Jman231994

Wow someone got some bargains off you. I'm assuming they were both running? In that case I think it's probably worth saving more, I was under the impression that a reasonable alloy boat was way over our budget so hadnt really considered it. Me and my friend both agreed when we first started looking that an alloy boat would be so much better for what we do anyway so that's good. I haven't got a job at the moment because of uni but I think it's time I start looking for my Christmas break. Shouldn't take long to save up enough Thanks for the help Gazza!

Thanks for that Gazza, will keep all of that in mind. Also, what sort of money do you think would be a starting point for an alloy boat? We ideally want something forward control for a bit more comfort going between fishing spots, and probably also something solid enough to tow a biscuit every now and then for a bit of fun with our non fisher friends. There's a forward control tinny on gumtree for $500 at the moment that's more or less what we want, but it's in incredibly bad condition and appears to have a forest growing in it haha

So sorry guys, got distracted by tests at uni and completely forgot about this. So we went and had a look and it wasn't too bad but it seemed to have had some average quality diy repairs done. The transom had been replaced and the keel at the front had been reglassed but it looked as though they hadn't used enough resin so was a bit dodgy. Also a few other repairs under the chines that made us feel as though the boat had been in a crash or some sort of accident. It was a cheap cruisecraft, $900, and the trailer was really good, plus the motor only needed a new starter solenoid to be a runner. But me and my mate had basically agreed not to touch anything that needs glass work under the waterline. So we walked away from that one and are on the lookout again. Basically were trying to find something that we can have in the water for around $1200 all up, we're not afraid of a bit of work so we think it's doable, but at the same time if we can't do it safely we just won't do it at all. In the meantime we have a little tinny that needs a few patches to be a floater and were looking for a cheap 5hp so that we can get on the water this summer with minimal outlay while we wait to find a good bargain Thanks for the help guys, keep it coming with the advice too as well hopefully need it in the not too distant future

Thanks Antony, it seems we are haha. Ill give the hull a good look over like you suggest and squeeze as much info out of the seller as I can too! Going by the ad it's a cruise craft 14ft. No idea of the model. If I can get hold of a compression tester by this afternoon I'll see if the seller will let me test it, it looks as though all the wirings unhooked though so I may struggle to turn it over. Is there a forum rule against posting gumtree links, if there isn't I'll put the link up for you to have a look Thanks Edit: Oh also, it has a rather low looking transom and no motor well, just a plain transom. Would this be an issue?

Thanks Stephan, will do that And thanks Roylo, but I don't think we really have anyone that experienced with boats that could go with us to check it out. And it's not really expensive enough to be worth having a boat mechanic look it over

Hey guys, me and a mate are going to check out a pretty cheap little fibreglass runabout tomorrow afternoon. From the pictures it looks good and like everything is there, but not having much boat experience we were wondering what the most important things to look for when inspecting it would be. Stuff like the transom, floor and stringers, but also how to tell if they're stuffed in a non invasive way. Also important things to look at and signs of issues on the motor and trailer would be good We've already bought one dud off eBay, since found it's pretty much held Together with rot :/ so don't want to make that mistake again Thanks

So if anyone's still following this, would someone be able I give me some pointers on what to look for when buying a cheap boat, or a link to a suitable thread? Odds are well get rid of this one just cause of the cost to repair the stringers and floor. But will fully cut the floor out first just to see if it's all gone, never know I guess. This personally has turned me off fibreglass boats at the lower end of the price range. But I'm still keen to learn how to tell if a hull is any good or not, cause if a good one came up cheap enough I'd still be right on it. Thanks for the help so far guys, knowing me I'll end up on here quite a lot

All good, I had a quick look online and it seemed way above our budget. It's definitely a really good way to do it though

Thanks for all the help, I still haven't found a make or anything, but I will look into it when I get a chance. Gazza, any idea what it would cost to redo the transom and stringers with sea cast? It sounds pretty good. I have no doubt that I could repair it either with SeaCast or with timber, it's just that me and my friend bought it in the hope that we could get it in the water relatively cheaply for a fishing runabout. Were both uni students so we were looking at only a few hundred dollar budget to get the hull back to a useable condition with a home made windscreen and some second hand seats. We were expecting to have to replace the floor though cause it sounded pretty common for it to be soft. If we can't still do that were basically just looking to cut our losses and try and find a forward control tinny or something. That said, this boat is basically exactly what we wanted, it's nice and wide and would scoot around Lake Macquarie between fishing spots quite quickly. It's pretty shallow but in the lake that's not much of an issue

Well I didn't bother taking any photos of it because I found bigger issues. I lifted the plywood floor to find the actual fibreglass floor beneath with some holes in it, and through the holes I found the mushy strips that were once the stringers. Me and my friend that were planning to restore it aren't exactly happy as it was sold as a "solid hull", but we've learnt to inspect things before we buy them haha Next step I guess is to cut the wet cardboard floor out and assess the damage to the stringers, then decide wether to try and repair it or try and sell it to someone that wants a decent project. On the plus side the transom seems solid haha Thanks for the help guys, if anyone's still wanting to know what the boat is I don't mind trying to find out, let me know and I'll keep looking

Oh ok didn't realise they were still around. I'll give that a shot thanks

Would a pride jaguar be the same as a Caribbean jaguar? I read that the two companies were linked at some point, and can only find pics of a Caribbean jaguar I guess without good pics it's gonna be almost impossible anyway so I'll update this on Friday if it's not chucking down still

Any ideas of a particular pride model? I'll have some time to get proper pics on Friday to make it easier to identify Thanks

Have had a reasonable look but haven't got under the motor well or bonnet yet cause of all the rain. We didn't get any rego papers with it, can't imagine it's been rego'd for a long while either. Most recent fish length sticker is from 99. It does have the boatcode plate on it though, could the rms/rta possibly have it's details on file?

Hey everyone, first time poster here so hi, I'm Jordan. Me and my friends are pretty in to fishing but don't get a chance to go out in a boat that often, so.... Last weekend me and my friends went and picked up a project boat we managed to buy off eBay for $20. $100 in fuel later and we still think it's a decent buy. It's definitely in need of a lot of work but were up for it, main thing for us is that with some new bungs it should float so it's mostly all cosmetic work. Now our big issue is that we want to know what make/model it actually is, we're reasonably confident that it's a pride as it looks almost identical to a Starfire but at 16ft it's way too big to be a Starfire. Our main reason for wanting to know is so we can find out what sort of HP we can have on the back of it safely So, any ideas? Sorry the pictures are a bit dodgy, been a bit wet to go get some good ones so only have the pics from picking it up Thanks, Jordan