locodave Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) Hi Guys, Currently have a 4.1 Bermuda aluminium boat. Thinking of upgrading towards the end of the year to a 5.4 glass boat. Anyway today out on the harbour, the chop was pretty bad for my little tinny, is it that MUCH better on a 5.4 glass? Also the room on my 4.1 is tight as. 2 People fishing is ok, 2 people fishing with 7 rods on boat, berley bucket etc...is cramped! 3 people even worse! So in a 5.4, how comfortable can it be, as in how many people can you take ifshing and be ok with space? Thanks guys Edited January 23, 2011 by locodave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I think you would notice a very significnt difference in ride comfort through chop and the space available would also be much larger, you would quite comfortably fish three people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) there is alot of factors involved but generally it will be better.. going from aly to fg is alot more weight so sits better in the water.. cutting through the chop is a different story as lots of hulls give different rides but again the weight should be a +.. i went from a 14 ft fg runabout to my current haines sig 5.3mtr and it eats the chop up compared to my last pongrass and pride fg boats.. they were shallow round hulls where as the haines has deep V .. be prepared for running costs to go up quiet a bit as well.. i love the upgrade as it opened up alot of options of going outside now where as my other smaller ones were sneak out on real good day in close only... i fish 3 very comfortably and have had 4 ok. good luck with the upgrade... cheers....steve..... Edited January 23, 2011 by roosterman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I have fished in stacks of tinnies and always thought the ride was a little hard, so I recently purchased a fibreglass boat (6 metre) and have been going out in some large swells off north head and off Sydney chasing surface schools. My boat is in the recreational bracket (Bowrider) so doesn't have the deep V of a fibreglass boat designed for offshore but the ride is dry and the room onboard is amazing. Plus I get the benefit of being able to tow an inflatable and take friends for a cruise. As roosterman said, be prepared to spend a bit on costs, mine uses around $120-$150 in fuel every trip (Ermington to the heads, trolling all morning, running around and then back to Ermington). Then there is the safety equipment, you might need an EPIRB etc etc and then wear and tear, the sea and swell is brutal on fittings and components. There is a constant jarring and bashing the boat has to take. All in all, best choice I ever made you'll love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Well yesterday I was in the harbour in 20 knot winds and a bit of chop and I was getting annoyed haha as I couldn't go fast and every bigger boat was making psunami waves towards me! Anyway was looking around at the 5.4m FG boats and they were just cutting through the water what looked a hell lot easier than me. But then while fishing at the heads, I realised I had little room, and there was a 5.+ around and they looked comfortable but I think only around 2 people max for my comfort levels. Now my boat is $12k, a new Haines is around $40-50k - just wondering if it's really worth it. Costs will be more, especially fuel, what else though? Maybe I should just get a sports car again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen801 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Hi Locodave, Mate i am in the same boat as you with a 4.2m tinnie. I am sick of getting pounded in chop etc. The tinnie is easy etc to launch/retrieve and store at home. I am going to a bigger boat soon as possible and have my mind set on a barcrusher 5.3m. My only problem is storage as i cant easily get a bigger boat in at home. Sports cars are good and some great deals on second hand euro cars ATM. If i could i would go the boat mate. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Yes I love how I can just store it at home and manouvre it all by myself. But when you get out with the big boys to play, your nothing haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daleyboy Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 the glass is a much beter ride ... i upgraded from a 4m punt style tinny (that i used to take around sydney heads) to a 5.8m swiftcraft runabout ... ride difference is outta this world ... mine has been setup with a bimini with side clears etc and we can easily fish 3 people (more if we removed bimini Heres some things you might want to take into account ... 1) You pretty much cant go out alone ... if you upgrade to a 5.4m glass boat you are all but ruling out solo fishing trips, so you will be relying on others (unless it is super calm) 2) Your fuel bill is gonna increase 3) You have to be alot more careful with your boat ... i.e. no running aground at the ramp or bashing into markers 4) tow vehicle, you will need at least a 6cyl or a 4cyl 4wd to tow it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I take my 6M boat out alone and find no real difficulty at all. As for the price, get into something used first, you will get a decent 5.3-5.8m boat for $20-30k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 the glass is a much beter ride ... i upgraded from a 4m punt style tinny (that i used to take around sydney heads) to a 5.8m swiftcraft runabout ... ride difference is outta this world ... mine has been setup with a bimini with side clears etc and we can easily fish 3 people (more if we removed bimini Heres some things you might want to take into account ... 1) You pretty much cant go out alone ... if you upgrade to a 5.4m glass boat you are all but ruling out solo fishing trips, so you will be relying on others (unless it is super calm) Ok, can you please explain this further? 2) Your fuel bill is gonna increase Yep defiantely, so looking from spending $40 to $100+, but I will have an e-tec, they make petrol I heard 3) You have to be alot more careful with your boat ... i.e. no running aground at the ramp or bashing into markers Totally agree here, I would be so peed if I damaged my boat. But that's why I bought a tinny, so I could damage that first. Was my L's boat. 4) tow vehicle, you will need at least a 6cyl or a 4cyl 4wd to tow it I'm opting towards a $10k commodore for now then upgrading eventually. Thanks for all your pointers though, good to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggy Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Hi Locodave, I went through the same sort of issue a few years back, but for a slightly different reason. I had at the time a 4.3 Predator tri hull (fibreglass) which was great but I was running into a couple of issues. Space as you mention plus I was spending more time offshore, than in estuaries, which the boat was really designed for. Plus as a side console she was wet. I upgraded to a viking 5.5 and can't be happier. A boat that size can fish 4, though 3 is better, has a ton of storage room, a far better and more comfortable ride in any weather, dry...I could go one. You will find that as the larger boats can handle the weather and seas better you will be going out in conditions that you currently won't get out o bed for. And sometime conditions that aren't great for people can be good for fish. The downsize as the others have mentioned is your fuel bill is going up. The predator had two 20 litre tanks and I could run all day and still have something left. The viking carries 130 litres and I most trips see me use half. You may also be looking at an upgrade in tow vehicle. I currently use a verada 3.5, which does the job, but really I can only use it locally. To go away up/down the coast my mate used his 4wd, which the bugger has just sold! I am trading for a turbo diesel which will do the job so much better and is what I reccommend you think about getting in time. So basically the downsize is going to be cost related but in exchange you bet a far better fishing platform. Cheers Jiggy Oh and I regularly go out solo and launching/retrieving is no problem once you get a bit of practice and follow a routine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adams apple Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 hi guys my advice would be to stick with the boat you have because you can take your boat that you got now out on your own and i am sure that running cost and maintenance is good on the wallet.with the money your saving you can buy more gear. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 hi guys my advice would be to stick with the boat you have because you can take your boat that you got now out on your own and i am sure that running cost and maintenance is good on the wallet.with the money your saving you can buy more gear. lol Yes there are a lot more things to go wrong on a 5.4m glass boat compared to a 4m tinny. Also the service costs are higher on a large outboard. If your just fishing in the Harbour a 5.4m glass boat seems like a bit of overkill. What about something in between? I think a 4.5m Polycraft would be ideal. You will get more room and with an extra 0.5m and with the better ride characteristics of a plastic boat you will notice a big improvement, without the disadvantages of a big boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 When the swell is up, or the ferries are out in force along with lots of pleasure craft, and you wanna go anywhere near the lower harbour or heads you start pushing the limits of a 4.0m tinny. 5.4m is never overkill when you want to poke your head outside the harbour, or get home in the late morning or afternoon with the harbour chop. Or even take a few mates along for a day or overnight camping trip. Yes, costs increase but so does the satisfaction. Whole new horizons open up for you, when you go can go outside trolling looking for Marlin or tuna, jigging up kingies or fishing some of the reefs close to Sydney. If you upgrade to any larger size boat costs will increase as there is more HP required to push it and same goes for fuel. That is just part of the deal. If you like fuel economy and low costs then stick with the tinny and work within the restrictions that boat offers. Don't let the talk about extra expenses scare you off, if you have a $40k+ budget, spend $20-$25k on the boat and then the rest on a repower to a new fuel efficient outboard and you'll never have to worry. The E-TEC has 300 hours with no required service straight from the box and even the big beasts like the 200Hp burn something like 700ml an hour at idle and have really low consumption figures. I'm sure Huey can fill you in on the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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