Abraz

@JonD, if I were to go down the RIB path, would they be fine to store outside on a trailer (with a boat cover), or do the bladders get a little weird in the elements? If I were to hang out for something around $20-30k mark, do any decent ones pop up in the 5-6m range (trailer, motor, good condition)? I'm starting to see the effect of boats on my price range and how it makes it creep up and up... The more I look at boats in my price range, the more I realise the value of the RIBs in terms of offshore capability, trailering, and passenger capacity for the length.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just got back from the Goldy and went out diving on one of the OceanCraft 5.3m full aluminium RIB-style boat. Seems a little harsher riding than a normal inflatable RIB, but it was great to see that they could fully customise their rig by just simply welding stuff to the tubes and hull. @rickmarlin62 awesome, nice work on the champs! I'm always envious of spearfishers and their bottom times.

Another series of boats I've been looking at has been the Quintrex Freedom Sports or Cruisers. Most seem to be in the range of $20-25K, but tick a lot of boxes. Especially the Cruisers with the nice rear steps. Bowriders have always been a desirable boat for me, but most seem to be only for enclosed waters. A lot of people have said that the Quintrex Freedoms are actually pretty good offshore in mild conditions? Thoughts on the Freedoms or any similar boats?

JonD, Thanks for that, the boat looks amazing. I finished with the Navy a few years ago but some of my fondest memories were of days out training in the boarding party RIBs, hooning around Phillip Island in really silly weather when no other boats were out. I was looking around at the OceanCraft line of boats, how do the full aluminium tube style boats compare to the normal RIBs? Both seem to have a far higher passenger capacity for their length compared with regular boats, both seem a lot lighter, both apparently require a lot less of a motor. I'd assume the full aluminium would be a lot more expensive, but I like all the options with full shading, storage, and seating.

Frank, Thanks for the welcome. Don't worry, I plan on pestering everyone with questions over the next 12 months I'm not so concerned about the cosmetic factor, but I do want to be looking at the right kind of boat. At the moment the boats meant for flat enclosed waters and boats meant for rough open seas look very similar to me (especially the ones within my price range)! Getting in and out of the boat should be ok, I've gone diving off a basic fishing dinghy with a small basic step ladder and no dive door without too much issue. We can get away with a lot more when we don't have tanks to worry about! I'll be looking for a course between now and then, something that will give me the basics of anchoring berthing trailering etc. A course that will include all the offshore necessities would be a bonus. I'll be chasing depths of 40 - 60m for diving.

I've cut down the capacity to 4 people if that means more options. There seems to be plenty of boats in my price range on Gumtree and Boatsales. However, beyond the most obvious examples, it's hard for me to eyeball a boat and know whether it's going to be a good offshore boat or if it's only going to be good for ski or cruising around inland waters. For example the ones that seem to pop up a lot are the Haines Signatures. But apart from the more obvious BR and S models, what am I looking for to know that it's not going to be a good offshore boat? The 1550RE look great and seem to have the perfect mix of seating and storage, but I suspect it's a calm water boat? Most of the boats around my price range seem to be a little on the older side. How old is too old when we're talking about a first boat?

Hey all, I've been wanting to get my first boat for a while now, and It's looking like I'll stay put in a single location (Sydney) long enough to warrant boat ownership. I'm looking to buy in about a years time, so between now and then I'd like to get as much advice and knowledge as possible (and funds) before I pull the trigger. I'm actually not going to be using the boat for fishing, it will primarily be for freediving and some cruising. As such I've narrowed down the list of desirables to: Capacity around 4 people comfortably during transit. As it won't be for fishing it won't really be important for people to have lots of room standing and moving about the boat, because as soon as we get to the dive site everyone will be jumping straight out of the boat into the water. Plan is to get into wetsuits at the boat ramp before hopping in the boat. So, actual seating for that many people would be great. Fwd storage area to stash fins, weights, floats, diving line, food. Doesn't have to be cavernous as we're not doing any SCUBA and won't have cylinders, BCDs, etc. Full shade would be nice (wearing wetsuits in full sun is not very fun). It would be nice to get to the dive sites fairly quickly and as comfortably as possible. I'd estimate the dive sites to be no further than 20km from the boat ramp. All sites would be in open water - a few kms off the coast at times, but we wouldn't be out if it was particularly rough (makes diving pretty miserable). Not really sure if I'm limited by my towing vehicle, but it's a 2017 Subaru Outback if it makes any difference to my options. Boat storage will be on the trailer in the street. Unfortunately the price of moving to Sydney meant sacrificing my large garage :'( I'd ideally want to be fully equipped and on the water for around $15k, but would be willing to go up to $20k if it meant a massive leap in options. Any help and advice would be much appreciated!