Best small offshore boat size/style.

[PMBTO]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I know my question is like how long is a piece of string, it's unknowable but there is lots of good advice in there.

I think a glass boat 15-17 foot will likely max the towing vehicle and me for the times I fish one up. I still dream of the 15 foot Seafarer V-sea we had as a kid....maybe in the future. I would ideally consider a pontoon boat but I think cost will prevent this - they seem to come up so rarely second hand and seem to be uber popular in NZ. I think the PLB on the auto PDF is great idea. Excesses of safety gear won't be a problem for me.

Getting the best boat for the dollars will be as said the limiting factor, experience up on that boat and pick the weather and if committed to a trip (due to booked holidays or like after a 8-10 hour drive) and weather turns bad then have a plan B and C before heading out.

One other question....if you could only have a 4.5m boat would you choose inflatable, plastic or tinnie - considering all around safety and fishability second.

Cheers.

p.s. I'd be happy to take just the RIB of that yacht..........

[gazza2006au]

You're stuck on inflaitables why? If they go flat your ####ed if a shark bites it 60kms offshore your ####ed again they are a bad descision for a fishing boat

[PMBTO]

Nah. Not stuck on them. Just another option. They're cheaper, lighter, need less power, whilst inflated..... are safe (but often have several separate airchambers be unlucky to rupture them all), flat floors, self draining decks, stable, more comfortable ride than equivalent weight/size boats, RIBs can still make easy head way when deflated. Fishing needs much more planning. I've caught plenty of fish out of inflatables. You do need to be more careful hooks gaffs knives and believe or not the worst is fish spines. I won't be 60km offshore but I get your point.

And seriously dude, sharks don't bite inflatables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=523KJ8pp8DU .....this was all animatronics like in JAWS.......honest.

[catshark]

LOL Brucey just wants a nibble

[disorderly]

ut.

One other question....if you could only have a 4.5m boat would you choose inflatable, plastic or tinnie - considering all around safety and fishability second.

Cheers.

.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...airns/13095800


These 3 lads from Yarrabah went missing a couple of weeks ago between Cairns and Green island..

They were in a 4.8m centre console tinny and supposedly had an Epirb on board..

Jarlan whale.jpg

A mate took this pic the same day just north of Green island..its pretty rare to see humpbacks up here this time of year but the ocean conditions were not too bad although he said it blew up a bit after lunch....

So unless they hit a whale or some other object or flipped at speed how do they never activate the epirb or no trace found of them..just some floating debris...?

It makes you think about the safety of "small offshore boats"...

[Noelm]

I guess to be fair, a 14' or a 19' boat can equally "disappear" who knows what happened, epirb not activated, why? stored in a "safe place" accident/whale/what ever, happened too quick to find it, big ships have vanished without a trace too.

[Volvo]

Remember doing a milk run on the Vung Teu Ferry middle watch Port lookout going across the bight and several times seen the flightdeck dissapear under waves , show how rough that was , so yes dont matter how big a ship can be as they can all shrink given the right sea conditions.
Know the limits of your Boat.
Know your weather and how to read a weather map to some degree and trust in your gut.
Always have a Plan if things dont go right with the acessories to back up that plan ,eg extra rope n anchor , enough fuel onboard , safety gear up to date etc , etc.
Good knowledge of the area you are Fishing, depths , reefy spots etc ,
Your GPS breaks down , do you know the eway back home day or night , a wee bit of navigational knowledge so you can plan a trip back.
I know i had a seperate plastic covered Chart with Co-ord lines back n forth of most my Fishing possies incase said GPS packed it in then i could just look up this prelined Chart and say "Yep" 240 deg back home ,
which means your Compass must be good n steady also , dont stinge on the price of a Compass , get the best or close to.
Food , water , especially water incase you do break down and help is a tad late getting there .
Mostly all common Dog F##ck really..
Check your safety gear on a regular basis and the rest previousely said ..

[CT]

My old boat was a 16 ft 6 Cruise Craft. It regularly fished 70 km wide off CQ out to about 85 km. On good days it was easy. On the bad days not so much. One day it took close to 3 hrs to go 73 km!

My new boat is a 22 ft glass deep V. Last weekend it "blew up a bit" on the way home. I cruised over it at 35 km/h getting 1.8+ km/litre as we discussed how easy we were doing it and how shit it would have been in the old boat. A look at the observed weather data showed it had blown up to 20+ knots hours before we'd even started the trip home. That trip in the old boat would have been slow and uncomfortable. For a novice boatie (like my wife and kids) they'd have also been scared.

In the right 16 footer slow and steady will win the race, as long as you've got time, fuel, the experience and don't panic. If you don't have these things then small boats offshore probably aren't for you. A 4.5 m tinny isn't an offshore boat.

[ranmar850]

up around the GBR there are strong currents and "tidal" driven waves at times. From places like 1770, the first 15 kms is generally washing machine crap due to strong currents running through bustard bay all the way to bustard heads , the next 40-50kms is alot calmer, the reef does take out some of the ground swell but this doesnt exactly mean calm seas unless you are in very close proximity. Its impossible to generalise but i'm sure many who do fish up around the reef can attest it can go from a brilliant day to eating crap in a very short period. Combine that with a minimum 50 odd km run back from the reef to port (be it gladdy or 1770) and you can think about new proverbial cursing for your next verbal altercation. Have had many unpleasant trips back in all manners of conditions - southerlies, south easters, easters and northerlies.

In short: you cant beat a cat for dealing with CQ chop.. (flame on)

I was thinking more about a very strong westerly, such as you get in NSW--Theu don't happen up there? Having to head back inshore from a long way out into a strong offshore with steep, short, breaking seas is a recipe for disaster in a boat that is too small.
I guess we are blessed in WA--no ocean bars to contend with, and fishing , relatively speaking, on our doorstep. I consider it a long trip if I have to go 20nm away to fish the less heavily fished grounds. The longest trip I have ever had to do in the Reefrunner was out to the Montebello islands, which are 47nm out if you launch from a creekmouth, the Fortescue River. Strong tides run through the middle of the trip. But we were staying out there for over a week. The trip back home showed the value of the the deeper vee'd, fibreglass hull--a fresh easterly blew up, strong tide running quarter across it. So we were almost straight into it--we could have averaged 15 knots, left the auto pilot on the entire time, but the accompanying 615 barcrusher took an absolute flogging. We had to slow to idle every 15 minutes as he was getting out of sight behind us. Not his worst trip across there, though--he had a 5.5 metre Genesis ( small platey) previously, and it took him NINE HOURS to get back, once.

[baitable]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I know my question is like how long is a piece of string, it's unknowable but there is lots of good advice in there.

I think a glass boat 15-17 foot will likely max the towing vehicle and me for the times I fish one up. I still dream of the 15 foot Seafarer V-sea we had as a kid....maybe in the future. I would ideally consider a pontoon boat but I think cost will prevent this - they seem to come up so rarely second hand and seem to be uber popular in NZ. I think the PLB on the auto PDF is great idea. Excesses of safety gear won't be a problem for me.

Getting the best boat for the dollars will be as said the limiting factor, experience up on that boat and pick the weather and if committed to a trip (due to booked holidays or like after a 8-10 hour drive) and weather turns bad then have a plan B and C before heading out.

One other question....if you could only have a 4.5m boat would you choose inflatable, plastic or tinnie - considering all around safety and fishability second.

Cheers.

p.s. I'd be happy to take just the RIB of that yacht..........

A 4.5m boat IS NOT AN OFFSHORE BOAT>> end of storey... I would want an open 3 day window and a very intimate knowledge of the area fished. With time comes a healthy understanding and respect of the area... I've fished 1770 for over 20 years now so you can disregard my advice but when, not if- you get caught out there and you are re evaluating your life decisions remember this.... I told you so....

[PMBTO]

A 4.5m boat IS NOT AN OFFSHORE BOAT>> end of storey... I would want an open 3 day window and a very intimate knowledge of the area fished. With time comes a healthy understanding and respect of the area... I've fished 1770 for over 20 years now so you can disregard my advice but when, not if- you get caught out there and you are re evaluating your life decisions remember this.... I told you so....

That's what I was looking for. A line in the sand. And fair enough. The rest of the advice is solid to - I can use that for planning. Might be a few more years before I get a real boat..... better late than dead?

That report of the 3 guys missing. Very sobering to say the least.

Thanks all.

[Fed]

I find the purring rhythm of the motors combined with the push & pull of the waves going under the stern to be very soothing even more so if it's pissing rain & blowing a gale. Have to confess I was a member of the white knuckle brigade for many Years until a good mate said, "What's the hurry, do you want to get home to your wife?"

[gazza2006au]

That's what I was looking for. A line in the sand. And fair enough. The rest of the advice is solid to - I can use that for planning. Might be a few more years before I get a real boat..... better late than dead?

That report of the 3 guys missing. Very sobering to say the least.

Thanks all.

I read about that on facebook the 3 men missing and a search was called off really sad people were asking for donations to send out private search parties

The ocean is not to be played with 3 guysdown south of me died 3 weeks ago and another 2 over night on hill 60

The ocean isour play ground but it should be used with lots of caution

[ericcs]

[QUOTE=disorderly;1682339]After owning a Bak Crusher the cat must be like heaven...

and thankfully its not Markham Rollinater that turns turtle at the first sight of a decent swell beside the boat..

So we have had gazza giving offshore reef advice now we just need someone to reccomend a 4.2 renegade as an offshore weapon...



funny you should on that!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1418...60846650878310

[Noelm]

I read about that on facebook the 3 men missing and a search was called off really sad people were asking for donations to send out private search parties

The ocean is not to be played with 3 guysdown south of me died 3 weeks ago and another 2 over night on hill 60

The ocean isour play ground but it should be used with lots of caution

I can see the spot those people were washed off from my house, it's a common occurrence there, plenty have gone in the drink, plenty haven't made it out, there is signs everywhere but it doesn't stop people fishing there (mainly from Western Sydney) the slot itself is not the issue, it's the shape of the rock platform they fish off, it's taken plenty of victims.