Australia’s foremost small boat magazine, TrailerBoat, has named the Evolution 552 Platinum as Australia’s Greatest Fibreglass Fishing Boat for 2011.
The Evolution scored a convincing win in a strong field including the Haines Hunter 560 Classic, Trophy 2152 WA, Signature 543RF and CruiseCraft 530 Explorer. “Firecracker of a boat”, “one of the best boats of this size I’ve ever tested” and “small boat with big balls” were among many glowing comments from the five judges. In a whopping 44-page feature in its August issue, TrailerBoat also names the winners in two supplementary categories. For the second year of its Australia’s Greatest Boats awards, TrailerBoat mounted an epic judging battle at Port Stephens, scoring each boat in 10 separate categories to find the winners. Chief judge John “The Bear” Willis said the Evolution was a unanimous winner, scoring nine out of 10 overall from four of the five judges to place it convincingly ahead of the field. “We assessed each boat by ten criteria, starting with suitability for fishing, innovation, design and layout, quality of finish, handling and ride, and stability at rest,” he said. “Each judge also gave individual scores for ergonomics, standard equipment, value for money and, of course, that indefinable X-Factor – and then we added them up to find our winner. “In addition to its compelling overall scores, the Evolution also achieved perfect 10 out of 10 ratings from two of us for fishing suitability, another for handling and ride and two more for the X-Factor. “It would have got a perfect 10 for innovation too, had it not been an upgrade of the existing 550 model – but what an impressive and comprehensive upgrade it is.” Summing up the judges’ feelings about the winner, The Bear praised its exceptional stability and handling, near-faultless layout for fishing, foam flotation, plentiful storage of all types, good looks and a level of equipment that justified its substantial price. Sharing the judging duties with The Bear were veteran boat tester and writer Warren Steptoe, vastly experienced photojournalist John Ford, formerly South African boating specialist Kevin Smith, and Jeff Strang, editor of Trade-A-Boat New Zealand. TrailerBoat delivers all the latest trailerable boat news and reviews every month, plus a wealth of classified ads for anyone searching out their own next boat for fun on the water. Completing this year’s Australia’s Greatest Boats package will be an action-packed DVD covering all the awards and due out just in time for Christmas. For a preview of the video footage, visit www.trailerboat.com.au.
