My NorthStar CC190

Article Index
My NorthStar CC190
I really like
I do not like
Would I buy it again ?
How much ?
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My boat is a NorthStar 190CC , I bought it new in 2006, it's a 5.7 meter rigid center console designed by Finish architect "Ilpo Kjellman". NorthStar is an Italian manufacturer based out of Peschiena but production is done in Turkey by "Marintek Sanayi Tikaret" South of Istanbul. This boat was only introduced in 2006 and is pretty unknown, with almost no literature/test available. In between the lack of Internet articles and the fact that NorthStar is one of the most common name on the planet for nautical equipments finding useful information is in between hard and impossible.

Why did I bought this boat ?

Let's try to make this long story short, I had for many year an 8 meters sail boat, but had very few opportunities to use it, in between the lack of time, the fact that my wife only want to travel when the weather is nice (no wind), .... I arrived to the conclusion that a motor was the solution. I started with a SeaDoo that me and my kids loved and at some point I decided that it was time to change I selected a Zodiac Medline-I. I originally selected a Zodiac because I had no mooring and thus had to retrieve the boat from water every time I used it. Now after less than two years I realized that with a good trailer taking 600KG out of water was not as hard as I thought, as neither me neither my wife did really like the Medline, I was ready for changing.

My requirements where very simple

The boat had to be more comfortable than the Medline-I, which for me translated in:

100% rigid (inflatable are safe but uncomfortable)
enough room for my feet in between the seat and the console
enough space for storing a small inflatable boat and few other beach toys
enough room for people to move around the boat, without walking on each other

It had to be light enough for allowing a day trip with easy retrieval from water on a trailer.

Had to fit a trailer that I could hook on my car (less than 1.5t)
Must be out of water in less than 5mn with me and my daughter (1.5m/45KG)

Should have more equipment previous one

Electric Anchor Windlass
Electric Bilge Pump
Night lights
etc ...

Price should be within my limit

Less than 30OOO€uro (double Medline price)
The vendor should propose a acceptable deal for my two years old Zodiac

What I really like ?

I really like this boat, while finish and details are for from perfect, the overall impression is excellent.

For a less than 6M boat is it very good at sea and this even with 1.5m waves. Me and more importantly my wife, always feel safe, nevertheless you should be prepare to be completely wait when cruising by force 4 wind and 1m wave.
I have a 115HP Yamaha engine and I can easily overpass 30 nots. The boat will cruise flat up to 7 nots, but start really cruising from 15 nots. You can cruise for hours at 25nots but in order to go faster you have to push the engine and it starts to be noisy, the 150 liters tank is enough to cruise for hours.
Room space, for this size of boat we cannot complain. I would nevertheless rather have a fall over console than a side door that limit accessibility. The back booth is huge and provides a very acceptable accessibility, the two front storages are big enough for your daily food, beach towels, ...
Equipment, more than I dreamed ! Electric anchor winder, I never though this would be useful, but I love it. Not only it allows you to leave a position alone but it avoid crisis with your wife when having to quit a beach under tough conditions. Fresh water, is great when making ski and/or diving. Sun Bimini is very comfortable for day beach trip but not strong enough for long cruise with 1m waves.
Fishing, central console should be mandatory for fishermans, it allow up to 4 persons to move around the boat very comfortably, a fish lifewell will even keep your fish alive (if ever you catch one).
Driving position, I changed the two independent seats for a stainless steel bolster type bench. My wife liked better the independent seats but not me !!! Cruising position is good, you have enough space to move and protection is acceptable, now pilot should not expect to use the origin seat outside may be for people cruising on a lake.
Price !!! for 30000Euro with trailer and completely equipped it was for me 3000/5000Euro cheaper than competition.

Generally I like the architecture of this boat, it is nice comfortable and safe. A++ to the architect, outside of minor details I cannot complain on the design.

I don' like

Nothing is perfect this boat is not an exception. While the architecture is close of perfect, the realization can for sure be significantly improved. Reparations I had under guaranty do not make me 100% happy, whether this come the manufacturer or from the reseller (or both) does not change anything to me.

Gel coating, after few months of usage cracking appeared. While this was nothing bad (I had equivalent problems on my Zodiac) this cracking was handle under guaranty this winter (let's wait and see ...)
Front storage communicate with anchor locker, as a result when cruising under even medium formed sea, as soon as front boat cut a wave, water get into the anchor locker (normal) and then move into the front storage (hoop!!!). While this problem was also reported under guaranty the fix that has been proposed does not correspond to a professional quality (I would have better myself).
Back booth, huge messy, battery, fresh water, electric cable, ... everything scramble together. The bottom is not flat they is no double bottom and as soon as you take even minimal water everything is wait.
Console, not ventilation, I added two holes with protection to allow air to move in while keeping water out.
Electric circuit no protection, everything is naked under the console. Vendor told me that it is the same thing for every boat, I don't know if is true or not but I do not like it.
The Sun roof (Bimini). The roof by itself is very conformable when standing on a beach, but when cruising even if packed, it move. The hook on the body of the boat are not strong enough. I already had to lock it with a rope when returning from a fishing party. Finally and contrarily to what I thought when I bought the boat, a lighter Bimini that you can remove and store under the console when cruising would probably be a better compromise.

Would I buy it again ?

That a really good question, I'm not sure. Obviously when choosing a boat two conditions are important, the boat in itself and the reseller. This last one is especially important when you already have a boat that you need him to buy back. I had two boats in my final selections the Northstar CC190 and the Kelt Whiteshark 175 the main reason for my chose:

Size, the kelt is smaller but on the other hand it is 100KG lighter and you only need a 90HP engine. I choose the biggest I could easily take out of water after a day trip.
Price, in between the fact that the reseller over paid my Zodiac 1000Euro and the price difference. Northstar was almost 5000Euro cheaper. By buying an unknown boat I knew that I was taking a bigger risk, not only for eventual trouble but also when reselling it. I choose to take that risk for 5000€uro.
Disponibility, my local Kelt reseller had no 175 available and I was not willing to wait (kid do not like to wait for toys). I decided to change boat in April and I wanted to be on the sea one week later, finally I bough it from MB Marine

I have no doubt that Kelt final quality is better than Northstar, furthermore I'm leaving in Vannes (Morbihan Britanny) less than 5km from where is located Kelt factory, leaving so close by the sea, finding a good reseller is not an issue. Both Rioux (La Trinite) or MB-Marine (Le Crouesty) as well as most resellers in Britanny are professional you can rely onto.

What will be my next boat, now that I have a mooring (lucky me), I could buy something bigger, for motor boat the one I like the best is the Kelt 205 that is unfortunately twice more expensive than my current one. On the other hand I may come back to sailing boat that I like better than motor, I could very easily change for a 5.5m with no engine. At this point in time, I'm happy with what I have an plane to keep this one for an other couple of years.