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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Boats – Cape Coral, Florida; 239-567-5030; nor-techboats.com
