mould that John has labelled his own
for the season. Hence the decision
was made to also fi t the Precision
Manoeuvring Joystick Control system.
These impressive engine controls will
certainly come in handy for those
in tight mooring spaces as it allows
ridiculously easy control including
sideways motion. It will be invaluable
for some customers, particularly
commercial and rescue, but for me
twin outboards on a trailer boat allow
plenty of manoeuvring fl exibility
without spending nearly $30K extra on
the joystick. In fact, I’d spend far less
and fi t a bow thruster if mooring were a
problem. But no doubt, some will love
it and it’s the latest new gizmo for the
gadgets among us!MEET AND GREET
What a tremendous assembly ofboats and engines greeted us at the
Annual Suzuki Marine National Dealer
Conference, with the new Signature
788SF with twin 350hp engines topping
the bill. However there was much
more to see and feel for this innovative
company.
It was an outstanding array of Haines
Family Group and Suzuki Dealers
all gathered together for two days of
information, display, education and
of course some fun on the water with
some of Australia’s leading brands. It
is hard to appreciate the actual size of
the brand partners until they are all
gathered with a multitude of national
and international dealerships all
represented. Haines Family Group
products include Signature, Seafarer and
Tournament hulls and they also contract
manufacture a number of other leading
brands from the Wacol (Qld) factory.STAR-STRUCK
Whilst the 788SF was the new star of the
show the Hooker 8m Centre Console
with single DF350A turned plenty of
heads with the ride and construction,
especially when teamed with the
new Suzuki 350. It showed us all the
power and performance from a single
engine fi t to a large offshore hull. The
Queensland Police Service tactical
vessel NAIAD 11.2m with triple DF350A’s
also turned heads and provided plenty
of thrills for large groups at a time. We
spoke with the skippers of the unit who
told us that the boat had previously
been fi tted with Suzuki 300’s and had
given sensational service and gutsy
power, however upgrading to the new
350’s with the contra-rotating props had
given the boat an amazing upgrade in
power and handling both at high and
low speed.76 trade aboat.com.auSignature 788SF / Suzuki DF350A