Can Someone Pls Explain The Price Differences

[locodave]

I managed to go to the boat show this year, I thought it was great, so much to learn!

But one thing I didnt get was this.

You can buy a nice fiberglass boat (bow rider) for 35k new, stunning, luxurious, 17 foot, Bayliner, MAXUM, searay that holds about 7 people and has a 225 3.0l mercruiser on the back.

OR

You can buy yourself a quintrex 490 Freedom Sport for 35k, aluminum, holds 7 people with a 75HP on the back - bow rider, but now way near look as polished off as the fiberglass ones.

I would really think a aluminum one would be at least 10k less.

The only thing the quintrex salesman said to me was "ours come with more options". I still don't think the quintrex should be worth that much.

Also I was told with fiberglass boats, you can't drag them onto the sand. It damages the coat on the fiberglass.

True???

I've seen many fiberglass boats parked along the sand banks

Thanks for any info

[Flightmanager]

Not too sure about the pricing issue , but as for dragging the keel over sand , you would need to think carefully about doing so. Sand is abrasive ( think sandpaper) , and if you were to frequently drag the keel over sand , it would eventually wear away the Gel coat ( the shiny smooth finish) and reveal the fibre matting beneath. As an example , look at what it does to the skeg and leading edges of propellers! If water was to enter this layer , you could expect a situation called " Delamination" , whereby the water penetrates the glass fibre matting , separating it from the resin(glue). This could lead to "sheets " of your hull separating from the keel, not desirable Im sure you would agree.

Ross

[a boat]

Hi Dave, good question and it all comes down to volume. All these $35K odd glass bowriders are imported from the States where a builder like Bayliner would produce about 100,000 units per year and therefore have a much better buying power than compared to someone like Telwater(Stacer/Quintrex). Also the strong dollar is helping the importers at the moment. The other main contributing factor is that the 3.0L Mercruiser (which is only 135HP, not 220HP, and that is at the flywheel, while outboards are measured at the prop) are much cheaper than a similar HP outboard. To give you an idea, it is cheaper to buy a Stacer 549 Bowrider with a 135HP Mercruiser than it is for the same boat with only a Carby 90HP Mercury. I personally would prefer the Mercrusier out of those two options, but if money was not a concern, a 115HP "clean tech" outboard is what I would prefer over the Mercruiser, which can be expensive to service and maintain as the years go by.

It is a real problem for the Oz builder, but the advantage the local builder has got is that no US built boat will ride as well as a similar sized Australian designed glass boat of the same length. You have to remember that the US boat was designed mainly for flat water lakes and not the coastal water we encounter and if I was you I would just look at the number of late model US boats on the market second hand, they do not hold there value as well as a brand like Haines Hunter / Stacer or Quintrex. Also if anyone is buying an imported boat, you will have to factor in price that in about 3-5 years you will be needing a new trailer most likely, because the bunk trailer that are under most of the US boats are not made for salt water and have to be dunked to get the boat off. If you are serious about getting a US boat, go for a ride in rough water and price it up with a good quality OZ roller trailer that will last.

As for the glass or gelcoat being damaged on sand, it is not really an issue unless you hit something like a rock. Many times with my Haines I have pulled upto a beach and left the boat on the sand and it is fine.

Cheers,

Huey.

[locodave]

Is the ride on the latest quintrex pretty good these days? I've been told its up there with a glass boat?

[a boat]

Hi Dave, a Quintrex will not ride as well as a good quality glass boat. In fact the Stacer boat with the EVO hull and the deeper deadrise at the stern than the Quintrex hull rides better, I have been in both side by side on the same day and that is why we choose to sell Stacer. The Millenium hull shape is at the bow and what determines ride is the deadrise at the transom. The Millenium hull is a bit gimmicky, that if worked all glass boats would have the hull shaped like that at the bow-which they do not. The Stacer EVO hull is nothing new, all fibreglass boats have a deep vee and than flattened chines and it is proven over many years to work. If something works in any industry it is copied and just look at all the glass boats from the back and also the number of tinnies that now have a similar shape to Stacer-Savege/Seajay/Allycraft, because it works. Trust me anybody could have a bow like the Quintrex, but the better boats keep the bows full to give more lift and buoyancy, which is especially important with a bowrider, that might have some weight in the bow. When a boat is on the plane and trimmed correctly the bow of the boat is out of the water, while the stern of a boat affects the ride and is always in the water. Stacer now with the series 2 hull shape have even made the hulls better and with Stacer you get a better riding boat, with the same saftey of LEVEL floatation at a better price with thicker side sheets, in my opinion I do not know why anyone would want to pay extra for the Quintrex, you are just paying for the name, but it is your call and I am sure you would be happy if you got a Quintrex, until perhaps you had a chance to ride in a Stacer one day and relise that it is a better boat and would of cost you less.

Just my 2 cents worth, but the best bit of advise I can offer is get a short list of boats that you are interested in and water test them, not just in a flat water situation, but somewhere like Broken bay where you cvan get rough water.

Cheers,

Huey.

[locodave]

This is becoming harder than choosing a car

[netic]

I have been in many boats from 10k rides to 100k rides and the Stacer EVO Hull is an awesome ride...smoothest riding Alum boat i have been on by a country mile....And we have testd it in 2.5 metre swells dead into a strong westerley......awesome boats

[locodave]

ok, so sounds like stacer is the way to go!

Just don't like their designs

[a boat]

Hi Dave, what designs do you not like?

Huey.

[aussie big bob]

Hi there locodave

I have decided to put my two cents worth in.

First of all i would like to say that i am not a moderator or a be all and end all of site sponsors

But i would like to say that i have been too huey's looking for a new boat and i do think that when this man gives you advise you should at least listen to it.

I found huey NOT to be a man that wanted to do nothing but try and sell me something in his yard.

I see that this is the same as the advice huey has given you.

I would be taking his advise and narrow your choices down, and taking them for a test drive.

I my self own a glass boat and have the same concerns that you have about beaching them and I can tell you now I would not beach my boat.

To be able to find a boat that will be every thing you want may never happen

I know this as I have owned a mustang a Webster twin fisher a Cox's craft and a fibreglass shark cat and I can say that I always found something that I was not happy with them in one way or another.

So when you do make the decision on the style and brand of boat you want then I would at least give huey a chance to see what he can come up with. Because if he can not help you in the purchase of your new boat at least the free advise that he has given you. Will hopefully lead you to the right choice.

Cheers

Bob

Edited August 7, 2007 by aussie big bob

[Evanwz]

Dave

You'll open pandora's box asking questions like these... for me, at the end of the day you need to try and work out what you want to do on or with a boat, how much you want to spend and whether you want to buy new or 2nd hand.

Tin Vs Glass is the age old debate - tin is generally more durable, lighter for any given size and probably easier to care for (I've had 1 tin boat, # 2 and it was a Quintrex 475 Bayhunter Caprice with a 70hp Yamaha and it cost me $22000. It was a fishing and cruising boat in Sydney Harbour and Broken Bay). It was great for what I wanted to do.

Within 2 years it wasn't enough so I traded it in for $19,000 (try and do that with a car) and got a Southwind 550 Bowrider with a Yamaha 115hp 4 stroke - fibreglass, open bowrider and just as easy to beach and it was setup for cruising and fishing in the same waterways - an awesome rig at the time

2 years later I wanted more cover, a bowrider was too exposed to the elements and you'd fry on a hot day and freeze on a cold day - fibreglass was the way and # 4 was a Whittley Sea Legend 6.3m with a Evinrude Ficht 175hp, 2 stroke. This was THE ultimate fishing boat at the time and provided great seating, comfort, cruising as well and could take me offshore. BUT it had a smelly 2 stroke and I wanted to do more overnighting and more cruising so I got boat # 5 which was a Whittley Voyager 580 with a Johnson 140hp 4 stroke - full camper covers, it was 2 years old and I got it for a bargain and did the overnight thing (sort of), loved it and loved the lack of 2 stroke smell but didn't love how I couldn't do any more hard core fishing!

So I sold it last month, had it for 2 years and sold it for what I bought it for - so over 2 years it cost me fuel + about $1000 in some additions and alterations. Can't do that with a car

Now I've got a Whittley Sea Legend 700 on order with a Yamaha 225hp 4 stroke - bigger, heavier, more of a gas guzzler but big high sides, lots of space, lots of weight and stability in a sea or even in Broken Bay and I can do the overnight thing and do the hard core fishing thing. It's perfect for now...

My message is (besides being a lunatic undecided boat purchaser) to just jump on the wagon and get an educated purchase - trawl www.boatpoint.com.au and www.tradingpost.com.au and do the run of the dealers, see what's on the showroom floor (you can always haggle more!), get them to take you for a run, find what suits what you want or in my case what I I want at the time.

Get out on it and have some fun - if you shop smart and in my humble opinion buy the right brand (just like when you buy a car) you won't sink a fortune in lost $$ over the years - well I haven't at least.

Brands? - i'd go Quintrex, Stacer, Haines Hunter and Signature, Whittley (funnily enough), Cruise Craft and even Bayliner or Searay - just be cautious of age, engine, $$ and make sure it's what you want now.

Glass Vs aluminium - don't get bogged down in that now, just work out what type of boat you want and how light or heavy or what finish you want

Good luck

Evan

[locodave]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

In regards to Stacer, I do believe they are a good brand, and people comments regarding the hulll and the ride sound really good, no question to that!

I personally don't like their colour schemes and the cockpit etc. Not a fan of their designs in that way

I've owned a aluminium boat before, wasnt bad for 8k, but now I feel like I want something bigger. Was thinking maybe a small second hand haines, to see what it is like. Around 12k That way I can see what the main differences are like and if I like it, eventually upgrade it!

I think in general you don't loose much on boats which is good to see

[CiViC]

I personally don't like their colour schemes and the cockpit etc. Not a fan of their designs in that way

im not a fan of the new pod/transom on the stacers, way too much space wasted there. the new quinnies have much better utilisation of space down back now though.

[achjimmy]

im not a fan of the new pod/transom on the stacers, way too much space wasted there. the new quinnies have much better utilisation of space down back now though.

I thought the way Stacer have managed to get all the control and steering cables under the step/pod transom out of the way quite clever. Much neater than most others

[leaky181]

Hi Dave,

2 years ago this xmas my wife and i bought a Haines Signature 5m Bowrider (glass boat)@32k.

The critera we used to buy a boat was:

1/ cruise the rivers and harbour

2/ fish fish fish

3/ Ski and other various sports

4/ plus about another 50 lines as well but to many to list

It took us 9 months to decide on the boat we have. We looked at every second hand boat around. Private and dealer. We wanted to spend 15k the more we looked the more the price went up due to the boats being in less than good order.

We have 3 kids so safety and reliability where extremly high on our list as well.

In the end it came down to 3 boats all Bowriders quinnie , stacer , Haines Signature

The haines won out because of the deeper seats and what WE considered a safer boat.

Next year we will be upgrading to a bigger boat probably a Whitley cruiser around 6-6.5m

I guess what i am saying is sit down and figure out exactly what you want to do with your boat write it all down in a list make several copies then go shopping if you can cross all the items off the list then BUY that boat if the boat doesnt fill your list then what are you willing to do with out. Give the list to the dealers and see what they come up with. It is easier for a salesman to sell you what you want if he knows what you want.

These replys always start out short and end up long Just my $1.50 + gst worth