Hi Fellas and after some boat advice.

[frozenpod]

I'm pretty open in terms of motor brand. The main thing I liked about the evinrude over a Yamaha or Suzuki is the servicing every 3 years compared to every year. It does sound like all of the major brands make good motors though so it might be down to what sort pricing is on offer and what boat I end up deciding on.

The 3 year servicing is a marketing con if you read the fine print evinrudes require servicing just as much as every other motor.

The best 2 40Hp motors are Tohatsu and Yamaha. The small Mercs ie under 40hp are rebranded Tohatsu so add Mercury to you list as well.

I would suggest getting the biggest boat you can store and tow. Going 30cm bigger at that size makes a huge difference on the water.

[Millzee]

I have a 440 Renegade think it's a great little boat. Not too big for skinny, shallow fresh water fishing and holds it's own down the bay without too many issues. I've fished of Port Fairy and Portland chasing tuna and never felt unsafe, the only negative is you need to rug up when fishing through the winter due to the lack of cabin or windscreen to hind out of the elements. The 60hp Mercury pushes it along very well and it's very economical but I'm thinking of upgrading to a 510 - 530 Top ender with a 115 or 135 engine so my family can do a bit more skiing, the 60 on the 440 will do it but I'd like to have a go too so "we're going to need a bigger boat" One thing to remember when buying is that you'll want to deck it out with sounders, electric motors and other gear and all that adds up quickly, if you look around long enough you might find a ripper that has everything you want with low hours on the engine. I spend hours browsing online and find heaps of great boats that sound like they'd suit you. Good luck, don't rush in.

[Anthony M]

Sounds like something bigger would definitely be the go, I'll start looking at 4.5+ boats in my price range. I have a concrete drive down the side of my house so storage won't really be an issue.

In terms of used boats is there anything I should be looking for in particular. Seems like a lot of the 4.5-5m boats in my price range are over 10 years old. I don't really want to buy something and have issues with reliability .

[smile0784]

Have you gone for your boat licence yet?
Maybe go for that first?

[smile0784]

[quote="Anthony ]

Storage and towing is one of the main reasons I'm looking at the 4.2m boats. I have a shed which is 2.2m wide and 5.6m deep so it would fit a 4.2m pretty much perfectly. I also have a gated driveway down the side of my house which would fit pretty much anything but I would prefer to keep the boat in the shed if possible. I drive a VF Commodore Wagon which has a towing capacity of 1600kg so it should be fine for a tinny.[/quote]

You mite want to double check your tow capacity.
My ve wagon has a tow cap of 2.1 ton with a hayman reese tow.pack..
You mite need to upgrade your tow pack from a.goose neck set up to a heavy duty kit.

[Crazyasian6]

Hey Fellas,

Been reading the forum for the last few days and thought I would sign up and introduce myself, as well as ask for some advice from you guys. I started about 5 years ago, and about 3 years ago I got into kayak fishing. I currently have a Hobie PA and I mostly fish PPB. I live in Aspendale so I have good access to the South East and the peninsula. Most of my fishing happens between Beaumaris and Safety Beach with my favorite targets being snapper, salmon and squid. I also like going out from the top end of Westernport to chase gummies. I also like getting down to the easturies in the Gippsland area to chase bream and try and get out that way 2 or 3 times a year for some fishing and camping. Lately I've been doing some freshwater fishing as well and fished the Maury for my first time ever which was fun and I'll probably be doing some more in the future.

Lately I've been thinking about getting a boat. While I love the kayak I've been struggling to get out in it since I finished Uni last year. The last few years while I was at uni I had plenty of time to get out however I'm now working 6 days a week and often find that a day out in the kayak is to tiring and makes the work week a struggle, especially when I want to travel longer distances for snapper and gummy fishing.

I don't have any experience with boats and up until this year I had never been fishing on a boat. I've been out a couple of times this year with my friend and his dad on their 16ft fiberglass runabout. I always thought a boat would be much more work than it is and it's nice not having to put in 20-45 mins of pedaling to get out some some fishing spots. I also like the company which is hard on a kayak even if you go out with others.

I've been looking at boats and been doing some research but there's just so much to choose from and I really have no idea what would be suitable for me. I would like something that is suitable to launch by myself and is comfortable when there is two or three people on the boat. My budget is around $15-18k and so far I'm thinking a tinny will be the best option.

I've had a look at a few boats and I like the look of the Quintrex Renegade 420 or Stacer Outlaw 429. The Clark Pursuit 427s also looks good. I'm worried if I went for a boat in this size range it would be too small for the bays though. Having a look at them at the dealers they do seem like they would be very comfortable with 2 people and maybe a little cramped with 3 but still useable. Compared to my friends runabout it seems pretty spacious because of the open deck. If I did get a boat in this size it seems like a 40hp tiller steer would be the go as the console does take up a bit of room. However I'm not what the negatives of using a tiller steer vs having the console other than the lack of protection for the driver. I'm not too worried about the cold because I have plenty of cold weather gear that I use on the kayak. In terms of outboards I like the sound of the Evinrude because the maintenance is much less but a lot of people seem to like the 4 strokes better.

Hopefully you guys can help me out because I'm a little out of my depth here.

Cheers,
Anthony

Anthony, I am thinking of taking up Kayak fishing..how is kayak fishing? I know it is very much weather dependent than a boat fishing but is it easy to paddle in the bay to get to your fishing spot? And how easy it is fishing off a kayak?

[bowl]

I know first on is in South Australia but great price...

Good thing about second boat is wind protection...

[skouta]

Stacer 429 Seaway may do the job...

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/belgrav ... 1178394765

[cobby]

Throw a Haines Hunter seawasp into the mix. Far better ride than a comparable tinny especially in any chop. Less noise on the water compared to alloy. Will fit in the garage at around 4.7m loa on the trailer. Casting deck/storage up the front, another down the rear. Just as easy to modify. Only negative is bit more susceptible to damage from trees/rocks than alloy, but easily fixed by any fibreglass business. Around $13k boat, motor (30hp 2 stroke mercury), trailer and safety gear ($15k with 4 stroke 25hp Yamaha) so fits in the budget easily.

The etecs are fine when they're running, but injectors cost a fortune should you get crap fuel and damage one, gearboxes have been known to blow, just as expensive if not more than comparable 4 stroke, not that you use much in smaller motors but the di oil they use costs a fortune and as frozenpod said the 3 years is a con job. If running though they're very economical with plenty of torque

[Anthony M]

Had a look at the towing capacity today and it is 2100kg, not sure why I thought it was 1600kg. I got my marine licence a few weeks ago. I do think that when I get a boat I might do a on water training course as the licence test was mostly about safety and navigation, there wasn't much about actually using a boat.

I went out and had a look at some more boats today, just so many to choose from. I had a look at some runabout style boats. not sure if it was just me but they feel at lot more campped than similar sized open tinnies. Do people with open boats find that you fish off the front much or does it not really matter?

I saw a very nice looking 2003 savage 4.8m side console today. The boat was extremely clean compared to others I've seen of that age, looked almost new. It had a 75hp mariner on it with 350 hours. I haven't really seen much about mariners, does that sound like a like option or I keep looking.

Anthony, I am thinking of taking up Kayak fishing..how is kayak fishing? I know it is very much weather dependent than a boat fishing but is it easy to paddle in the bay to get to your fishing spot? And how easy it is fishing off a kayak?

It's pretty easy to get out to some good fishing spots in the bay so long as you have a decent kayak. For the bay you'd want something at least 3.6m long. I started in a paddle kayak and moved in to a peddle kayak. I tend to average about 7kph going at an easy pace so I tend to stay within 3km of the shore so I don't have too long of a slog back in. Plenty of good fish in that range though. It's pretty easy to fish out of once you get use to it. If I'm bait fishing I can have 3 or 4 rods out at once. It's definitely a great way to get on the water. I'll still be keeping the kayak even if I do get a boat.