Ride Quality- TRUE plate boat vs fibreglass

[zan0_15]

so as the title suggests im looking for opinions, i will be upgrading boats next year and have to answer that age old question. I pretty much have it answered in my own head as i want a alluminium boat as i love drifting the shallows of the reef (2-5 metres) when im out there, but in doing this i quite often drift over the occasional bommie that comes right up and gives the boat a love tap
This style of fishing would be out of the question for a fibreglass boat, no way would i do it!
but......because i have to cross so much water up here (120km) out to the reef i need something that rides well.

So im looking for anyone who has had an experience in a true plate boat eg Australian master marine, Riptide plate alloys, origin boats, fisher plate boats, Rebel Plate boats.
I want to know what you thought of their ride as i have never been in one, obviously i will test ride before i buy whatever i decide on but im just doing a bit of research.
Some say a well built plate boat with good deadrise will ride just as well as a glass boat, will it???

[peterbo3]

I have a Mark 1 Fisher, 6.4M with a 175 Zuke & transom deadrise of 23 degrees.
During the last M&G we would run out to points past Fitzroy which is 40+ nautical miles. The WX this year was good as we were able to fish five days out of seven. Last year this was not the case. 15-20 of SE which makes for a bumpy ride. Bumpy but not backbreaking IF you throttle back to where you are comfortable. 15 to 18 knots as opposed to 24-26.
All of the plate boats you are looking at will do the job. I lived at Campwin Beach for a few years & we ran out 40 plus miles from Sarina Inlet in a 5.5M plate CC. Just takes a bit longer if it is snotty. If it is really nasty perhaps some beers at Taylors pub might be the go.

[perko]

Look at a NQ Borger cat. Best of both worlds. Soft ride, stable, and alloy. I have a 5.3 and love it.

[zan0_15]

Look at a NQ Borger cat. Best of both worlds. Soft ride, stable, and alloy. I have a 5.3 and love it.

id love a cat mate but i dont want double the servicing costs involved. One day id love to own one but not right now, they eat the chop up like nothing else i know! I've had the pleasure of playing around in a kevlacat in some nasty chop and the only time i made the ride uncomfortable was when i slowed down to much!!

[perko]

Borger run awesome with a single engine. Mine runs a single 140 suzi. He does a sweet 6 meter with a single 175.

[zan0_15]

Perko thanks for your replys mate. What mm alloy are the borgers formed from?

[perko]

5mm bottoms. Can custom build. Dear as poison.

[Gilli]

Have a look at Adams marine, Harvey bay. I just purchased a new 5.5m plate boat off them. Best boat I've owned, handles the chop great and very dry boat

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[hainsofast]

Zano, before you even consider Adam's have a talk to Ted, he has one and has had a lot of trouble with it, apparantly a lot of it has been fixed up now. You know what I think, go Glass, the only way to go. See you soon.

[Triple]

Why not a tupperware boat?

[thelump]

Just because a boat is glass does not make it ride well. I think you will need to narrow it down to specific boats to be able to get some good opinions. I am sure all the plateys mentioned will do a good job but even in those brands there will be certain models that ride better than others.

[outwide1]

Have look at Performance Plate Boats Brendale. Sam builds a dam good plate boat and the money is spot on.
Also a top bloke to deal with.
I have asked myself this question after owning x2 brand new Cruise Crafts and considering plate.
I have now been out in enough plate boats to now know which way i am going.
As a good friend of mine said, we all try and like to fish the best weather offshore,therefor ride doesn't enter as issue unless it blows up. Most boats will do it tuff in a head sea depending on size etc.
Just like everyone else i wanted to be able to customise a boat to my needs and not what a glass builder feels i need.After 12+years of offshore fishing i was able to compile a list of goods,bads,needs and wants for my next boat.
Hope this helps and stay tuned for my future posts on the build of the new OUTWIDE 8.1mtr Performance Plate Boat.
Cheers Mick.

[outwide1]

This is a 7.8mtr he has just completed, the customer wants to do the fit out himself.
Cheers Mick.

[spelchek]

Also check out Moda marine - new kid on the block but bloody nice plate boats. A good mate of mine has just had a 5.8m SC built to survey from them and it's a beast. Slices through hervey bay chop like champ!

[zan0_15]

Why not a tupperware boat?

Nar the whole poly boat thing has never really sat right with me!