Drago Sorocos 570 Cruiser

I first noticed the Drago  Sorocos 570 Cabin Cruiser while waiting for another review boat to be readied  and just killing time flicking through the Drago catalogue.

Being a cruiser with accommodation  she fits the bill for both a small family for day fishing and cruising, but  really suits a married couple looking for a boat they can weekend on as well as  fish from, or two mates aiming to sleep aboard the boat to maximise fishing  time.

An opportunity arose to test  a nearly new Sorocos 570 called “One Day” already owned by an angler and kitted  out for fishing in the Solent area at BHG  Marine in Lymington.

BUILD FEATURES
Drago hulls are all hand  laid glass fibre, with the company’s factory manufacturing all their own  stainless steel fittings, fuel and water tanks, cleats, windscreens and  upholstery on site. This maintains a high degree of workmanship throughout the  build.

Looking at her on the  trailer she does look a bit of a stunner. She’s finished as an all white hull  with grey fendering, set off neatly with the tinted screens. One Day was also  fitted with a soft canopy, which we deliberately left attached for the test as  it was threatening rain.

Starting at the stern there  is a stainless steel ladder positioned on the starboard side, and an auxiliary  engine bracket on the port side. Each stern corner has a stainless steel T cleat  for tying off too.

The splash well is good and  deep, but with dive platforms built in to each corner. On the test boat these  had two rod holders fitted in to them. The transom also carried a rocket  launcher taking three rods for additional rod security when under way and to  relieve clutter on deck.

There is a full length blue  and white upholstered rear seat with open storage space underneath, but this  seat can be removed to create a fully open cockpit with full standing access to  the transom for comfier fishing.

The self-draining deck on  the Sorocos is normally white, but the owner of One Day has sensibly painted it  matt grey to limit light reflection, something I’d probably do myself too. You  also have the option of going for a 30 gallon fuel tank housed in the middle  deck.

The gunnels are at a good  height for safety, but still allow you to lean over to reach the water should  you need to lift a big fish like a tope in for tagging or unhooking. There are  also neat steps moulded in to the front of the gunnels for exiting the boat,  and for accessing the bow.

Heading in to the cabin  area, both the helmsman and passenger have upholstered swivel chairs, but  leaving easy access in should you need to go forward in to the cabin  compartment.

The helm seat is positioned  on the starboard side with a foot rest built in to the base of the console. The  wheel is a car type with a good rubber grip. All your instruments and switches  are placed right side of the wheel and give easy access.

The console offers a wide shelf  area with acres of room to fit a GPS, Sounder and compass in full view for easy  reading. The port side of the console has a moulded in recessed area designed  to take smaller items of gear such as sunglasses and personal items in complete  security.

Another neat touch are the  small shelf storage areas built in to the cabin side at knee level either side  of the two seats. Again great for taking smaller items and reducing clutter.

The spray dodger screen is  fully tinted and with a tough looking alloy frame surround.

Assessing the full canopy,  which is a standard item in the price, it fits extremely neatly offering  excellent all round protection but maintaining good visibility when at the  helm. It doesn’t flap either when at speed.

The cabin door leading in to  the bunk area is quite novel. Deeply tinted for privacy, it carries a stainless  steel grab rail and slides to the port side for entry in to the cabin. Access  is easy enough with a step down in to the bunk area.

Seating runs fully around  the cabin with inside storage lockers either side and at the bow. The bunks  also convert to a double bed. Another storage shelf runs either side of the  cabin walls to take personal items. The walls and cabin roof are neatly  finished in a grey nylon material with cushion upholstery in blue. The cabin  also features a cabin light, stainless steel mirror, plus tinted side windows  and an escape hatch.

The bow carries an angled  outwards stainless steel safety rail. Walking forwards at the side of the cabin  it does feel as though this could easily trip up, neither does it come really  high enough to offer any real protection in my opinion.

The bow is fitted with a T  cleat either side, plus a stainless steel bow roller. You also have good all  round working space here when hauling anchor.

The navigation lights are  mounted either side of the cabin just below the windscreen, with a plug in  steaming light socket positioned rearwards in the starboard gunnel.

I was also aware of the  generally high standard of overall finish on the boat with quality fittings and  fixings throughout, plus you can see that a lot of thought has gone in to the  layout to both make living board comfortable and afford as much space as  possible.

PERFORMANCE
As always seems to be the  case there was a stiffish wind blowing, and from a quarter that created a  confused and bumpy if not overly high sea.

With one of the BHG Marine  lads at the helm, I took the opportunity to walk around on deck and check  stability. Certainly me moving side to side made no impression at the helm with  the boat staying on course and showing little tendency to sheer to one side.

I left the boat and  clambered on to a watch tower, which in the bumpy sea was no easy thing, to get  some photos of the boat in action. Watching the boat under power she rides  nicely and even at the bow, pushes the bulk of the spray out to the sides and  seemed stable when turned in a tight circle.

I made it back aboard  without getting wet and took the helm.

Easing in the throttle the  boat shows next to no hesitation and builds speed quickly. Just to get to know  her a little first I took a steady course straight at the oncoming waves  checking for spray and hull chatter. She’s a pretty quiet boat with minimal  hull noise and no sign of structure judder as we tackled the waves. Regards the  spray, I was at slight odds with the guy with me as he felt it was prone to  taking a little spray on the screen. Sure some spray did make the screen when  punching in to the wind, but I didn’t feel this was a problem and it seemed  minimal to me.

Picking up speed it was time  to put the boat through tight turning circles. Even adding power in mid turn  the stern digs in and gives good grip with only the anticipated amount of lean  and remaining stable at all times.

Next I took a course at a  sharp angle across the waves keeping the boat at a steady speed. This tends to  induce sideways slide or roll as the boat crosses the facing side and leading  edge of each wave. The Sorocos behaved exceptionally well in this situation  with only a small amount of lean away from the wave and no sign of sliding, but  again keeping herself stable for those aboard.

Going with the sea she holds  a course well with only the occasional correction of the wheel to keep her in  line. I also put her in reverse and charged the waves watching for signs of  water climbing in to the splash well, but the boat remained almost dry, just a  slight amount of water flipping inside and on deck, but just drops really.

Although impressed with the  stability and handling of the 570, I think she would benefit even more from  having a little more weight in her just to pull her down in the water a  fraction more to steady her up in rougher seas. Don’t take that as a real criticism,  it’s just a personal observation.

Overall visibility from the  helm seat is good, even when sat, and I didn’t find myself straining at the  neck trying to see over the bow, nor needed to stand at any time.

The test 570 was fitted with  the Yamaha F50F outboard. At 4000 rpm we were pulling 18-knots cruising, and at  5000 reached 24-knots on the test boat. I was discussing it with the Carl Bush  from BHG and we both felt that the pitch of the prop did not seem quite right  and we reckon she’s running a 1000 revs out, so you’d get better than the  figures quoted.

Expect your fuel consumption  to be in the region of 3 gallons or a little less at typical cruising speed.

The 570 is also a cinch to  launch on your own if need be, and in the confines of the slip way under  minimal power and with a wind blowing she handles well for tight manoeuvring.

THINGS I’D CHANGE
I found the wheel and helm  seat are too close to the cabin side and your right upper forearm keeps banging  the cabin side making manoeuvring difficult and uncomfortable, especially when  tight manoeuvring and you need to be quick on the wheel. I think it would only  be a matter of moving the wheel a couple of inches to port to cure this, and  maybe the seat also.

The bow safety rail could do  with being a little higher, especially towards the cabin rear edge and not  flare away from the gunnels to give added security.

Although the gunnels are at  a good height, I’d personally choose to fit a standard 3-inch safety rail, just  to give you that bit extra security.

OVERALL CONCLUSION
Without doubt a top  contender in the 18ft fishing|/cruiser class.

You have stacks of room on  deck for fishing, especially with the rear bunk seat removed, but in an instant  can transform the boat in to a cruiser for family weekends. It offers totally  comfortable accommodation, plus can handle big seas remaining stable and easy  to work at the helm. Plus she has a good turn of speed for working marks well  offshore.

SPECIFICATION
Length: 5.70 mtrs
Beam: 2.08 mtrs
Draft: 0.40mtrs
Cabin Height: 1.35 mtrs
Weight (Boat Only): 520 kgs
Max Engine: 100hp
Number of Persons: 5
CE Category: C

MAIN DEALER
Paul Martin, BHG Marine Ltd,  Ampress Park,  Southampton Road,  Lymington, Hants, SO41 8LW. Tel: 0845 644 6645/01590 613600.  Fax: 0845 644 6635. E-mail: paulmartin@bhg-marine.co.uk Website: www.bhg-marine.co.uk