Owners comments about Surtees boats; customer feedback

Surtees Boat Owners

In addition to industry expert judges (who have awarded Surtees® Boats 19 major industry awards) and NZ and international media (who have written heaps of nice stuff about us) we pride ourselves on having loads of happy customers.

Here's a small selection of some recent customer feedback received both by email and letter:

After using my workmate for fishing the past 6 years i recently passed my open water dive ticket and have been using it to dive off.
What can i say, it is awesome to dive off, so glad i got the walk through transom.

Ian Richardson.

"Hi Cliff and Phil,

I picked up my 4.7 on Monday from Familyboats. We went for a fish last night and its awesome!!!

Love the features, build, ride quality etc.

Thanks guys, keep up the good work. I got a Yammie 60hp 4 stroke and it hums."

Cheers
Sammo (Auckland)

"Congratulations & thanks - I have recently bought a new 4.7 Workmate from Peter Carlson in Auckland after swearing I'd never ever buy another aluminium boat. Never say never!

I've only had it for a month but I'm thoroughly impressed - mainly with the build, the design and the performance/sea handling. It's all above expectation. I like the thought that has gone into little bits here and there. I've had lots of small boats & replaced a 5.5 metre fibreglass boat with this one, now I'm getting a bit older and need something safe and good in rough stuff for fishing. I ordered it with a 60 hp stroke Yamaha, plus bimini, front clear, black paint, floor mats etc etc.

I'm therefore very happy to endorse it to anyone, anytime.

Many thanks and best wishes for further successes."

John Steele (Auckland)

"El Toro my 5.5 Surtees is going great! My Aussie mate loves how it goes through the chop and my 3 year old son Reuben thinks it goes alright too!!!! I am really thankful for the shade extension to keep us out of the sun. I have been pretty much driving around the whole time with the back ballast flap shut due to the choppy seas in the sea breeze, a great luxury to have

Another local Cook Island fisherman here has told me that he wants to buy my boat now.......

Thanks again for the fun times."

Cheers Alan (Rarotonga)

"WOW - What incredible service, not only has the boat exceeded all my

expectations, your after sales service is second to none."

Cheers Philip (a happy 6.7 Coastal Explorer owner)

"We love getting out in our 5.5 Workmate® with the family and are stoked with its awesome performance and design features. Good work Surtees!"

Claire and Paul Dillon

"We are truly happy with our 6.7 and have had it some 40 miles offshore from Gisborne in some not too pleasant conditions"

Craig Miller - owner of a Surtees 6.7 Gamefisher

"To own a Surtees is to own a dream"

Paul S - very happy Surtees 6.1 Barcrusher® owner

Hi There

Approximately 6 months ago I purchased a 5.5 work mate from Greg at Rough Water Marine Adelaide South Australia. Greg was fantastic to deal with nothing was to hard or a problem. I have had my boat in some fairly harsh weather up 2.5 meter swells and 25 to 30 knot winds and it rides fantastic it cuts the water with ease and hardly throws any water. I would like to thank Greg and the Surtees NZ crew for designing and building a great boat and being one of the very few boat builders left that truly take pride in building every boat as it was their own.

Cheers
Toby K

To all at the Surtees Factory,

Hello there, I recently purchased a 4.7 Workmate through Russell Cairns Marine and have just finished the fit-out and had 6hrs of running on my new Tohatsu MD50 TLDI motor. First I must commend the crew at the factory for an awesome boat with a high quality construction and great look. My mate at Nambucca River Watercraft who does all my services reckons the welding is the best he's seen on a boat and he also commented on how hard the alloy is compared to an Aussie-built vessel. My first trip at sea was in really joggley conditions and the hull handled it with ease, in fact I was shocked at the speed I was safely able to do in those conditions.The boat rides really soft and just cuts through an oncoming sea giving me exactly what I was hoping for, so I couldn't be happier. It is also very easy to launch by myself off the beach. I will have to modify the trailer though because the front chines catch on the rollers as most boats do off the sand. A lot of guys here at Nambucca Heads have been very impressed with the build quality and layout for the price so I can see a few more orders coming your way from this area. Again congratulations to all at the factory for great workmanship and supplying me with a boat that will give me years of enjoyment.

Regards, Alan Nambucca Heads, NSW, Australia

hi phil and team
i got my 4.7 about a month ago ,due to shift work and weather i have only got out 3 times now , but i have to say i am well pleased with the boat ,its only 4.7 but its a wolf in sheeps clothing ,in that it acts like a bigger boat.its so stable and rides well ,great for fishing ,we fished 3 up last trip.
and it is more stable than my friends 5.3 southern.i mated it with a 60 hp etec and the economy is great ,we went out 2 days this week and only used 1 tank and still had about 4 litres left.i pushed the motor up to 5700 rpm and the speedo read 35 mph ,my old frypan with a 100 hp mariner could only manage 38mph.,so i am well happy, by the way we covered the boat with fish blood and guts it was a good day out but i forgot the camera.
i dropped in to see andrew at family boats to sort out some minor problems ,you are lucky to have him on your team ,a very nice and helpful person.
by the way thanks for the hats we really look the part.i saw in your newsletter the clip on rod holder ,i made up my own from some ply,alli channel and 4 pieces of old waste pipe ,so i can put 4 rods in, and clip it onto the shelf ,as we normally take at least 2 rods each.when you copy me i'll want a sample you know.
rgds lee (same lee as below)

Hi there i have just recvd. my brand new shiny 4.7 workmate- and its better than i thought the improvements eg.new anchor box,nav light mount and others are great.
i have only got out in it once for a quick run with 2 mates fishing ,and at rest it was very stable ,more so than my mates 5.2 mtr southern, and there was just as much fishing room as his larger boat.
i dealt with Andrew at family boats north shore ,a very nice young man,nothing was too much trouble he answered all my stupid questions,and some.i will have no problem recommending him to friends.
when the fishing hots up i will try to send a photo ,as iam not too computer literate [ read technophobic ] is it alright to post a print to you ?
i did have a small criticism - some of the edges eg at the end of the portside shelf and round the plate inside the cuddy cabin that hides ? the anchor box are sharp edged but easily sanded off.
keep up the great job
Lee

Thank you so much for all you have done for me with the boat. You have all been fantastic to deal with.

You far exceed your already fine reputation.

Attached is confirmation of payment.

Thanks again

Cheers

Mark

My 6.1 HT Extra is still going just great since you built it for me in 2004,
I could'nt wish for a better boat!

Cheers

Rene, Palmerston North

Hiya

i have a story for u. u guys dont no me but i have a little story to tell.

Last year my mate brought an old costa mesa sea craft as a first boat and the first time we went out the motor packed a sad up blew up.

So after getting towed back to halfmoon bay with saw spirits the boat went to the garage to sit for a few months till my mate got a brand new 60 merc we have been fishing from this now for 8 months but there is bugga all room for fishing and it doesnt like swell at all and the hull is loseing stuff(starting to die) so yesterday me and my mate went looking around just window shopping and came across ur 4.7 work mate what a boat
its a little big boat perfect for me and my mate to fish in and around the auckland harbour ever since iv seen the workmate i refer it to the boys as boat porn

What i wanted to say is congrates on making the best little boat there is and i cant wait till i own one me and my mate r gona save hard for a hull and trailer package and cant wait till i have one in my hands

cheers M
p.s can u pls have a comp so i can win one hehehe
thanks team surtees

Hi Team,

Just sending you a photo of our new Surtees. Owned it about a month and absolutely loving it !

Does everything we want and more, and we choose Surtees after over a year of comparing all brands.

Recommending Surtees to everyone within earshot !

Hi there,

Noticed your new ads in the NZ Fishing News with photo's of owners of Surtees boats.
This is a photo of myself Left: (name hidden) and my friend Right: (name hidden) on a trip in the far north over easter 2008.
Regardless of whether you use this photo or not i'd just like to say i could'nt have bought a better boat, it's a dream come true for me and everyone who jumps onboard comments on it. If i get another boat it will be a bigger version. Thank heaps!!!

Hi Phil and the rest at Surtees

I have had the boat for a week now and cannot explain in words how happy I am. The little Surtees exceeded all my expectations and then some more! I came back in a 25-30 knot wind from my first fishing trip and my mate could not get over the performance of the hull! The ride is unbelievably soft and dry for such a small boat and. To cap a great day we got some nice snapper, the biggest one 60cm.

Everybody who saw the boat were impressed with the lay out and deck space and raved about the build quality. The boat gives the impression of being built like a tank!

Thank you too for making my purchase a pleasant experience and for posting the complementary hats to me - much appreciated!

Phil, you reminded me to take the baitboard off when trailering and I off coarse forgot to do it on my first trip back from the ramp and it did blew off! So will you please send me another one and let me know how much I owe you.

I would also like 2 upholstered seats that clip on the side pockets, so please add that to the bill.

I would also appreciate it if you could send the tote tank that came with the engine to me. I want to use it to top up my boat's tank at home and to take extra fuel when going camping. If posting all the stuff to me is a problem I do not mind to collect it from Family boats should you want to send it up to them.

I believe you can expect an order for another cc from a spearfisherman who wants a narrower trailer - I have posted up pics of the boat on the fishing forums and have been answering some of his questions. I hope it comes off!

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Hi Phil,

I recently purchased a 6.1 Barcrusher Hardtop Extra. I had a few issues with the boat listing to one side at speed and after a few phone conversations with Bones he organised to have the boat picked up from Hamilton and taken to be looked at. After a week I shot over to the factory to test the boat and the problem had been remedied. I subsequently asked Bones to install trim tabs which he did in 2 days and at $700 under a quote I had got from a boat dealer in Hamilton.

Since then the boat has been running great and has exceeded all expectations. Unfortunately however on Sunday whilst pulled up on the beach some lovely fellow water user managed to crash into my boat at high speed and puncture a hole in the gunwhale! I rang Bones first thing on Monday morning to see if he could repair the boat as I was obviously eager to have it available for the Christmas break. I bought the boat over on Monday at about midday and Bones had organised to have the repair done that day. Within 3 hours the repair was done to a very high standard for a very reasonable price.

I just wanted to congratulate you and your team on customer service and support that in my opinion is second to none. Everyone I have dealt with at Surtees from Bones, to the welders, to the guys in the workshop and the ladies in the office have all been a pleasure to deal with - friendly, efficient and nothing but helpful.

Not only do you guys produce fantastic boats, you back up the product with great staff!

Thanks mate, Merry Christmas!

Regards,