2022 Nor-Tech 392 Super Fish
Engines
This 39-foot fishing platform is built on one of the most exciting double-stepped performance hulls on the water. With 1,800 hp in the form of four Mercury Racing 450 outboards, the Nor-Tech 392 Super Fish posted a top speed of 80 mph, a speed made more impressive by doing so with the heavy upper-station superstructure.
With SeaStar all-electric steering and digital throttle and shift, the 10-foot-beam hull rocketed around turns like a barrel racing horse, exhibiting zero side slipping—a feat not all step-bottom boats can claim. Nor-Tech engineers opted for the electric steering because the digital rigging made it easy to add an upper station and easier still for the skipper to manage such a large boat with impressive agility. Even though the flat-running attitude of the Nor-Tech gave us a butter-smooth ride, the design can accept a gyrostabilizer to add even more comfort for the offshore fishing crew.
The 392 Super Fish is a light, rigid, durable boat. Nor-Tech Boats
Interior and Accessories
The black finish on the underside of the hardtop protects the helm station from glare. The command deck is protected by an aircraft-quality acrylic windscreen, flared out on the sides to deflect wind away from the aft passengers. Carbon-fiber dash panels are more than the expected glossy adornments of a hull also built with Kevlar and carbon fiber—they add strength and rigidity to the dash panels to secure dual 22-inch Garmin displays. A 12-inch Garmin display on the upper station and two more 17-inch displays over the rigging station face aft, keeping the anglers engaged.
Under the console is a roomy compartment with a double berth and porcelain head. This is where you access the back of the dash for electronics maintenance, and also operate battery switches for the four starting batteries, three trolling-motor batteries for the Rodan trolling motor—a popular virtual-anchor choice for bottom-fishing now—and three more batteries for the electronics and stereo system with nearly three dozen speakers.
The helm is equipped with dual 22-inch Garmin displays. Nor-Tech Boats
On the transom, two 45-gallon oval livewells and two tuna tubes keep bait lively. An enormous sea chest complete with pre-installed spare pumps feeds the pressurized tanks. The sea chest also supplies water to the onboard raw-water washdown to make quick work of bloody decks. There were over 80 Gemlux rod holders on our test boat as well as a pair of outriggers. The riggers themselves boasted internal lines to reduce tangling and drag. In the deck are dual gear lockers with bucket racks and thousands of pounds of fish-box capacity. Interior cockpit height is a safe 24 inches aft, allowing a mate or angler to reach down to wire a fish and safely land or release it.
The cockpit seat provides comfort for up to three passengers.
Nor-Tech Boats
What can go up against a performance center-console aptly called Super Fish? Grady-White’s closest center-console is the 376 ($797,750 with triple Yamaha 425 XTOs and Helm Master), and while shorter, its larger 13-foot-2-inch beam adds deck space. Grady favors elegance over speed, but livewells are powerful in this offshore fishing rig, which uses a unique plenum to create a moving cylinder of water around the bait. For comfort, you’ll find Grady brings it with some posh seating and its trademark durable, understated off-white vinyl, which surrounds a tournament-ready platform.
We see Nor-Tech’s interior approach as complementary to the high-performance feel of the boat, with contoured flip-up helm seat bolsters that hug the hips, a foot rest on the helm, and an enormous rigging station with an aft cushion-topped, slide-out cooler for a two-person bench. Forward of the helm, the 392 has a double lounge. A neat trick in the upper station is the captain’s lounge to fit two or three, with a companion lounge forward on the hardtop, allowing the loneliest seat on board to become the liveliest.
Forward of the helm, the 392 has a double lounge. Nor-Tech Boats
Nor-Tech also does a nice job with the convertible fishing cockpit seat. We like its stowable lounge that fits over the transom livewells. It adds more comfort for up to three passengers.
Nor-Tech’s hulls are laid up in North Fort Myers and shipped to either Cape Coral for performance-boat assembly or St. Augustine, where the fishing team, led by Alden Thornton, rigs them out to the exact specifications of a serious tournament angler. That shouldn’t be too hard for Thornton, a tournament champion in his own right. When Nor-Tech’s reputation for quality engineering and layup meets the talent of a committed tournament angler, we can be assured the 392 Super Fish will live up to its name.
How We Tested
- Engines: Quad Mercury Racing 450s
- Drive/Props: Outboard/Merc Rev 4 XP 25″ x 14.6″ 4-blade stainless steel
- Gear Ratio: 1.60:1 Fuel Load: 200 gal. Water on Board: 50 gal. Crew Weight: 400 lb.
High Points
- Kevlar and carbon-fiber construction makes a light, rigid, durable boat.
- Freeboard height is ideal for wiring or gaffing fish.
- Upper station has a second couch for guests.
Low Points
- Upper station is roomy and secure, but access is awkward.
- Convertible cockpit seating over the livewell is welcomed for comfort but cumbersome to store.
Pricing and Specs
| Price: | $1,063,193 (with test power) |
| LOA: | 39’0″ |
| Beam: | 10’0″ |
| Draft (max): | 2’6″ (engines down) |
| Displacement (approx.): | 17,000 lb. |
| Transom Deadrise: | 21.5 degrees |
| Bridge Clearance: | 8’0″ (no tower, with radar) |
| Fuel Capacity: | 465 gal. |
| Max Horsepower: | 1,800 |
| Available Power: | Merc outboards to 1,800 hp |
Speed, Efficiency, Operation
Nor-Tech 392 Super Fish Certified Test Results Boating Magazine
Nor-Tech Boats – Cape Coral, Florida; 239-567-5030; nor-techboats.com
The post 2022 Nor-Tech 392 Super Fish appeared first on Boating Mag.
Source: https://www.boatingmag.com/boats/2022-nor-tech-392-super-fish/
