When keen Whangaroa-based fishing/boating couple Cliff and Sue Vernon looked to downsize from their 55ft Regal, they had a firm idea of what they wanted in a smaller craft.
A large trailerboat wasn’t an option and there was a limited choice in the 10 to12-metre glass launch range.
For Cliff, the boat they were searching for had to be customisable with all the options for a mainly day gamefishing boat; while for Sue there had to be some good use of space and comfort.
The Vernons are regular visitors across the ditch where they have crisscrossed the world’s biggest island with caravan in tow, often away for several months at a time. A reduction in living space while on the water did not phase them.
Finally settling on a Superior 1050 Sports Sedan, the Vernons believe they have the best of both worlds, and having spent time aboard Sadira, I can see why. Perusing the standard options list alone reads something like a Burnsco’s product catalogue, and that is without taking up any of the customisation options on offer.
Sadira is primarily a day boat, although she is more than capable providing the home comforts for a couple of couples overnighting for a day or three.
There is the master double berth forward with another tighter-fitting double on the port side. Opposite that is a combined head (featuring a 100-litre holding tank) and a sliding shower rose with a mixer tap. Pressurised hot and cold water is delivered to the handbasin. Ventilation is provided via a roof hatch, and the compartment is well lit. A shower sump pump and filter make up the key head features.
Moving up the companionway, the helm station is to the starboard side and the main saloon area to port. The latter features an opening roof hatch with a sliding internal shade, adding to the excellent ventilation that keeps those hot days cool. A diesel heating system keeps the windscreen demisted and the saloon warm on those late autumn and winter days when the snapper often bite best. The rotating table allows four people to sit around the lounger comfortably, with additional settee seating opposite.
Loaded with electronics
Raymarine electronics dominate the helm station – VHF, autopilot and double nine-inch Axiom Plus screens for the sounder, plotter, and radar displays. The capstan and bow thruster are at the skipper’s fingertips. A six-speaker Fusion stereo with zone separation, along with a television, help keep the crew entertained. Trim tab and Seakeeper 2 controls take up much of the remaining helm real estate, along with a banof C-Zone digital switches. A customised seat ensures a comfortable day for the skipper, especially when trolling for extended periods.
Visibility from the helm is excellent, courtesy of a one-piece moulded glass windscreen uninterrupted by supporting mullions. Whether you are looking for nature’s fish finders (birds!) at sea or manoeuvring at close quarters around the marina, your line of sight is uninterrupted.
Progressing aft, the galley has everything at the chef’s fingertips. A four-burner gas cooktop and oven/grill provides the heat while a stainless-steel sink with pressurised hot and cold water makes cleaning up after the cook a breeze. Refrigeration is courtesy of a 12-volt 120-litre Novacool unit, with a freezer cabinet in the cockpit.
Keen on their gamefishing, the owners appreciate the saloon-cockpit indoor/outdoor flow, courtesy of a bi-fold door and lift up window. The Vernons have gone away from the traditional teak fitout (including the decks), opting for an American oak interior which adds to the airy feel of the well-lit internal spaces.
The fishing fun bits
And now to the fun bits if you are a keen fisher: the cockpit.
There are all the usual bits and pieces a well-appointed fishing/cruising craft should have – washdown hoses, a pressurised hot/cold freshwater cockpit shower, hand basin, a shore power locker and a walkthrough to the boarding platform. You’ll also find cool storage, plus a freezer, along with rod and gaff storage in an elongated starboard locker.
The covering boards are finished with U-Dek, as is the transom top. A removeable stainless-steel staple on the duckboard provided a base for the baitboard and somewhere to pull an inflatable against when underway. The livebait tank is set into the duckboard, but for me the one glaring omission is tuna tubes. But Cliff says he predominantly pulls plastic via a four-rod setup (no shotgun centre rigger) and Kilwell outriggers, so tubes are not essential.
The other missing key element is any form of covering for the cockpit sole. While teak is used for cockpit soles and covering boards on many launches, Cliff says he is trying to keep long-term maintenance and time spent cleaning the boat to a minimum.
“The last thing I want to do is spend half a day on the marina cleaning up after a fishing trip,” he says.
Cockpit controls are a great feature of Sadira’s angling pedigree. Cliff can steer, throttle up and down, set the auto pilot, call on the VHF, and use the bow thruster from this mini-helm station – perfect for handling a feisty, unpredictable billfish.
The house battery bank has a 450-amp capacity and is backed up by two solar panels on the roof. A 130-amp alternator ensures there’s plenty of juice when it’s needed. Rounding out the cockpit fitout is the liferaft, easily accessed in a transom locker. Cliff says this gives him and Sue peace of mind as they don’t carry an inflatable tender.
Plenty of power
A single 370hp Yanmar 6LY drives Sadira at a top speed of 25.5knots at 3300rpm,with a cruising speed of 19.2 knots (pulling 2380rpm – the peak of the engine’s torque curve, with it burning 40 litres per hour) delivered via a v-drive. Perfection Marine’s main man Sam Dorotich says the same hull, sans the Seakeeper and with a further 200 litres fuel capacity, tops out at 28.5knots, cruising at 21.5 knots.
Cliff opted for mechanical fuel injection, his thinking being “no electronics to go wrong.” At test time there was only delivery miles on the clock, so a full set of numbers was not available.
The vessel rides well and is quiet, thanks to the underwater exhaust system. We pointed her nose into and across along a half-metre wind chop at Stevensons Island and couldn’t find any bad habits. The vessel’s performance, especially in the stability score, was aided by a Seakeeper II gyro.
I have firsthand experience of the advantages this technology offers, and it is a gamechanger. It does add weight, especially when considering the bespoke batteries required to run it, but it is a compromise worth making, the Seakeeper creating a more stable platform at rest and on the drift.
Overall
The Superior 1050 Sport Sedan ticks many boxes. First impressions are of a well laid out and finished craft that has many options available, depending on how the owner wants to customise it.
Sadira is overnight capable as well as a great day boat (its primary function). Hull performance is excellent and stability, especially with the Seakeeper II gyro aboard, makes boating more comfortable – especially for crew members prone to mal de mer.
Sadira is not the Vernon’s first rodeo, and this is reflected in the way she is optioned. Excellent use of space is a feature, born after many hours in different boats on the water and from travelling in a caravan through the wilds of Australia. As Sue quipped – “there is a lot less room on board for Cliff to clutter”!
Whether you are stepping up from a trailer boat or downsizing the vessel you have, the Superior 1050 Sport Sedan has a great deal going for it, not the least the extent to which it can be customised to suit your particular boating lifestyle. That includes a flybridge option. It is easily handled two-up, but a bow thruster is a must.
Sam says when a vessel leaves their Manurewa yard ready to splash it is ‘turnkey ready.’
The company’s philosophy is for the owner to have significant input at both the design stage and throughout production. “Something we pride ourselves on is working alongside the owner to build the boat THEY want.”
And what if you want something slightly larger from the Superior Marine stable? There is a 12-metre option – the Superior 1200 Sport Sedan – which is slightly beamier than its little sister at 3.9 metres, providing just that little bit more space.
What might I do differently
Every angler has a different approach and style to their fishing. If I were fortunate enough to be the one calling the shots, there are a few things I personally would add to Sadira.
One would be a rocket launcher for additional fishing tackle day storage, or even a drop-in centre rigger. While on the subject of rod holders, I would add several more around the covering boards from which to run a teaser or dredge. Having said that, Cliff likes to make his gamefishing as simple and uncomplicated as possible, which he has achieved with the current set up.
The second change would be to extend the U-Dek throughout the cockpit and forward to the bow. You never know when you will have to go forward to tie off the warp or chain to break an anchor free. The bow rail and the grabrail and cabin top railing already provide good handholds, but U-dek underfoot would ensure better grip.
The benefits of U-Dek or similar in the cockpit include a shock absorbing quality, along with sure footing – both important during a protected stand-up battle with a decent billfish or tuna.
And I nearly forgot – a couple of tuna tubes please!
The above are not criticisms, more something to consider when optioning a vessel of this size and capability. Upon discussing them with Ben, he told me all my suggestions were possible to implement.
I was greatly impressed by the Superior 1050 SS and what the Vernons have created with their input into the build and while it is primarily a saltwater craft, it would not be out of place on Lake Taupo or one of the larger southern waterways either.
The good news is, what ever your intended use, Superior Boats is capable of delivering on the finer points.
