Recommend a small boat for Botany Bay

[yugse]

Hi

I am new to boating and looking at buying a small aluminium boat that can handle Botany Bay. I have looked at the quintrex range which I prefer.

How would the Quintrex Dory be for Botany Bay in terms of handling the chop and safety?

Any suggestions for motors and sizes -

Usually fishing with 3 people.

Thanks in advance

regards

yugse

Edited January 22, 2011 by yugse

[JET01]

Hi

I am new to boating and looking at buying a small aluminium boat that can handle Botany Bay. I have looked at the quintrex range which I prefer.

How would the Quintrex Dory be for Botany Bay in terms of handling the chop and safety?

Any suggestions for motors and sizes -

Usually fishing with 3 people.

Thanks in advance

regards

yugse

Hey mate, The guys on here have a wealth of knowledge and will be able to give you some better suggestions with a bit more info.

things like:

Price range.

Do you want new or used?

Is this your first boat?

What kind of fishing do you do? Lure fishing, dead or live bait, trolling?

Are you going to use the boat for anything else other than fishing?

Will you be garaging it or parking it outside?

Is there anything in particular you need out of your boat, such as: A particularly dry ride? Stability? Space? Alround fishability? Tiller/console steer?

Do you want to install an electric motor on it at some stage?

I have a Stacer Nomad 469 with a 50hp Merc 2 stroke.

I bought my boat in march 2010 and asked all the questions i could and did all the research under the sun and apart from my boat being a little too long to fit in a standard apartment's garage (the one thing i didn't research) it does what i need it to very well. I picked my boat up second hand for around $20K. It is useful for everything... Going outside to Jibbon Bombie Etc on calm days, Handles the bay chop pretty well. I consider it very stable at rest. Even with 3 blokes in the boat i can pull a skiier up in a river.

When i bought my boat i thought i would always have someone with me when i went fishing. Since then i have realised that there's nothing better than a solo fish.

So if i had my money again i would not go with a side console as they list when underway by yourself, and the ride's not as comfortable... I'd get into centre console Bandit from Anglapro similar to the Top Ender Northern Fisher the Quintrex does.

This may be a bit of a ramble seeing as you've suggested a Dory. Just thought i'd give you some food for thought.

[Guest Aussie007]

i had the allycraft 3.75M tinny its ok 1 person but if u anchor in a boat this size near mol point or the drums u will need to pull anchor and point the boat into the wake from the tug boats most of the time this isnt a problem its just when the tug boats are moving at a decent speed the wake is around 1m short and sharp i have even takin waves over the front from the tug boat at mol point in my 4.3m quintrex without a windscreen i would have been swamped so something to think about

[Catchin Jack]

Call our sponsor at Huett Marine, he'll sort you out with a perfect setup for what you need.

[yugse]

Thanks JET for your informative reply

*It is my first boat so I would like to buy a second hand

*Parking will be outside

*Price range under $17 000

*In terms of fishing - I have not done much boat fishing - My only experience has been the odd hire and fishing with frozen prawns for Bream, Flathead. I would not mind trolling plastics as I have seen on the Fishing Charters where we caught Bonito and Kingfish off Wollongong

*Biggest priority is Safety.

*At this point - fishing is the plan and perhaps an occassional tow to the Hawkesbury

Thanks in advance

Edited January 23, 2011 by yugse

[cut_loose]

Mate, 17 k is a sweet amount for a first boat, second hand you can't go wrong.

Me and my dad had about the same to spend on a boat, we looked for a few months, and we ended up with a 4.6 Ally Craft Bay Raider runabout, with a 60hp yamaha 4 stroke, it had all the goods and only 40 hours on the clock and that's what we paid for her.

We had a 4.2 estuary angler which handed okay in botany, with a 40hp 2 stroke, it handled okay but really in the chop of the bay which can get bad, i'd recommend a 4.5 + runabout, which you can pick up for your price

[locodave]

Yea I can agree with the guy above. I have a 4.1 Bermuda, I can take it outside the heads on calm days, can reach 55km/h on calm waters. It's a grat boat. But fishing with 3 people in it, very cramped! In the chop...hate it! I would try and get something a bit bigger 4.5+ or 6m+ second hand

[PlayerOne]

For $17K i'd be looking for something much better than a Dory!

I've got a 4.2 Dory and i have no doubt it will handle the Bay (i usually fish Harbour / Pittwater with 2 or 3 people onboard), but my budget was half yours!.... I'd recommend something 4.5-4.8m range, with a fairly new 50-70Hp outboard... maybe a 2nd hand "Coastrunner" or similar? (depending on the setup you want); You'd feel pretty safe in a boat that size and its not too big to handle for a first boat!

Happy boat hunting!

Alex.

Edited January 23, 2011 by PlayerOne

[JET01]

For $17K i'd be looking for something much better than a Dory!

I've got a 4.2 Dory and i have no doubt it will handle the Bay (i usually fish Harbour / Pittwater with 2 or 3 people onboard), but my budget was half yours!.... I'd recommend something 4.5-4.8m range, with a fairly new 50-70Hp outboard... maybe a 2nd hand "Coastrunner" or similar? (depending on the setup you want); You'd feel pretty safe in a boat that size and its not too big to handle for a first boat!

Happy boat hunting!

Alex.

Mate i reckon you'd love a Nomad. I'm busy for the next few weekends, but if you're going to wait around a month or so before you make a purchase then maybe we could organise a day on botany bay where you can check out my boat.

I don't know too much about boats, but from the research i did, Nomads/Top enders would have to be the best alround bay fishing boats IN MY OPINION. In saying that, 75 percent of my fishing is light soft plastic fishing, so the coastrunner or bowrider set up doesn't suit the way i use my boat... I love the 360 degree fishability, especially when on the drift on the flats.

[NickF]

For $17k I'd be looking as fibreglass if going used boats.

You will be amazed what $17k will get you.

There are quite a few 5.3m - 5.5m fibreglass boats out there, something like a Freedom Escape or similar.

There is a Cruisecraft Hustler on one site completely decked out for fishing with a 135HP Mariner EFI, downriggers, rocket launcher the works for like $16,500 on a tandem trailer.

I was very close to buying a Hustler before I came accross the Haines Signature. A friend owns a Hustler and it's a very nice outfit, especially with a 225 Merc on the back!

I am very glad I went fibreglass for my first boat. I'm happy to take you out in mine if you wanna get a feel for what these types of boats are like or if you want to compare it with the ride of some of the aluminium boats you test.

Either way, owning a boat is the shiznit!