First Boat for First Time Skipper

[Chovie444]

Hi All,

I am new to the boating fraternity looking to purchase my first boat after having done research to the point of narrowing down my selections - I think!

I am looking at a 5m'ish runabout to be used mainly in Port Phillip Bay for fishing and some biscuiting with my 3 young kids.

So far I am interested in the Quintrex 490 Fishabout or a Revival 5.25 Runabout/Cuddy with nothing less than a 75hp motor on either.

Being a novice I am not sure whether to go for aluminium or fibreglass for my first boat and that's where I need some advice please from people in the know.

A few points to consider:

• I would mostly be launching and retrieving it by myself at a boat ramp.
• Would need to fit 2 adults and 3 kids most of the time.
• Enough room for 3 adults to fish as I would take a couple of mates out on occasion too.
• Possibly some light offshore fishing if conditions permit.
• Looking at 2nd hand boat and budget is $20-$30K.
• Boat would be kept under cover at all times when not in use.

Are there better boats or brands out there to suit my budget and purpose?

I would greatly appreciate any advice on this for a first time boatie.

Cheers,

Anthony.

[haynze]

I recently purchased my first boat. It's a Stessco 4.65 fish hunter.

I got an aluminium boat as I fish by myself and so it is pretty easy to manage solo. I mainly fish in the lake but I have taken it out inshore reef fishing and has handled fine. Powered by a 50hp 4 stroke I can't fault it.

As I have found out there will be hiccups as you take the boat out the first few times so don't focus on getting one with all the bells and whistles. You can always upgrade later when you get more competent.

Always do a water test of the boat before you buy just to get a feel of it, many boats ride and handle differently so make sure your comfortable.

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[Raymondo]

Welcome to the nightmare of boat ownership Chovie. Just kidding.

An alloy hull will be easier to man handle and generally more forgiving. Alloy being lighter (in most cases) will require an outboard of less Horse power .

In my opinion I would definitely be chasing a cuddy cab as a minimum, gets pretty cold on the water especially Port Phillip Bay.

Always test drive/ride to see what feels right to you.

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[Cargo05]

A lot of folk say that the 2 best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. LOL. Personally I love having a boat and being on the water. Good luck with your research, and subsequent boat ownership.

[big Neil]

Definitely aluminium mate if you're ever going to be on your own launching /retrieving. Keep in mind that even when out with the family biscuiting, you'll be doing most of the launch /retrieve yourself. Good luck, you'll have heaps of fun with your new purchase.

[kiwicraig]

To be honest I dont think hull materials matters that much at that size. I have a 5.5m fibreglass boat and I can launch and retrieve solo no problems. Yes an alloy boat will be lighter and therefore may be easier, but there are cons as well with an alloy hull - like the ride will be a lot rougher in the chop, which is not that kid friendly. More important than hull material is picking the right shape and style for your intended usage. A cuddy or half cabin can be great for kids wanting to get out of the sun or wind, but arguably not as good for fishing as say bow rider or centre console. Mines a half cab and I've found that to be an adequate all rounder, jack of all trades, master of none.

[Scratchie]

I agree with a few statements, alloy vs glass. But if you are taking kids with you a half cabin is a better option for many reasons but generally none of those reasons are related to fishing!

I guess it depends what you'll use it more for, kids or fishing???

Good luck with your decision!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[JonD]

After owning many high ranking boats over the years, Haines, Haines signature, formula, seafarer, quintrex etc I bought something I thought I would never do and love it.

I bought a Zodiac 550 pro and cant believe how much fun we are having as a family from this lightweight little package.

With a 24' dead-rise it slices through chop and lands softly which is great for someone like me with back and neck problems.

Legally we can carry 12 passengers, which is handy when the kids want their buddies to head out for a snorkel or to do a bit of whale watching.

Self draining makes it easy to wash away tuna blood etc.

The safety factor is extremely high, even if one of the 5 chambers got punctured the boat will still float with all deflated.

A 120 km round trip out around the sea mounts burns around 35 lt of fuel. Towing it around the country is so easy as is launch and retrieve and if its to wide for the garage just deflate the tubes.

Just a bit of food for thought, theres no glass or alloy boat that will come close in handling or safety features for the same size.

Jon

[savit]

Just a bit of food for thought, theres no glass or alloy boat that will come close in handling or safety features for the same size.

Hi Jon,

Is this inflatable thing enough hook and gaff-proof or you should be very careful when landing the fish and casting?

I presume it is 70hp? 35l for 120 km and 75l fuel tank looks very good.

How far offshore can you get safely in average conditions?

Thank you.

savit

[JonD]

Hi Jon,

Is this inflatable thing enough hook and gaff-proof or you should be very careful when landing the fish and casting?

I presume it is 70hp? 35l for 120 km and 75l fuel tank looks very good.

How far offshore can you get safely in average conditions?

Thank you.

savit

We use both a long handle gaff and a little shorty, hooks are quite difficult to snag into the tubes and I haven't heard of any ever getting a hook into one. We jig a lot of kings from it down here without any probs, things like red rock cod get shaken off away from the tubes but I have accidentally dropped them on the tubes before also.

As I use braid on all my outfits including game, my only concern is being carefull of keeping the braid away from the tubes, this is more from when a seal takes a king under the boat.

As for distance offshore and conditions, we have often been the only boat out through Narooma bar when the conditions are bad. It's funny when you are offshore listening to some of the game charters talking about a little rib trolling among them. You have to ask what boats head out through extreme bars to rescue people who've flipped their boats. I regularly head out in a mates new 26 ft Norhbank and would rather be I our rib when things turn nasty.

Mine has a 100 lt underfloor fuel tank, the little yam f70 gives me around 3 km per litre, the most I can burn is 2.5 km per litre running almost flat out. I run a small pitch prop which enables me to excelerate instantly and even turn between heavy swells in the bar for fun. Mine is the pro tour which is slightly narrower than the 550 pro open. A bit like surfers we often look for a bit of rough weather to have fun in.

My daughter got her boat licence at 12yr old and always felt nervous driving any other boat, since using this I now hardly ever get to drive it myself. She loves rough bar crossings and always drives on and off the trailer, she's even gained confidence to drive any boat since using this and often drives twin engine much bigger boats ( even onto trailers).

Some ribs can be wet boats but this model is very dry, I often drive a 7m+ ex fisheries Gemeni which we get soaked in.

I got a very good deal on this boat, at 6 months old with 45 hrs on it I paid $23000, it came with twin radios and a heavy duty trailer.

Graysonline often have ex government boats for sale, only last week there was a Gemeni 550 with twin f70 4 strokes that was still bellow $10000 an hour before the end of the auction.

There are YouTube videos where spear fishermen launch from the sand backing into quite large surf, no other trailer boat would be capable of doing.

I've done over 250 hrs in just over 12 months and we still drive it home every time saying how much we love it.

The down side is there isn't much deck space for heaps of gear. The driving seat holds a fair amount of gear for a day out and a large esky seat can either carry kids wetsuits etc.

Last school holidays we towed it up to the Daintree and headed offshore to the outer reefs (100km + round trips) most days in what they call their trade winds up there. Most people I spoke with told me it's a waste of time up there as its to rough to get out to the reefs, yes it was a wild run but once in the protection of the reef it was pretty flat.

Jon

Edited September 1, 2016 by JonD

[savit]

Mine has a 100 lt underfloor fuel tank, the little yam f70 gives me around 3 km per litre, the most I can burn is 2.5 km per litre running almost flat out. I run a small pitch prop

Thank you very much Jon. I will check Youtube.

250-300km range sounds very promising without breaking the bank.

Is the boat's material (rubber?) much impacted by sun/UV or heat in summer?

How long is expected life for the boat?

I presume it is rather light for towing. Would Forester handle it?

How often do you (have to) deflate/inflate it?

[JonD]

The two main types are either pvc or hypalon, zodiac make both though their pvc is meant to be a special blend unlike other manufactures. As for the life of the tubes this can be hard to say but there are still Gemeni ribs around with the original tubes from the Sydney olympics.

A boat like mine that fits in the garage will outlast a boat kept out permanently in the sun and never washed. I've washed mine twice with a purpose wash that comes in two parts, the second part is a uv protection which makes it look new ( a bit like the sprays for car tyres and plastic).

I figure that if I get 10 years out of my tubes the fact that I've been able to get out way more times than I would from any other boat of this size would be worth it. The zodiac's tubes have a ridge on the inside which slides into a slot along the length of the hull, this allows you to simply unclip the fasteners at the stern and slide of an old set and replace with new. They even come with different colour tube sets.

If the boat is insured ( which all boats should be) then any accident should cover a new tube set etc if it can't be repaired. The tubes stay inflated at about 3 psi and seem to hold that constantly, though pumping them up just a little on a cold day is dead easy with a hand pump like what paddle boarders use.

I tow it with an older Toyota Prado mostly but recently towed it behind my wife's Ford Focus diesel which pulled it along better than the Prado ( Prado is getting on a bit). The boat is about 350 kg + engine 119 kg + trailer and fuel, so quite a light outfit.

I know most serious fishermen are probably looking at this thread thinking its a bit of a joke ( as I used to think these boats are!!!) but you would be amazed how many people in my area are either looking for one or recently got one. Kids love them.

Look at " zodiac boats North America factory tour" on YouTube, some reason the link doesn't play.

Jon

Edited September 3, 2016 by JonD

[Captain Spanner]

I have no experience with inflatables so i can't comment on whether these options are better or worse for your needs but i can chuck in my two cents from my experience growing up.

We have had a Haines for Twenty years and love it but grew up banging different boats around as a kid. An alluminium boat is less stressful to bang into the trailer, jetty, ramp, occasionally rocks and drag up the beach for a first time boat. All of these things WILL happen throughout your boating learning curve abd most likely forever. With your budget you could look at the Quintrex Freedom Sport range around the 530-540 mark, second hand (2010 and newer). I would suggest a four stroke if you can get one. They are much quieter and more fuel efficient than a two stroke unless you are talking about fancy new injected two-strokes like E-tecs which are similar to the 4 strokes on noise and consumption. Do your research on what will suit your needs. The Freedom sports don,t come with a cabin but do have a walkthrough windscreen and have binimi covers to suit. They are a bit like a bowrider to fit people in different spots if it's not rough. My mate had a 540 which was great and could fish a couple of guys (3) easy enough. Any cuddy/half cabin boat in that size range will struggle to fish 2 to three adults AND a few kids because you can only fish out of the back half of the boat. The Freedom Sport style of boat gives you a few more options. They are a bit slappy punching into chop or swell but great with a following sea. They don't suit my requirements so i dont have one but they may suit yours.

Second hand boats, even with only a few years on them tend not to depreciate too much if you keep them in similar condition to when you bought them. So if you get an aluminium one and are confident driving and handling it and think you would like a glass boat or different boat hoping it might have a different or better ride you probably aren't looking at losing as much money as buying and selling new cars. So buying a boat you think is a good learner or starter and upgrading or sidegrading if your needs and wants change is often not that big a deal. Check out different age and model second hand boats to get an idea of what i'm talking about.