What make is this boat?
Submitted by WSHN4FSHN on Sun, 2020-06-28 18:00
I bought this boat 2 months ago and am not sure of the make. Obviously it has stickers saying Kestrel and the rego papers say Kestrel, but I can't find anything online about Kestrel boats other than Savage Kestrels but this isn't a savage.
I've searched for images online and found several boats that have the same shape stabilizers which are Stessl's made in Queesnland. Some other feedback I've had on Facebook is that it is a Star boat but from what I've seen the Star stabilizers are a different shape.
There is a lot of knowledge on Fishwrecked so I'm sure someone will shed some light on it for me.
Cheers.
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Burley it and they will come.
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carnarvonite
Posts: 8667
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Stabilisers
Stabilisers are an add on to what looks like a Star boat.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Thanks Carnarvonite. It's an
Thanks Carnarvonite. It's an extremely tidy job if it's an add on. It looks completely seamless (plate and paint) as if it was done in the factory. Going by the HIN its a 2001, and from what I read Star boats finished up in the late 80's?? (edit- http://fishwrecked.com/forum/star-boats-picturesinfo apparently moved to Queensland in the 80's?)
Burley it and they will come.
silly
Posts: 382
Date Joined: 02/01/09
The HIN requirement only
The HIN requirement only came in around that time hence saying it's a 2001 model. Certainly looks like an late 80/90's style hull tho.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Yeah good point. That makes
Yeah good point. That makes sense. I wonder why when HIN plates were added that they stamped them with the date they were added and not the date the hull was built? In any case ive got a pretty good direction to follow now.
Burley it and they will come.
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Looks a bit like an old
Looks a bit like an old Westerburg with the add on wings
Love the West!
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
You could be onto something
You could be onto something Sea-kem. Some very similar images with identical lines and rails. Found one with the stabilizers as well.
Burley it and they will come.
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Old friend of mine has a
Old friend of mine has a Westerberg that looks very similar size without the stabilisers.
Love the West!
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
I might call them tomorrow
I might call them tomorrow and send through a pic to see what they can tell me.
Burley it and they will come.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
Westy
Does look like an old Westerberg I had a similar one. Looks like mods have been done to the bow rail at some point
I would say that hull is more like a 80's - early 90's build. Can't recall the exact year but Westerberg put a step in the hull on the bow at some point due to them being a bit wet, pretty sure that was mid 90's
the hull will also have the boat length stamped on the trailer winch attachment point if it's a westy
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Burley it and they will come.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
sea-kem could be on the money
looks a lot like a Westerberg, an older one, with floaties added.
black gen
Posts: 762
Date Joined: 13/04/11
I'd vote for a
I'd vote for a westerberg
mates boat is a 7m westerberg and has the same add ons along the side which came from the factory
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Thanks Black gen thats good
Thanks Black gen thats good info.
Burley it and they will come.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
How does his handle? I've
How does his handle? I've only done a sea trial and now I'm upgrading all the electrics etc so I haven't been out with it to see how it really goes.
Burley it and they will come.
black gen
Posts: 762
Date Joined: 13/04/11
Theirs handles excellent
Theirs handles excellent mate, feels like it is on rails through the water.
Is a 7m boat though so has a bit of weight behind it.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Awesome.
Awesome.
Burley it and they will come.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
If its a westy
If its indeed a Westerberg your boat should handle pretty well looks to be about 5.5m. They are a fairly flat hull so good stability at rest and rides well with a following sea. driving into chop can be a bit brutal if you go to fast. As mentioned above can get a bit wet but a very safe boat from my experience
I'm not really sure why sponsons would be added to this hull I was thinking it could be handy if you were an avid pot puller for additional stability.
That 90hp should get it up to 35 knots
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Yep pretty close it's a
Yep pretty close it's a 5.35m. I'm redoing the bimini (have spun the rocket launcher around after the previous owner had it backwards to park it in his shed) and will add side clears incase there is a bit of splash. When I took it out we had nearly 200kg on one side reaching down into the water and it didn't feel uncomfortable at all which is a good sign. A safe boat is certainly what I'm after!! Thanks for the correct term of the sponsons. Once it's confirmed who made it I'll find out a bit more about the what and why. Unfortunately the outboard (85) didn't push it that well. 26 knots was all it could get. I'll repower with a 4 stroke sometime (hopefully a 115hp which is only +50kgs) soon but for this one I wonder if going to a 19 pitch from a 17 and adding a hydrofoil would give it better top end performance. It's got torque in abundance to get up so I don't mind giving a bit of that up to get some more speed. I'm still pretty green with boating knowledge though so I'll be gleaning advice where I can.
Burley it and they will come.
bradz
Posts: 693
Date Joined: 29/10/07
RPM's
Before you go changing the motor perhaps check the prop (as you suggested)
You need to be able to hit between 4500 and 5500 RPM's at wide open throttle. If not you will be putting the motor under load.
Do you know what RPM's you are getting now?
I did then the best that I knew how. When I knew better, I did better.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Hi Bradz honestly I didn't
Hi Bradz honestly I didn't check what it was doing when I had it out for a test. The outboard has a few other potential issues and I'm planning on a trip up north with it so the repower was more from a reliability stand point not so much about performance. I've got 9 months to get it sorted so I'll get this one to the best it can be first and then see where I'm at. Ultimately I prefer a 4 stroke though so a change will happen at some point.
Burley it and they will come.
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Westerbergs are a safe hull.
No one could ever accuse them of having a soft ride, however.
What is the LOA? looks like just on 6m, same as a mate has up here. He orginally had a 90hp V4 Johnson on it--he's owned it for maybe 25 years? he repowered with a 90hp Honda when they first came out, turned it into a dog, frankly. No combination of prop pitch and diameter would overcome it. I suspect it was mounted a bit high, was very easy to cavitate trimming it out. He repowered with a 130 Yamaha 4stroke last year, goes like a rocket now, but, I suspect, still too high.
But that's all irrelevant now--I spoiled him for platies fishing off the Reefrunner, he now owns a 2300 Caribbean.
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Update so far. I've spoken
Update so far. I've spoken to Westerberg and it is definitely not one of theirs. His guess was a Star as a few of you have said and he gave me a couple of things to look for when I get the floor up to inspect the fuel tank. He also said the hull looks to be an 80's vintage and sponsons weren't around until much later so definitely an add on which after closer inspection underneath I can see the evidence. Ranmar interesting to hear about the repower issues with your mates boat. Certainly not something I'll do without getting some solid advice on first so thanks for the cautionary tale.
A mate of mine has a reefrunner. Very nice boat.
Burley it and they will come.
sea-kem
Posts: 14972
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Well there ya go, stand
Well there ya go, stand corrected. But the similarities I guess are there. Looks like a solid boat nonetheless. Hope it serves you well and interested to hear more on it.
Love the West!
WSHN4FSHN
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 19/09/12
Thanks Sea-kem. Yes
Thanks Sea-kem. Yes similarities for sure. I wish I saved the Google photos that I found of one of the Westerbergs. You'd swear it was the same boat!! So far so good with this one and once I've done everything I'm planning to do it should be a good all rounder. Maybe I'll add a few pics as I go if some are keen to see the progress?
Burley it and they will come.