Noble Super Vee 625 Review

WARREN STEPTOE puts an angler-friendly offshore boat through its paces. 

In many ways, 6.2 metres is the perfect size for a trailerable offshore fisher. It’s big enough to offer genuine comfort and safety while travelling offshore, yet small enough to be trailered. 

In the case of the new Noble Super Vee 625, the total weight of the boat/motor/trailer package has been carefully kept below two tonnes gross, which keeps trailer specs and costs down. This allows it to be legally towed with medium size 4WDs and even some sedans.

Noble’s latest 625 Super Vee represents the most substantial development to the Super Vee design since its introduction some years back. The most obvious refinements are above the waterline, although there has been a little fine-tuning to the unique double chine area as well. 

Topsides, the latest 625 hull now features 100 mm higher sides and a correspondingly higher deck to further improve self-draining capabilities. The transom area has been tidied up too, with a new central scupper and changes to the aft corners making it easier to clean the cockpit after a successful fishing trip.

For this test we were able to look at two of the different interior configurations Noble offers a centre console and a centre cabin. There are three options for the ‘roof’: a targa arch with soft bimini; a hardtop; and an extended hardtop. All versions have shaped safety glass windscreens for safety. These new glass screens allow windscreen wipers to work properly.

Noble calls its centre console a ‘fishing cab’. The console is wide enough for two people to sit inside protected from the weather and spray while travelling. Here’s a boat with the fishing amenity of a centre console with as much shelter as a cabin. 

Our test Fishing Cab had a single upholstered storage box as a seat behind the console. The centre cab version had twin bucket seats atop a pair of storage bins. Any of these storage compartments can be optioned as ice boxes or refrigerated.

The only thing I’d change from either test boat would be to opt for a raised deck forward alongside the console in the Fishing Cab instead of the level deck from transom to bow fitted here. This would provide more storage and better utilise the bow area (not that space was particularly limited inside the cavernous console).

It’d be very hard to go past the centre cab in a direct comparison between the two. It offers basically the same 360-degree fishability, plus ample sleeping space for two inside. I commented on this to Ben Noble and he said that many clients order fishing cabs only to change their minds after seeing the centre cab layout.

How ironic, someone finally builds a better centre console fishing boat and it plays second fiddle to a boat you can sleep on. As a passionate lover of centre consoles, I must agree the 625 Super Vee centre cab sacrifices absolutely nothing to the fishing cab.

Both boats have one of the best transom layouts in the business. Fishing know-how is clearly evident in the set-up of the workbench, live well and rod holders. The batteries are now inside sealed compartments as well. Up to six rigged rods can be stowed in the rocket launcher on top. Under the deck of both configurations is a 900×900 mm overboard-drained fish box. A 180 lt fuel tank comes standard with the 625 Super Vee, with a further 180 lt fuel tank and 100 lt water storage available as optional extras. 

The 625 Super Vee provides the smoothest offshore ride of any plate aluminium boat I’ve experienced. The overall standard of workmanship and engineering is top-shelf, too. Quite simply, fishing boats don’t get much better than this.

The boats used for our photo shoot were powered with 135 and 150 hp Honda four-strokes and this too makes for an interesting choice for prospective 625 Super Vee buyers. While the 150 hp powered boat obviously had an edge and felt perfect, the little 135 was no slouch either. Ultimately, your choice will depend on available budget and the loading you’ll be placing on the engine under everyday use. You won’t go wrong whichever way you go.