Alloy Trailerable Offshore Rigs

[choad]

Searching for my dream boat to hit the fins.

This is a list I've come up with covering companies which make trailerable plate alloy rigs.

Stessl

Stessco

Stacer

Trailcraft

Quintrex

Allycraft

Barcrusher

Bluefin

Cougarcraft

Savage

KINDLY ADDED

Stabicraft

Tabs, Seascape

Fischer

Razorline

Sailfish

Aqualine / Kiwi-kraft

Noble SuperVee

Fisher boats

Goldstar

SeatamerMarine

Please help by adding to the list.

Also, what minimum size would you suggest?

Also, also, can i get away with a single motor or is that risking it too much?

Advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edited July 5, 2007 by choad

[Croydon]

G'day Choad,

I'm thinking along the same lines as you. After all the reading I've done, I'm down to a list of the three; Cougarcraft, Barcrusher and Stabicraft all around the 6m mark or so. Out of the three I've only test driven the Stabicraft 609HT which I was very impressed with. Hanging out for the Sydney Boat Show to look at a few more options and see what appeals. It will be very interesting to see the input of others from this site. Happy hunting....

[choad]

thanks croydon.

added the stabicraft to the list.

will do the same for any other poster's suggestions so there's a comprehensive list for future reference.

thanks again.

[choad]

is the Stabicraft 609HT plate / pressed?

[johnno]

Tabs

Fischer

are a couple more

[choad]

Tabs

Fischer

are a couple more

thanks, added to the list.

[james1990]

Seascape,, they are built by tabs

razorline

stacer

bluefin boats

[james1990]

We just picked up our alloy gameboat yesterday.

Heres a few picks she is a tabs seascape with a 150 yammy 4stk.

[a boat]

Hi Choad, you have covered most brands and we have sold many of those thru our time. Most on your list are good boats, with some some I would stay away from personally, but if you want a Offshore Alloy boat it is hard to go past the pontoon style of boat from NZ. Stabi-Craft is the most common but we import a brand of boat from NZ called Aqualine, similar in desgin, but a deeper deadrsie to Stabi and in my opinion a better finished off boat. In NZ they are called Kiwi-Kraft and have a better reputation than Stabi for ride and performance.In all my years of being around boats I have never been in a better riding mono hull alloy boat and with the added safety and stabilty of the tubes they are pretty special boats.

You would be doing yourself a disfavour if you did not check these out at www.aqualineboats.com. They are dearer than the Stacer range of boats we also stock and sell, but are definately a better riding boat in the rough than a Stacer which is saying something because Stacer is one of the best riding alloy boats with the EVO hull they run which gives a deeper deadrise than most tinnies and on the offshore boats they run 4mm and up plate material and offer the benfit of LEVEL floatation which is a great safety feature that most of the other brands do not have.

In my opinion, I would not be looking at anything smaller than around the 5.7M and up range of boats if you want to go out wide in safety. To give you an idea a Stacer 5.7M Plate cuddy cabin with a trailer sells for about $30K while the 5.9M Aqualine Sports will set you back about $35K incl trailer. Add about $19K for a "clean" 150HP outboard including on water costs and you are set to go.

Just my 2 cents worth,

Huey.

[netic]

Mate from personal experience i can tell you that the best riding boat in heavy chop and swell that i have been on is a Stacer EVo Hull...

I have been on the following alloys and none have performed close to the stacer...

Stessco

CougarCraft

Barchrusher

Trailcraft

Tabs

...all above 5.8m

Make sure you test drive everything in rough conditions before you buy

[johnno]

Make sure you test drive everything in rough conditions before you buy

Good idea Netic

to add

Or even ask some members for a run out in there boats if you can,t find a test drive of certain boats

Edited July 2, 2007 by johnno

[netic]

Good idea Netic

to add

Or even ask some members for a run out in there boats if you can,t find a test drive of certain boats

Unfortunately i have had mates spend in excess of $70k on a boat without test driving it only to find out that it didnt handle too well....

Big Steve is on the market for a new boat and the first thing i told him was to make sure he tests the boat he buys

[bomber1]

TRY A RUN IN 6M SAILFISH CAT U WONT BE DISAPPOINTED

[Croydon]

is the Stabicraft 609HT plate / pressed?

Choad,

I believe the Stabicraft is plate and made in NZ......they do like a little 'ugly' but ride very softly for a tin boat.

[Mark L]

You have chosen some good brands of alloy boats. Please be aware of the difference between an alloy boat and a plate alloy boat. You may revise the posts that I have added to the forums previously, as you can see there is alot of work that goes into a true plate boat. Pricing obviously plays a huge part of any desicion making but choose well and I wouldnt advise buying the cheepest because thats what you will get. If its ofshore fishing you truely want to do that is safe and comfortable I would choose a real plate boat that has been designed by naval architects and built to USL codes using only the best DNV certified alloys.

Of course I would love to see you in a COUGARCRAFT so I can offer you an opportunity to buy factory direct and this will save you thousands.

All the best in your choices I wish you all the best as this is an enjoyable part of buying a boat.

Kindest regards

Mark

[wise one]

Have a look at Noble SuperVee too

Pretty special hull on these.

[choad]

thanks for all the suggestions guys.

i have updated the list.

noticed the sailfish is a us boat and some nz boats are in the list. any other international boats worth considering?

We just picked up our alloy gameboat yesterday.

Heres a few picks she is a tabs seascape with a 150 yammy 4stk.

nice pics James1990. Saw your other post. let us know how your test run went.

[harry.dz]

Hi Choad, you have covered most brands and we have sold many of those thru our time. Most on your list are good boats, with some some I would stay away from personally, but if you want a Offshore Alloy boat it is hard to go past the pontoon style of boat from NZ. Stabi-Craft is the most common but we import a brand of boat from NZ called Aqualine, similar in desgin, but a deeper deadrsie to Stabi and in my opinion a better finished off boat. In NZ they are called Kiwi-Kraft and have a better reputation than Stabi for ride and performance.In all my years of being around boats I have never been in a better riding mono hull alloy boat and with the added safety and stabilty of the tubes they are pretty special boats.

You would be doing yourself a disfavour if you did not check these out at www.aqualineboats.com. They are dearer than the Stacer range of boats we also stock and sell, but are definately a better riding boat in the rough than a Stacer which is saying something because Stacer is one of the best riding alloy boats with the EVO hull they run which gives a deeper deadrise than most tinnies and on the offshore boats they run 4mm and up plate material and offer the benfit of LEVEL floatation which is a great safety feature that most of the other brands do not have.

In my opinion, I would not be looking at anything smaller than around the 5.7M and up range of boats if you want to go out wide in safety. To give you an idea a Stacer 5.7M Plate cuddy cabin with a trailer sells for about $30K while the 5.9M Aqualine Sports will set you back about $35K incl trailer. Add about $19K for a "clean" 150HP outboard including on water costs and you are set to go.

Just my 2 cents worth,

Huey.

Huey sorry I'm questioning your experience ,but how to you see the safety aspect on level

floatation on The large Stacers? They stay level if swamped in calm water(lake) the majority of

time the boat of this size will be fishing coastal waters.

Those little excuses of pumps will be working overtime before the boat sinks .

Sorry Huey It has to be self draining all the way when fishing off shore.

And if you or others think other wise ,read Ross Hunters post on 100knot from the West.

Hazza (always think of the worst)

[Boban]

I'm going to stick my neck out here.

I've been on a fair few boats and I'll admit that I own a Cruisecraft Explorer 600. The boat I had before that was a plate boat which didn't last 6 months from new. My father and I hated the ride. It was one of the brands listed above. I wanted a real fishing boat so I thought the plate boat was the answer.

I was wrong. It was a good fishing platform though.

Before you buy a plate boat, go for a ride in a fibreglass boat of the same size and compare the ride.

For mine the only plate boat I would buy is a Sailfish, but that is not a monohull and you get no change from $100K.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone, I'm just giving my opinion which is obviously limited to a small proportion of the boats listed. Again, each to their own, but for mine, if it's going outside, you are better off in a fibreglass boat.

PS- Check out the new Explorer 685- awesome looking rig.

[a boat]

Good Morning Hazza, I think you probably have not seen the larger Stacer boats. They ARE self draining with scuppers at floor level that allow the water out and they also come STD with 1100 GPH AUTO bilge pumps(I would not call that little). I personally would rather be in a Stacer if the worse happens than some other plate boats that DO NOT have any underfloor foam floatation and some even do not have bilge pumps, but rely on so called sealed underfloor areas for buoyancy.

For Stacer to have the LEVEL floatation they swamp test every model and it must remain level with max load. Yes they do it in calm water and usually the worse happens in rough water, but a Stacer will still be one of the safest boat on the market because of the amount and positioning of the foam in hull.

The simple facts are that a boat that has been passed( by third party inspection) for LEVEL floataion is safer than a boat that is only BASIC floatation, and again I know which boat I would rather be in. Even in the bigger models over 6M where the ABP does not come into it the boats are still built to the LEVEL floatation standard.

Cheers,

Huey.

Huey sorry I'm questioning your experience ,but how to you see the safety aspect on level

floatation on The large Stacers? They stay level if swamped in calm water(lake) the majority of

time the boat of this size will be fishing coastal waters.

Those little excuses of pumps will be working overtime before the boat sinks .

Sorry Huey It has to be self draining all the way when fishing off shore.

And if you or others think other wise ,read Ross Hunters post on 100knot from the West.

Hazza (always think of the worst)

[netic]

I'm going to stick my neck out here.

I've been on a fair few boats and I'll admit that I own a Cruisecraft Explorer 600. The boat I had before that was a plate boat which didn't last 6 months from new. My father and I hated the ride. It was one of the brands listed above. I wanted a real fishing boat so I thought the plate boat was the answer.

I was wrong. It was a good fishing platform though.

Before you buy a plate boat, go for a ride in a fibreglass boat of the same size and compare the ride.

For mine the only plate boat I would buy is a Sailfish, but that is not a monohull and you get no change from $100K.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone, I'm just giving my opinion which is obviously limited to a small proportion of HI boats listed. Again, each to their own, but for mine, if it's going outside, you are better off in a fibreglass boat.

PS- Check out the new Explorer 685- awesome looking rig.

Mate, everything you have just said is all true and all of us know that a glass boat will ride better then a plate, but thats because it is considerably heavier, Harder to tow, Needs a larger motor for the size, wastes more fuel dues to its weight, and fibreglass can get problenms overtime...example Stress cracks...once these cracks occur its like cancer...they are always gonna be there....

Plate owners take all that into account and choose to buy a plate boat becuase of these reasons...

Trust me i know...i have owned Glass boats...rather new ones and good brands like Haines Signitures and i have regreted it.....hard to tow....high running costs...and in rough waters over time cracks will form....now i buy only alum boats...it i get a problem like i have with my current boat...only a small 4.75...i weld it and it is like new

[Mark L]

There is still no doubt that a fully welded fully sealed 3mm DNV certified plate floor filled with .8 of a cubic meter of polyethelene foam that is fuel and water resistant that complies with the standard USL codes and carry current ABP complience is enough to warrant safe boating.

COUGARCRAFT complies to this standard and also includes a bilge Pp and also foam fills there larger 6m and above vessels as standard.

The construction and alloys used in conjuntion with building techniques is the utmost importance of a quality plate boat. There are good plate builders out there that do comply and build quality products, and my support and backing goes out to them as there is alot of time and hard effort that goes into building a true plate boat.

Also as builders in the Australian boat market we like to see our industry stay local. We strive daily to supply the best we possibly can to give you ( the customers) the best you desreve.

My posts are one of those who strive to be the best.

Mark

COUGARCRAFT

[harry.dz]

Hi Heuy .Didn't see the point about the larger Stacer.

Saw one in Perth 6m+Platy impressed.

Are they a true self draining deck (sealed deck Fore and Aft?)

At what size is this available ,As some people consider a 5.5 m boat an offshore boat.

Not having a go at Stacer boats they are a lovely boat for what they are ,For me not a true offshore

Battle ship .(My 10m Platy with twin diesels -now that's an offshore boat.When I finish it )

Hazza

[Boban]

Mate, everything you have just said is all true and all of us know that a glass boat will ride better then a plate, but thats because it is considerably heavier, Harder to tow, Needs a larger motor for the size, wastes more fuel dues to its weight, and fibreglass can get problenms overtime...example Stress cracks...once these cracks occur its like cancer...they are always gonna be there....

Plate owners take all that into account and choose to buy a plate boat becuase of these reasons...

Trust me i know...i have owned Glass boats...rather new ones and good brands like Haines Signitures and i have regreted it.....hard to tow....high running costs...and in rough waters over time cracks will form....now i buy only alum boats...it i get a problem like i have with my current boat...only a small 4.75...i weld it and it is like new

Mate, I don't want to labour the point, but Plate boats are not lightweights.

From the Trailerboat Fisherman magazine(Nov 05), I got these weights for walkaround plate boats

Trailcraft 595 855kg

Seatamer Rampage 800kg

Noble 6.2 Supervee 860kg

I know my boat weighs 880kg (Explorer 600) and its a cabin boat.

In the same magazine three fibreglass cabin boats are specified as follows

SeaLegend 610 1000kg

Mustang 2000 1000kg

Haines Hunter 600 900kg

The SeaLegend and Mustang are slightly larger boats. So as you can see their is a probably little if any weight difference between a plate and fibreglass boat. If you were talking about a pressed aluminium tinny then there certainly would be a difference.

As to stress fractures, well we have had large fibreglass boats since the 70's and never experienced that with any of our boats. Fibreglass can also be repaired easily.

Anyway horses for courses, we all have our preferences.

[a boat]

Good Morning, from what I have seen of Marks boats I highly rate them. I think he is building one of the best made plate boats I have seen and is doing the right thing putting foam and bilge pump under the sealed deck. He builds them very well from the photos of under the floor he has posted here on Fishraider and I like his hull shape with the deep dearise and turned down chines, I am sure they would ride very well.

As for Stacer, from 469 and up they run LEVEL floatation and self draining decks. How Telwater choose to do this with both their brands of boats is with a marine plywood floor, or you can upgrade to an allycore floor, that sits in channels either sides of the hull. It will allow a little water under the floor, but I have filled a boat with water personally and most runs out the scuppers. What water gets under the floor is taken care of by the bilge pump. One advantage of the removeable floor is just that, you can get the floor up if you need to get under there for any reason.

Cheers,

Huey.