Buying a boat?

[SUS-KEL]

Hey,
Just getting into fishing and looking at buying a boat... I know there are heaps or different types and sizes, so any help or advice on buying a new boat would be greatly appreciated. Just want a little openboat/dingy with an outboard motor.
Nothing to fancy probs around 12-15ft?

[MulletMan]

Geez Kela, that is a big ask!

Guess the first thing you have to work out is exactly what sort of fishing you want to do ................ if you intend fishing in the open waters (not offshore) then you should go for boat in the four point five metre range with a deep "V" keel to help cut through the waves.

Motor wise a 4 stroke if you can afford it or one of latest efficient 2 strokes - minimum HP around the 50 HP mark...?

Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha maybe............

27 MHz and VHF radio essential ..............

Good high sided boat if possible ..........

If you intend only to muck about the foreshores you can downsize everything and just opt for a smaller tinnie maybe with a 25 HP donk?

Fibreglass or aluminium?

The latter can be a bit rough if the weather picks up but tough as hell and fairly easy to work on.

Glass is good, much heavier and probably a bit more stable but very hard to work with.

Sounds to me like you need maybe an open 4.5 metre Horizon aluminium boat with a 50 HP donk and maybe a centre console.

Remember that any sort of canopy is better than getting broiled alive under the summer sun in Queensland!

Why not hang about the boat ramps on a weekend and just look and see what others are using. Any Boatie will love to talk to you about his boat!!

Take your time and don't rush into whatever the salesman wants to sell you - he doesn't really care about safety, just making the sale!

Let us know what you decide...............

[bigblock]

Hi thear all i am thinking off bying a kevla cat 6.2 tournament can eney tell me how good are thease boats '

[charleville]

Why not hang about the boat ramps on a weekend and just look and see what others are using.

Five years ago, prior to buying my first boat, I spent every saturday morning for six months fishing off the rocks beside the Wellington Point ramp watching people launch boats and several times later in the day watching them retrieve them.

I would most enthusiastically recommend that anyone thinking of buying their first boat do this. #You learn an awful lot watching how different designs of boats are good or bad at that end of the boating experience (which is an important one). #You learn about motors that won't start. You learn about bad tempers and ramp rage. You see how people have set up their boats. #Sometimes you even catch fish.

In parallel with that, you need to search the net for boat reviews of which there are plenty plus do the other things that Mr Panther mentioned.

In relation to brands of motor, everything that I have read or heard of since becoming a boatie tells me that:-

1. #All of the better known brands are good

2. #Often there is a lot of rebadging and shared use of componentry between brands anyway. #eg a Mariner is exactly the same motor as a Mercury but with a different coloured cowl; similarly ,my 60hp 4 stroke Merc uses a Yamaha powerhead. #So the brand of motor decision probably should have more to do with how locally that brand can be serviced than any sales hype..

Good luck....

[fishn-ads]

Kela as said you really need to have some idea what type of fishing you are getting into, and how much $ you want to spend.

The golden rule is often forgotten. Crawl before you skipper a Blackwatch, there's nothing quite as funny as watching someone smacking thier $50k boat into the ramp and them then saying it's my 1st boat.

TPP he wouldn't have any need for the bimi they don't get much Qld Sunlight in Sydney?

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[SUS-KEL]

Hey Pink Panther,
thanks for your input, appreciate it. Wow, so many decisions... I reckon i'll go down to the boat ramp and check it out for a while first! But im looking at mainly fishing in open waters, and i want about 4.5 metre with high sides and at least a 40hp donk!
Not going to rush into anything, but you've made it clearer for me, cheers