Reviews

A few months on from receiving the Sailvvay C series we take a more in-depth look now it has a few nautical miles under its belt, before we do an all-out used and abused review at the end of the year. 

It’s been out on a number of trips with us and once you get your head around the technology it’s actually simple to use, albeit daunting from the off if compared with the likes of a much smaller less equipped Hunter 750 for example. Kicking things off it’s worth saying the original boat had an issue with the hopper release, and with technology, this in most cases is inevitable – you will run into issues, how you should measure it is on how fast it’s resolved. I contacted Sailvvay and within the same working week the boat was fixed – this speaks volumes to us and it should for you too.

The boat is a big old beast and takes up a fair bit of room on your barrow, or on your back in the supplied back pack, but I imagine if you are seriously looking into bait boats the majority will be of this size so it’s really not something you can do much about if you require one with all the bells and whistles. It deals well with windy weather and the bright headlights and taillights make it easy to spot in the dark, the orientation compass on the handset gives a helping to this in the day especially when fishing at range. 

The Hopper
The hopper system is motorised, rather than the traditional release pin, which means to close it you need to press a button on the handset, which at first we found a little tricky but after a bit of time it becomes second nature. In terms of size, you can fit everything you need into the hopper, with a separator board giving you a left and right side, with the option to release both sides individually or both together. 

The Sonar & GPS
The sonar screen on the handset gives you a very bright, easy to read display; if you have never read a sonar we suggest going on to YouTube for a bit of light learning but common sense will tell you what is weed and what is a clear spot. Soft silt and clay need a little bit more of a keen eye but once you learn the difference you will be able to read the screen with ease. 

The Sailvvay’s GPS system is easy to use, you simply open the GPS menu when you are over a spot, select your spot number and click the tick icon. Our top tip is if you have a crosswind, set the GPS on the side of the spot in which the wind prevails, from then it gives you a little bit of time to get the perfect drop. This only really applies in strong crosswinds but is a worthwhile point to note. 

Overall, so far so good. The service from Sailvvay has been fantastic and the boat itself has performed very well. Join us in the autumn for the long-term used and abused.

RRP: £1,799.99
WEBSITE: sailvvay.co.uk