Need A Boat, Advice Needed!

[TheDon]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy my first boat. I don't know much and need some help as to what to look for.

It primarily be used in Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay with the occasional trip out of the heads and along the coast on a calm day.

I'm only looking to spend around $10K so it will need to be a used boat.

I'm considering both aluminum and fibreglass.

What should I look for when I inspect the boats?

How old is too old for the hull, is around 1990 ok, or too old?

What about the engine, how many hours is too many?

Are there any brands of engine which are more reliable in older boats, are there any I should avoid?

Your recomendations are appreciated.

Thanks

TheDon

[snooze]

It's a difficult question to answer. I have a 5.5m half cab boat and its great for most of my uses with it, fishing cruising etc. but i have recently be getting into the soft plastics purely because i catch more fish and bigger ones, and now I'm contemplating on getting a center/side consile boat, but this will mean i will be more open to the elements. I think there should be more thought on what YOU intend to use it for.

You will find that you really don't get much choice in the brand of motor you want from a second hand boat but ask for all the maintenance recipets for the motor, being and old boat there will quite a few hrs on them but if they have been regularly service you should not have much problems with them, but if you can afford an engine upgrade then id go for an e-tec.

[Golemfish]

Thanks for the response.

I didn't think having a half cabin would be so restrictive for soft plastic fishing. I love SPs and plan to fish with them a lot, I guess if you only had a couple of anglers on the boat then a half cabin should be ok, but if you had 4-5 then it would be beneficial to have an open boat. Is that correct or is any kind of cabin a no no for SP fishing.

Also in regards to the engine, If I'm considering a few older boats around 1990, and they each have different brand outboard motors, e.g. Mercury, Yamaha, Johnson and evinrude, How would you rank them in terms of reliability?

Also how many hours is a lot for a boat, is < 200hrs ok, what about 300hrs?

Cheers

[cut_loose]

200-300 hours is nothing if its had the required maintenance !

I payed 9 grand for my 04 model quinnie 4.2 meter quintrex estuary angler with a yamaha 40hp 3 cylinder outboard 80 hours good trailer bimini fish finder radio etc etc

Edited January 27, 2010 by cut_loose

[snooze]

Thanks for the response.

I didn't think having a half cabin would be so restrictive for soft plastic fishing. I love SPs and plan to fish with them a lot, I guess if you only had a couple of anglers on the boat then a half cabin should be ok, but if you had 4-5 then it would be beneficial to have an open boat. Is that correct or is any kind of cabin a no no for SP fishing.

Also in regards to the engine, If I'm considering a few older boats around 1990, and they each have different brand outboard motors, e.g. Mercury, Yamaha, Johnson and evinrude, How would you rank them in terms of reliability?

Also how many hours is a lot for a boat, is < 200hrs ok, what about 300hrs?

Cheers

You can use soft plastic on any boat and if you are intending to go ouside for snapper on plastics then half cab will do fine, but i find when in an estury or bay the lighter center/side tinny bass boat are the supreme becouse you can fish from all around the boat. And buy adding an electric motor to the front you have total control on your position and stealth, this is quite hard to do in a half cab, you have to guess the drift and hope you hit the mark and pulling in the sea anchor all the time can be a pain in the butt.

There is no rule on what type boat you have to get to use soft plastic.

If you watch the AFC or any other soft plastics comp then you'll see most boats are open.

As far as the engine what ever brand it may be just make sure it's been regulary serviced no matter the hrs on it, some engines may have been re-build and if done by a pro then it'll be like new.

Cheers

Snooze.