Flipper 640 ST
The Flipper 640 ST is a 6.25-metre outboard sport-top boat built by Bella-Veneet Oy in Kuopio, Finland, a low-profile reinterpretation of Flipper's traditional hardtop layout styled by Espen Thorup. It was named Boat of the Year in the excursion motorboat class at the 2013 Helsinki boat show. It shares its dimensions with the 640 DC and was sold as the 650 ST from 2019.
The 640 ST is a glass-fibre planing boat of 6.25 m length and 2.46 m beam, weighing 1,050 kg without engine and rated CE category C for seven persons. Flipper uses the name Sport Top for a hardtop configuration with a lower roof line and a more steeply raked windscreen than its earlier HT models. boats.com credited the design to Espen Thorup and Raimo Sonninen; Skippo credited Thorup.
The cabin under the short foredeck is open to the wheelhouse rather than closed off by a bulkhead, and is reached between two separate helm seats. The port side of the windscreen hinges open to give access to the foredeck. The cockpit has a wrap-around aft bench on the port side, a walk-through transom to starboard, a table and a folding bimini stowed under the aft seat. The 2014 price list gives the berths as 2+2 and lists hydraulic steering, SmartCraft instruments, teak-laminate flooring and a 145-litre fuel tank as standard, with a Wallas cooker-heater, fresh-water tank and marine toilet among the options.
It takes a single outboard of 115 to 200 hp; the 2014 Swedish price list offered Mercury F115 and F150 EFI four-strokes and a 200 hp Verado. Measurements published with Skippo's 2014 test, supplied by the Swedish importer, give 39.5 knots at 5,750 rpm with a 150 hp Mercury. boats.com reported lively handling with pronounced heel in turns and restricted visibility from the seated helm position, but good visibility when standing.
The 640 ST was introduced for the 2013 season and was chosen Vuoden retkimoottorivene (excursion motorboat of the year) at the VENE13BÅT show in Helsinki. The 2019 Flipper price list no longer lists it and instead includes a 650 ST with the same beam, weight, fuel capacity and power range and an overall length of 6.74 m, matching the 640 DC's renaming to 650 DC that year.
In the range it was the middle sport top between the 600 ST and 670 ST, and the sport-top counterpart of the 640 DC.
Specifications
Dimensions
- Length
- 6.25 m
- Beam
- 2.46 m
- Draft
- 0.7 m
Capacities
- Weight
- 1050 kg
- Fuel capacity
- 145 L
- Berths
- 4
Power
- Max power
- 200 hp
- Propulsion
- Outboard
Construction
- Hull material
- GRP (fibreglass)
Rating
- CE design category
- C
Engine options
- F115 XL EFI
- F150 XL EFI
- Verado 200 XL
Reviews
- Flipper 640 ST review: sporting style on a family boat
boats.com · Alex Smith · Apr 6, 2014
- Test: Flipper 640 ST – hardtop i modern tappning
Skippo · Claes Olivecrona · Nov 27, 2014
Sources
- 1. Flipper 2014 price list (Swedish) — Bella-Veneet Oy
- 2. Flipper Mallisto 2019 price list — Bella-Veneet Oy
- 3. Test: Flipper 640 ST – hardtop i modern tappning — Skippo
- 4. Flipper 640 ST review: sporting style on a family boat — boats.com
- 5. Flipper 600 ST, DC ja SC – Jalostettua norjalaishenkeä — Kippari
Similar boats
Specifications compiled from manufacturer sources.
