Upgrade time

[niclebum]

Hi Raiders,

At the moment i have a 3.75 metre tinny which is great for inshore fishing the Parra though doesn't handle to well with big river cats wash and chop. I have a Mercury 25hp motor on the back which runs quite well but is fairly old. So what I thought, should I find a good deal of a 4-4.1 tinny, get the motor serviced and transfer it on to the bigger boat.

Also is a small increase in size from late 3m to early 4m a big difference? Ultimately i want to venture further into the harbour to sow and pigs but also have those options of going finesse around moorings.

I'm also interested to know if anyone has attempted to install their own steering wheel in their tinny?

And finally!, at the moment with my 3.75 would i be able to go that far into the harbour such as sow and pigs with my size tinny with 2 people. I haven't really gone that far but im sure people do go up that far with similar sizes.

Thanks in advance, Parraman

[rockfisherman]

Hi mate

IMO if you want to upgrade, do it right, I have a 4m tinny and it displays all the problems you state with stability with chop and waves, also you're not gaining much with an extra 250-350mm, my tinny can fish 3 people with not much gear and it's a bit squashy, 2 people comfortably with all our gear.

Personally I have a long term goal to obtain a bit bigger in general ie more stable boat and bigger outboard, but that's about 5 years down the track.

Fishingphase

[GregL]

I use to run a Hornet 435 with a 50 tiller on the back. One of the fishiest boats I have owned!

The boat would run all day long on half a tank and the space that the tiller gives you, it's space for the third person if needed.

If you only lure fish maybe you can get a way with the wheel but if you bait fish as well, go the tiller.

I use to sneek out the front around bluefish in it chasing salmon on fly on nice days n stability was great stationary not like a v hull of this size.

The size difference between my old one and a mate that had the 400 hornet, you could fit the 400 inside the gunwales of the 435. It looks alot bigger internally.

On the go most of these size boats don't handle the harbour ferry washes well at speed. You do have to slow down for them in near anything. A punt is going to give you a harder ride compared to the V hull but more stability.

It's then up to you and how you fish on whats going to suit the best.

In boats size makes a massive difference....

Greg

[Guest Aussie007]

if your getting a new boat look at the horizon models i think from memory they have the widest boats around 1.7-1.8m wide and going from 3.75 to 4.1 is a big enough difference i had a 3.75 allycraft my cousin has a 4 stacer i notice the difference and the 4 m boat handles 3 adults well where the 3.75 struggled

[niclebum]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'd love that extra size just to give that more stability and be able to go further in to the harbour where more action takes place. How far in to the harbour do you think i could go with being safe in my 3.75?

[The Incredible Hull]

Hi mate

IMO if you want to upgrade, do it right, I have a 4m tinny and it displays all the problems you state with stability with chop and waves, also you're not gaining much with an extra 250-350mm, my tinny can fish 3 people with not much gear and it's a bit squashy, 2 people comfortably with all our gear.

Personally I have a long term goal to obtain a bit bigger in general ie more stable boat and bigger outboard, but that's about 5 years down the track.

Fishingphase

Hey Parraman,

I have a Quintrex 420 WB Dory, and I think thats very unstable! So I'm in the same shoes as Fishingphase, I'm waiting to upgrade to at least a 5 metre boat and 2 metres wide.

I have taken my boat around the harbour, but only on calm days. Once you get the chop, especially when hits from the sides, it's not good! I have video footage of my boat almost going from horizontal to 90deg!

As mentioned above, don't buy something to "get by", do it the right way and invest a little more.

[Dezmo]

Hey Parraman,

I have a Quintrex 420 WB Dory, and I think thats very unstable! So I'm in the same shoes as Fishingphase, I'm waiting to upgrade to at least a 5 metre boat and 2 metres wide.

I have taken my boat around the harbour, but only on calm days. Once you get the chop, especially when hits from the sides, it's not good! I have video footage of my boat almost going from horizontal to 90deg!

As mentioned above, don't buy something to "get by", do it the right way and invest a little more.

I had the same size dory for about 8 years and found it a great boat. You have to remember they are still a small tinny abd will bang when you drive them hard in chop but they would be miles in front of an old 12 footer. In that boat you could fish outside most days and I ventured to the closer fads in it on a number of occcassions. I'm not recommending it an an offshore boat, plainly it isnt, but i never felt unsafe in it in the harbour and once you get to know it you should have no issues taking it to sow and pigs any day you would want to be there. An old 25hp may be a little underdone however.

[Guest Aussie007]

of course tinnys are unstable i dont think they were all designed to be walked around in hence there sizes so there going to be unstable to some degree if your walking around 2 blokes standing on one side etc..

these are the tinnys i was talking about

1.8m beam for the 4m model http://www.horizonboats.com.au/boats/boat.asp?boatID=12

1.95m beam for the 4.15m model http://www.horizonboats.com.au/boats/boat.asp?boatID=13

if u compare these to other tinnys they will have 1.65-1.75m beams

[niclebum]

Cheers Raiders,

I think I'll stick to my tinny for now and wait for something over 5 so i'll be able to do a range of fishing rather than just be confined to really calm waters

[Guest Aussie007]

Cheers Raiders,

I think I'll stick to my tinny for now and wait for something over 5 so i'll be able to do a range of fishing rather than just be confined to really calm waters

i use to take my 3.75m allycraft a lot of places heres a video i took of a shallow water way where the water moves fast this day was very choppy atlease .5/.6m chop the waves were just under the front lucky none came over but the boat handled it well for its size

[niclebum]

i use to take my 3.75m allycraft a lot of places heres a video i took of a shallow water way where the water moves fast this day was very choppy atlease .5/.6m chop the waves were just under the front lucky none came over but the boat handled it well for its size

Thanks Gazza for sharing that

[pjbink]

Have a look at a Polycraft in the 4.1 challenger series,I have that model and you can run around in that all day without fear of falling over and it handles the chop pretty well.

Stability is fantastic and there is no issues with waves slapping against the polys hull.........stealth mode is assured.

Cheers Stewy

Yes I can vouch for that. I go all over Botany Bay in my 4.1m Polycraft. Didn't cost any more than an similar sized tinny either.

[niclebum]

Have a look at a Polycraft in the 4.1 challenger series,I have that model and you can run around in that all day without fear of falling over and it handles the chop pretty well.

Stability is fantastic and there is no issues with waves slapping against the polys hull.........stealth mode is assured.

Cheers Stewy

Stewy is your boat the green fishraider boat??? I've seen that around the Parra occasionally.

[dean]

My first boat was a 3.85m quintrex with a 20 on the back, in the right condition I could take that anywhere through the Harbour even outside the heads. You just have to take it easy and slow down for the ferry wash.

[locodave]

I had a 4.1 and been to Sow and Pigs. I wouldbn't take more than two people in it. Gets rocky with all the ferry's too.

I would go at least 4.5! Because in my 4.1 kept swearing every time i had to move or grab the net. Was doing gymnastics just to get around!

Edited April 12, 2012 by locodave

[port hacking addiction]

Iv got a 4.15 very comftorble with 2 people and 3 aint to bad iv taken it too north head with no problems until i get little sea sick

[niclebum]

I had a 4.1 and been to Sow and Pigs. I wouldbn't take more than two people in it. Gets rocky with all the ferry's too.

I would go at least 4.5! Because in my 4.1 kept swearing every time i had to move or grab the net. Was doing gymnastics just to get around!

So true! Having to shift everything around just to keep things balanced

[PlayerOne]

A 4.2m will be big enough for most harbour spots. However your current 25hp may bit bit undergunned on a 4.2m (esp. if you want 3+ people & gear);

I reckon a 4.5m+ (and 40hp+) would be ideal...

[nigelr]

Have a look at a Stessco Catcher 4.2. Good deep vee for a pressed ali hull and quite high sides also. 3mm bottom sheets for a bit of peace of mind.

Would go ok with your 25 in enclosed waters though 3-up would limit it out.

My son and I used to take mine over the local river bar and out to sea on a calm, flat day, although it did have a 30hp.

As others have said, if you can wait and buy something bigger with a bigger motor, it will give you more options and may save you an upgrade later.

[GaryO]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'd love that extra size just to give that more stability and be able to go further in to the harbour where more action takes place. How far in to the harbour do you think i could go with being safe in my 3.75?

Depends a LOT on where you are launching , if you drive the extra distance to middle harbour ramps you can avoid the bash through the harbour centre which is a pain for any size boat . my last boat was about the same as yours and id fish the North head area safely on good days id just drive closer to the area. You can also fish area's away from the middle of the harbour channel to avoid ferry and traffic wash , Sow an Pigs for instance hasnt fished any better for me than other parts of the harbour closer to shore, so look elsewhere in the same area.