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They say the bowrider is the most popular boat for family boating, but if we’re thinking with your head and not your hearts perhaps the choice should be a runabout.

In practice bowrider cockpits are all but useless in anything but mill-pond conditions so this runabout makes more sense. After all runabouts keep everyone behind the windscreen so they get some protection and a better ride!

And if you’re looking for a good family runabout that also has strong fishing ability the new Signature 502RF is a standout.

Signature is a pretty smart operator and recently its design team re-worked its popular, mid-size Signature 543RF to come up with a slightly smaller, more affordable boat.

This is the Signature 502RF and it gives you a comfortable cockpit that works well for family days out as much as serious estuary/close coastal fishing. Most importantly this boat suits single axle trailers and can be towed by a normal car.

The RF stands for Runabout Fishing and that’s exactly what this fibreglass boat delivers in spades. And it’s cleverly designed with a bow walkway that lets you reach the anchor, or fish up front. So in practice the boat gives all a lot of the benefit of the bowrider.

The Signature 502RF also features the Signature Variable Deadrise Hull (SVDH) that delivers exceptionally good ride in choppy or open waters. This ensures its right at home fishing offshore and the typical choppy waters of coastal waters in summer.

On a winter test session we were impressed how well this new Signature performance across a range of conditions. The changes from the previous design seem have created an even better craft. It also runs beautifully with a 90hp Suzuki four-stroke so you can achieve economical fuel use.

Keeping the size/weigh down means the Signature is easy to tow behind a normal car, or small SUV. In other words, no need for the big fuel-guzzler!

Styling is fresh, modern and full of good ideas. A good example is the neat, folding rear lounge design that has mesh stowage pocket on the underside of the lounge. This is a small detail but helps to make the Signature 502RF just that much more people-friendly.

Our test boat came direct from the factory and was the prototype for the brochure. So I’m expecting subsequent boats will be even better on finish.

The package includes a Suzuki DF 90 four-stroke motor, Dunbier single-axle trailer, bimini, Garmin sounder, transom ladder, rear lounge and two-tone colour scheme. Price for all this is $48,601 (ex Gold Coast). However, base BMT packages start from as little as $41,205.

DESIGN

Smart styling is always a hallmark of Signature boats and buyers won’t be disappointed with the 502RF. It combines smart, aerodynamic styling with high, cambered deck line and neat transom with rounded corners.

A really nice feature is clean deck line that doesn’t have a bowrail because it’s really not necessary with the bow walkway feature.  This is clever outcome because you’re actually saving money on something that’s hardly ever needed.

The boat measures 5.25m overall including a stubby bowsprit moulded as part of the bot. The beam is a comfortable 2.13m and the hull quite deep thanks to the buildup of the upper deck structure that’s very reminiscent of larger American sports boats.

Looking below the waterline we find a deep Vee bottom with sharp lifting strakes and sharp lifting chines. In cross section there’s a noticeable gull wing shape that helps the Signature to lift onto the plane more quickly.

This shape results in a variable Vee of 21-33 degrees depending on where you are measuring the deadrise. Meanwhile, a flattened off keel (runner plank) ensures the craft comes quicker to the plane and is not too heavy on the fuel.

A fair degree of bow flare, plus wide chines ensures the Signature 502RF throws spray out low and back so you have a fairly dry ride. More about that shortly.

Build quality meets the usual high standard of Signature boats and incorporates advanced composite construction systems. The result is a boat that weighs a fairly low 475kg. This means you don’t need quite as much horsepower to push the boat out of the water.

Total trail weight is about 1300kg, which is well within the legal range of cars like Mazda 6, the Holden Vectra and smaller SUVs like the Subaru Forrester or Suzuki Grand Vitara.

This Signature comes standard with in-built foam buoyancy, which helps make for a quieter ride. It doesn’t quite meet Level flotation standard, but more than enough meets Basic flotation under the ABP Australian Builders Plate (APB).

PERFORMANCE

Despite the cool winds of winter we had a pretty nice day to sample our new Signature runabout on Gold Coast waters. And besides, the burnt orange topsides of the boat reminded us that summer wasn’t far around the corner.

This is definitely a great boat to enjoy the summer months. The 502RF is a real get up and go machine, especially when teamed up with the powerful Suzuki DF 90 four-stroke.

While not as low slung as the Signature bowrider models this boat certainly suits to open waters and gives sufficient freeboard to make it very safe to fish from.

There has been a tendency in the past to make windscreens a bit too low on trailer boats but not in this case. The curved acrylic windscreen in this case is quite high and provides quite effective protective for the helm/passenger seats.

Slipping out from the boat ramp we found the Signature 502RF glided along quite nicely at slow speed. The deep Vee hull ensures she tracks quite well and is not overly affected by cross winds or boat washes.

Clear of the eight knot zone we gunned the throttle and soon had the fibreglass Signature planing fast and feeling very comfortable. Body-hugging bucket seats certainly helped make the ride all the more enjoyable and feel quite secure with the higher sides and ‘locked in’ driving position.

After throwing the boat through numerous high speed turns we confirmed the racing pedigree of this Signature boat has not being lost in the translation.

Next stop was offshore via a big swell at the Seaway. It looked a bit daunting at first but the Signature handled these conditions without a worry. The deep Vee bottom slides nicely through the wave tops and delivers a balanced ride that’s frankly better than many larger boats.

After a spin around outside and a run back through the Seaway I was more convinced than ever that this new Signature is very suitable for offshore fishing. Not blue water stuff, but the close coastal stuff that suits this size of boat.

As you might have guessed I really enjoyed the driving position with its body-hugging, well padded bucket seats. The wrap-around windscreen gives you good protection and most importantly doesn’t block your line of sight.

Here you also get a nice, modern dash too with attractive sports wheel and heads-up instrument dash. Our boat was fitted with the optional carbon fibre fascia but you can have a wood grain finish if you prefer. A slim-line throttle box, moulded footrests and adjustable seat slide are also part of the standard package.

While only a mechanical steering system the Signature 502RF handled nicely and in the manner of a race-breed craft. However, I’d be ticking the hydraulic steering option if stepped up to the maximum power for this boat – 115hp.

POWER

And talking of power, the Signature 502RF is rated for motors between 70hp – 115hp. You could get away with the 70hp; however from my experience the 90hp seems the better choice for all-round performance.

The Suzuki 90hp gave us the following GPS speed results:

3500rpm       15 knots

4500rpm       23 knots

5500rpm       30 knots

6000rpm       33 knots

These are about the right figures for a boat this size and ensure the Signature has enough reserve of power for days when you carry a heavier passenger load. Especially if fishing offshore it’s good to have reserves of power because you never know when need to fight back against head winds and current.

I’d like to see how the boat handles with the bigger 115hp however my guess is you’d really need it undertaking water skiing. Speaking of which, perhaps you might be doing a bit of waterskiing if you have older teenagers and they want to move from tube towing to some real skis. So keep that in mind when choosing the donk on the back.

And still talking power, the Signature 502RF comes with a 100-litre fuel poly as standard. This is a poly-plastic tank and should be quite sufficient for most offshore trips.

These boats are certainly well equipped ex-factory and come with a full wire harness, LED navigation lights, electric bilge pump, DataDot security and foam-filled buoyancy below the waterline.

DECK LAYOUT

Up front the Signature comes with a small, moulded bowsprit, plus anchor roller. The T-bollard cleat is mounted on the sprit itself so you can carry the anchor securely on deck.

You also get a ‘lockable’ anchor locker up front and behind this the bow walkway with side-opening hatch.

Either side of the walkway is open-faced stowage areas for life jackets and other boating gear. Behind the windscreen you find an attractive, moulded dash with deep moulded icebox cum-glovebox. The latter is a great idea for summer and gets 10 points from me!

You also get a nice-looking, curved acrylic windscreen with centre opening panel and a helm console with scalloped instrument panel.

Hereabouts you also get a six-ganger switch panel and stylish sports wheel that has soft hand grips. You also have a drink holder and room to mount an LCD sounder or sounder/GPS chartplotter.

The cockpit features a flow-coated finish with a carpeted centre strip. There are deep moulded coaming sides with big side pockets that are handy for fishing, or sports gear.

Back aft is a comfortable two-seater lounge with padded backrest. The base folds upwards and makes a very neat leg bolster for fishing. Sensibly they’ve left room for a step-through door on the portside so people can come aboard at any time without disturbing others on the lounge.

For fishing purposes you also have four (plastic) rod holders and pop-up stainless steel mooring cleats. The latter ensure you’re not going to snag fishing lines too easily.

Also back aft you find a live bait tank on the portside rear deck. Factory fitted options include plumbing for the live bait tank, raised bait cutting board, VHF radio, Maxwell electric anchor winch and a steering compass. You can also order the boat with a bimini top, hydraulic steering. You can also order a stereo sound system and a folding targa rod rack.

Our test boat also had a pair of (optional) transom steps with rails and stern ladder. The latter is pretty much essential if you want to keep Mum happy.

VERDICT

Signature has done a good job of delivery a very comfortable family-cum-fishing here. The 502RF is a well thought out design with close attention paid to the ergonomics of fishing and being a passenger aboard a boat. It’s not quite as luxurious as the bigger, more expensive Signatures however within the price point an attractive boat that’s easy to trail and park at home.

This was one of the few tests where we were able to get full fuel flow data information. And the results are very interesting. This rig combo with 90hp four-stroke with two adults aboard had a thrifty fuel consumption of just 11-12 litres/hour, doing 22 knots. That’s a good cruising speed and at rate you could travel 145 nautical miles on the fuel tank. In real-world conditions you probably use more fuel than that. However, I my estimates show the 502RF would still be good for 100 - 120 nautical miles, which is still very impressive.

In short, this makes the Signature 502RF a sensible choice if you worry about things like rising oil prices and carbon taxes!