Boat choices help

[The G factor]

Hey guys,

Still a little while away from actually buying a boat, but need to start looking

I've done a heap of research but can't settle on anything as there is too much to choose from, and I'd love some personal experiences from you guys.

I want something around 4.5m, center console preferred but don't necessary, casting deck, electric motor, all that jazz, and to be as stable as possible when up front/on the sides. I was looking at the quintrex hornets because they have a relatively wide hull and I've heard good things about them, but many say they are over priced. Have also had a look at polar krafts, makos, attack boats etc. heaps of boats fit the bill which is why it's so hard to choose.

Budget is around 20k, but can be stretched a bit more if need be.

Any suggestions/comments appreciated.

[Riverboyz]

Hey mate,

i to looked and looked before i bought my first boat, and i always told myself i would never go brand new as It allowed me to stick to a budget and find the right boat with all the gear i wanted.

I finally found a makocraft estuary trekker tournament 420 and cant fault it. love the fact that its 2.1 m across the beam, and very stable. i can walk right around the gunnels and not tip it. And the fact that its aluminium im not real worried if i scratch it fishing racks or around sticks. Another thing that appealed to me was being able to take the boat basically up on the flats, i can operate it comfortably in less than a foot of water if i want to flats fish, The boat i found already had everything i wanted, electric, good sounder and heaps of storage space, livewell and timer. I wasvable to go fishing the moment i got it home and not have to wait for something to be fixed before i could use it. But over time i have improved things on the boat and made it the way i want it to be.

it isnt a side or centre console as ive found i loose a little bit of fishing room, whilst the ease of a steering setup is appealing i dont thnk i could justify it at present as my tiller steer does the job fine, i only use the outboard to get to a spot then sit on the electric.

I was quiet lucky to while i looked for the right boat, that i had mates that allowed me to go with them and fish with their setups in their boats, so it gave me some ideas of what sort of setup i liked and things i didnt. i was only looking at rivers, estuary and dam fishing as heading miles offshore didnt excite me.

For the price your willing to spend you could easily find a nice tournament boat with most of the ger ready to go on it if thats what you want. Have a look here at www.tournamentboats.com.au, or boatsales.com.au.

And the best bit of advice i got given was, after you buy a boat dont look at other boat selling websites as something will always turn up better than what you got for the price you paid.

Good luck with your quest man hope all goes well for you. If you have any questions, fire away. Hope some of the above helps your decision.

cheers

Adam

[Zaneo190]

Anglapro mate, have a look outlaw pro will be my next tub.

[Bobby Bass]

I just had a look on one of those sites. Jesus! a 4.35m hornet thats 8 years old for 20 grand. How much are they brand new? I knew they are expensive but not that expensive considering its 8 years old. You can get a sick 4 and a bit meter boat for $20,000 if you look into it New!

I would try to stretch it to 25 grand and start looking at seccond hand bass boats. It you are looking at fishing comps you will probably end up upgrading to glass one day, may aswell cut that step out and just go for it.


Cheers
Chris

[dolivedunk]

CrossXCountry

[Bobby Bass]

Starlo Fishing Series 4.3 in the crossxcountry looks good. A 60hp merc or evinrude, electric and a good sounder and your ready to go

[stella fella]

The worlds most expensive sticker...

[Bobby Bass]

Is the boating made easy because you live on it and no longer need to launch after you sell your house to pay for one?

[stella fella]

Pretty much! Don't get me wrong the hornets are a brilliant hull and layout, one of the best out there as far as tinnies go, but you pay through the nose for them. The only downside to them is the older millenium hulls were prone to cracking right down the middle if you pushed them hard on the water, due to the use of thinner aluminium. Both my old man and uncle looked at them extensively, the old man went with a 5.0 trailcraft profish, and my uncle went with a bluefin eastuary tracker. The trailcrafts are indestructable. We crashed ours into a rock bar at woody head boat ramp, and the rock bar lost. The Bluefin is a seriously good boat for the money, very smooth ride and tons of fisho friendly features.

[scubascott]

There are heaps of good boats that fit in your criteria. As you said there are heaps to choose from. Anglapro, Bluefin, Crossxcountry, Clark, Stacer, Allison, Makocraft etc. They are all good boats. Just keep watching the classifieds and the right boat will pop up at the right price. Get to as many dealers as you can and jump inside their boats. You never know with boats what youll end up with. I remember I was about to order a 399 proline for the creeks and ended up in a 5m all round boat that popped up on gumtree. Its hard to make your choice but once the boats sitting in ya driveway you wont regret it.

I prefer tiller steering for boats in the sub 5m range, just gives more space to move around and versatility. Quintrex are low on their bang to buck ratio. Once you add some options 20k wont go too far with them.

[The G factor]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll respond properly when I get on a computer, typin on the phone takes too long.

The crossxcountry boats did look great, not sure how stable they are around the edges though, can't find any info about that.

[chanlo]

I paid $15000 for a 2001 Quentrex centre console 5m Sea Spray, and that was 2 years ago. The reason i did was my old man had the same hull and it rides nice out at seas... It came with a 70 2 stroke but i remember seeing one with an newish etec on it for like $19,000.
Maybe look for one of them if your after a centre console.

[Alexc123]

I'm personally looking at something like this when i am in a position to buy,should be a good versatile rig or I may just build one from a kit,not 100% how the stability would compare to a V nose punt design,but ride should be a bit better through chop,plus sealed self draining deck is a plus too http://originboats.com.au/boats/4x4-series/

[dolivedunk]

i cant say my 4.1 Crosscountry is any more stable or unstable then a similar sized tinny,
I can walk around the edges and not have any problems at all

[Piranha]

A stupid question but are crosscountry boats painted ally or fibreglass? They seem to have left that detail off their site?

cheers