Boat choice

Tony
are you going to sell the 4.8 mt Centre Console ??

I go out fishing in a 6 mt Sports/fisher with 115 Hp, we go almost out of site of land on most occasions, as some of the reefs here are way off shore. The 6 mt is far too big for towing long distances, Perth - Darwin, so am interested in a 4.8 Centre Console with something like a 4 st Yamaha on a rear entry transom.

I would think anything under 4.8mt would be way too small for off shore fishing in safe mode.

We use a 4.8 mt Centre Console when in Darwin, we go up the mangrove creeks after the Barra with-out problems and is fast enough to get back to the boat ramp quickly when the weather turns.

I would have thought 4.8 mt would be a nice compromise ?

Mainey . . .

Tony,

I worked as a fly fishing guide for maybe 10 years on inland waters - operating out of one of Phil Currans CDM 4.8 river runners, self built, and put thru commercial survey.

I doubt theres a better boat suited to both uses, (a little bot of outside work on a fine day and mostly rivers estuaries.

If you want a smaller boat you must be in creeks or something...maybe a 16 ft canadian canoe and keep the CDM for bigger waters.

Trust me that a hornet is no replacement for your CDM...

My 4.8 went to some pretty remote places - tip of dirk hartog island among them.....best I know it is still plying the waters down at Walpole as a commercial charter vessel for bream fishing tours on the estuary and rivers down there for Mark Halse.

I got rid of mine when I bought a larger 7.5 for offshore charter work...

Maybe you just leed a lightweight pressed tin punt for the creeks, and keep the CDM for the larger waterways estuaries and lakes etc ....not many boats measure up to CDM's - that much i know.

Cheers

Tony, I've owned both Qunitrex and Stacer boats. Both made by the same parent company (Telwater Marine) here on the Gold Coast. Both reasonably good boats.

From what you say, you are not looking for a boat to use as a roof topper. I've tried to achieve what you are after in a roof topper boat. I now have a Sea Jay Angler 3.95. Quite a big boat for a roof topper. Deep and pretty wide and weighs 115 KG. I run a 30 HP 4 stroke Mercury on it (again a big heavy motor for a roof topper).

You will find it is all a compromise. The 3.95 Angler is great in the lakes and estuaries. It flies with the 30 HP on it. We do take it into the open sea, but only a couple of KM, and only on good days - even then you need to keep an eye out for those late afternoon storms that come up quickly. I rate my boat as an estuary boat that we occasionally take onto open water when conditions are right (less than 10% open water)

If you are prepared to restrict your open water fishing as mentioned above, you can probably get away with a 4m boat. Just make sure it is a deep V hull (not a punt) and has plenty of depth and width. If you want to be a bit more adventurous or less restricted in the open water, you need something at least as big as your current boat.

Many of the smaller boats have 1.6mm bottoms. I'd recommend you look for one with at least 2mm aluminium on the bottom (which mine has). The other thing to look for in a small boat for some open water use is the number of ribs and welded thwarts. Some of the boats around 4m and below compromise on ribs and bottom thickness and have riveted thwarts to reduce weight and cost.

If you are not looking for a roof topper, perhaps a better place for this question is:
Ausfish

Hi Tony.

Try looking at one of these, it is a 4.75 meter Sea Jay, it has 2 x 25 litre under floor fuel tanks, a full fishing deck, it has a console and it fishes 4 comfortably, and it is the same size as yours only a tinny with a 50 4 stroke Honda on the back.

Mine has been to Melville Island and back from Darwin, but is great as a river and billabong boat, easy to launch and retrieve.

I had my wife, son, sister and her 2 young ones in it yesterday and today easy.

To replace mine now would cost $22.000 but worth every cent.

Here is some photos.







Cheers Steve.