of light onto the

deck without hindering night vision. These lights are

individually switched so the right level of light can be

achieved to suit the situation.

While we had the under gunwale lighting I still required

overhead deck lighting for gaffing and netting fish when brought

up to the side of the boat. For this I used one of the Lumitec

Caprera LED flood lights mounted in the centre of the bimini.

These are great little flood lights which have a slightly better

light spread pattern than a 55 Watt halogen at just a of the

power usage

The final lighting issue was underwater lighting. While

underlighting is becoming more and more popular these days

to create a spectacular effect out the back of the boat my

reasoning was to attract squid, prawns and fish to the back of

the boat. For this I fitted two of the new Aqualuma surface

mount underwater lights in brilliant blue. So I have achieved a

fish raiser and given the boat bling in one go!

• Electronics, this was a very clear cut choice for me as the

primary focus was its fishing application. Space on the dash

was an issue that would restrict what could be installed as an

8.4” screen would be as large as I could go.

• So the Lowrance HDS-8 was the choice, why? The sounder

on the HDS is without peer especially when the

StructureScan module is added. The HDS is very easy to use

has excellent sunlight view ability and the charting operating

and graphic representation of the Navionics platinum chart

cards is superb. Also I wanted a product which would allow

full networking of engine, fuel data, stereo and VHF

communications. So we selected a Lowrance LHR-880

NMEA200 DSC VHF which was installed in the navigators

dash, a Lowrance Sonic Hub blackbox IPOD/AM/FM stereo

which is controlled by the HDS8 and reduces the need for

extra dash space. A Lowrance EP60 fuel flow sensor and a

Lowrance EP-65 Fluid level sensor for full fuel trip

calculations, and Honda NMEA 2000 engine interface kit. All

of these products where hooked up via an NMEA2000

network making a simple and reliable system. A pair of

Pacific Seamaster Pro 1.8 Meter AM/FM and VHF 6dB gain

antennas were fitted to Pacific stainless steel bases for

increased durability.

• The final changes we made was to replace the standard

rope/chain sand anchor kit to an upgraded Super Sarca No2

anchor to 10m of 6mm short link chain spliced to 100m of

12mm silver nylon three plait rope. This ensures that

anchoring in 36 fathoms of water is no issue and the wider

diameter rope not only increases security but makes it easier

to recover by hand. The Sarca anchor, because of its size is

stored in the port deck storage compartment as the anchor

well is full of the upgraded rode. A larger anchor locker

would have been preferable however this is an extreme case.

The standard anchor kit is kept in the starboard bow as a

backup and for stern anchoring to a beach.

All in all we are very happy with the new boat, the

performance, fit and finish and how well it suits our needs is a

credit to the builder. There is very few things we would change

and if we did they would be a larger dash to accommodate

bigger electronics and a better non skip finish on the cockpit

floor.

With our personal fit out touches the boat is all that we

could hope for and with careful planning and identification of a

boats intended use anyone can achieve similar satisfactory

results.

Before I finish I would like to clarify that all of these products

mentioned in article including the boat, motor, electronics and

accessories were paid for by myself for my own personal use. I

have not and will not accept sponsorship to promote

companies’ products. If I believe it is a quality product that is

innovative or has relevance to the general boating population

then I will write about it.