Melbourne Marine Centre loves pimping up Stacer hulls. We tested one a while back when Andrew Stephen and the guys optioned up a Nomad to within an inch of its life. It was a build that focused on practicality, with plenty of exposed checkerplate amongst the creature comforts.

This build, however (a Stacer Crossfire 509), adds a little more luxury to the options. Its owner – affectionately nicknamed Hodorthanks to his likeness to the Game of Thrones’ burly doorman – decided that it was the time in his life to treat himself to the best Stacer that money could buy. And he pretty much got it spot on.

Guided by MMC’s Andrew Stephen, Hodor’s boat (which is also called Hodor) crams a mountain of options and technology into the Stacer Crossfire 5.09m bowrider configuration shell.

With its front casting deck transformed and elongated with the drop-in platform centrepiece, the casting angler has access to the 24V MotorGuide and the Garmin 7407 with Front Vu – ample information for any lure angler.

Drop the anchor with the concealed Lone Star winch – which is cleverly concealed under the front deck – and you can spin around the pedestal seats to lay out some baits for snapper.

The helm-mounted Garmin 7410SV has a full Panoptix transducer to give the angler a full, live view of what’s swimming around under the transom.

And Hodor is just as impressive after dark as it is in the daytime. While at the helm, you have full control of the lighting options, which include under-gunwale light strips and double transom LEDs to attract squid and baitfish while fishing at night.

In the transom itself, there’s a pair of locally fabricated, windowed live bait tanks which are a hallmark of a MMC customisation.

Supplied on a drive-on/drive-off Stacer I-beam trailer, the winch post is fitted with Telwater’s Catch and Release system to allow true, single person operation. We’d expect nothing less from a rig with all of the options boxes ticked.

From a performance angle, Mercury’s Superlative 2.1L 4-stroke ProXS shoots Hodor up onto the plane in less than four seconds. It’s propped to rev hard to 6400rpm while delivering a top speed on 72km/h. The best economy was at 4000rpm, where it delivered a surprisingly generous 2.6km per litre of fuel burned, although it was hard to hold to that speed. This rig just likes to run fast!

It’s the little things that make this boat a pleasure to use. Personally, I loved the modular LED headlights that were mounted to the front of the console. It’s one of the simplest solutions to an age-old problem. I’d be interested to see if there were any problems with reflection from this mounting position when used after dark.

All up, it’s rare that we get to test a customer’s boat that’s as well appointed as this Stacer/Mercury combo. Thanks, Hodor, for letting us take a ride!

For more information about the build, contact Melbourne Marine Centre or visit www.melbournemarine.com.au.