on hinges allowing plenty of room for
technicians. This was teamed with a
handy switchbox recess that eliminates
searching for pesky hidden isolators
at the beginning and end of every
excursion.
The 788SF has two beautifully
presented bolster-style helm seats
in front of the fully plumbed livebait
tank and rigging bench. Underfloor
are wet box/kill tanks and the transom
features a walk-through either side with
platforms. The large work area is ideal
for game and sports fishing, and you
can fish over the twin engines quite
easily. The deck area features nice deep
sides with a coaming height that will be
ideal for stand-up game fishing and still
high enough to keep the kiddies safe
on a family outing. There are moulded
gaff and rod storages in the sides
and stainless rod holders in sensible
placement whilst still allowing plenty
of space for customisation for finicky
fishos.
Make no mistake, the new Signature
788SF is an absolute weapon,
particularly with the pair of new Suzuki
350hp four-stroke engines that rocketed
the big, bootyful beast to 54.5kts (over
100kph) with five passengers, a load of
fuel and a new presentation that was
still being run-in and trialled for prop
and height set up. I believe that they
have now achieved figures close to 60kts
with fine tuning and sensible load. She
simply exploded out of the hole on take-
off and drives with ultimate acceleration
throughout the rev range with a deep,
gutsy groan that certainly left me
gasping with excitement!
However whilst this demonstration
package was certainly a huge load of
fun it is not commonly offered for sale- it was simply a demonstration for
the Haines Group’s fine capabilities.
Yet I predict that you will soon be
seeing plenty of these fine innovations
on the water with more sensible twin
200-250hp engines as the maximum
recommended power is 500hp. And
believe me, that’s plenty!
COUNTDOWN SUZUKI
- “A REVOLUTION IN
INNOVATION”
The Haines/Suzuki Dealer Conference
on the beautiful Noosa River presented
a sneak peek of the new Signature 788SF
hull which still had some finishing work
to go. This one was the first out of the
mould and became the test vessel for
a pair of the new, mighty impressive
Suzuki 350hp four-strokes that simply
rocketed this fine hull through an
eye-opening and jaw-dropping display
of power and performance. When we
asked John Haines as to why he had
fitted a combined 700hp to his new
toy that was officially rated to 500 he
returned with a broad grin, “Because we
can!”
We can’t argue with that eh!
Seriously though it is always good
for a manufacturer to push its new
designs to the limits and that’s exactly74 trade aboat.com.au