New plate boat

[Beekee]

Am in the process of deciding on a new boat. Nead a plate boat as we baech launch and will camp out around the islands in the Whitsundays and Hinchinbrook. Am very keen on the Nobel Super V. They are no longer made in China as I understand. The other boat I am looking at is the Seastorm. We want a centre cab around the 6 metre mark and 150 horse to power it. Does any one have experience in these boats and dealings with the company.
Jon

[tin can marlin]

Noble a re out of boats they decided to retire he had made plenty of coin out of the super vee so he gave it away. Bluewater boats is what you should be looking at and also riptide are getting a good name to.

[Beekee]

Have been trying to get in touch with Nobel this week. Wondered why I could not get a reply. Will try Bluewater. ThanksTin Can

[don-one]

Bekee,
I just went down the noble path but did not end up making a purchase. they are still operating but Ben Noble has been muscled out of the operation and the boats are definately still being built in china and it shows. They are still contactable though and you can get there number off the website if you want to research it yourself.
I agree with the builders tin can marlin mentioned; fisher are worth investigating as well.
cheers

[samsnap]

A few more options for you - Try Barton Thomas's AMM at Brendale Brisbane (know people who own them & they couldn't be happier) Performance plate boats at brendale (don't know much about them), Blue Water at Burpengary, or if you are further north Platemaster at Maryborough. Had a look at the Noble at the Brisbane Boat show - the build quality certinaly isn't what it used to be!. Good luck with your mission - Sammy

[indy]

My brother has just bought one and he is really happy with it its a 7.4 03 model i think he said it shits all over his old 6.0 pro fish he had but so it should being 1.5m longer. I saw the new ones at the boat show and the build quality has gone to shit. I wouldn't be buying a new one thats for sure but the older one's are still a good thing.

[captain rednut]

hi i can recommend both performance plate boats at brendale and also blue water alloy boats at burpengary they both have the best customer relations and design ive seen around. good luck in your choice. thanks jim

[twist]

The Seastorms are fantastic. Paul Wish who owns them has a great product. If you want to have a look they are built in Loganholme.

[Ross_685]

Its no surprise to see that everyone instantly assumes build quality will deteriorate as soon as an Australian built boat moves its production to China.

To be honest I did!

I was recently in the market for a 6-7m plate boat and had been doing quite a bit of research (as you do). After hearing that Noble had moved its production, I had almost completely ridden their boats off as a possible choice.

However after I saw their boats at the Sydney boat show, my opinion slowly started to change.
From what I could see, the build quality was right up there with the best. I was very impressed to be honest.

So I did some more research and found that Ben Noble (the son of the original Noble Boats founder) still remains linked with Noble Boats International (the new owners) and is a director of the company.
The boats are still built to International standards such as Det Norske Verske (DNV) and Bureau VERITAS (BV) Marine Standards. The big difference is that the company can now produce 150+ boas a year compared to the 50 per year when operating in QLD. As a consumer in the current economic climate, I see this as a good thing!

The boats are built in a state of the art factory by a steel fabrication companyby the name of Tianjian.
They have an annual revenue of $6 billion US, so they’re not exactly a dingy back yard builder!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a test drive of a Noble 685 I was simply sold!!
I put down a deposit and a 685 with a Yamaha F250, and since then I have been receiving emails with progress photos of the boat during its build process!

Needless to say, I have become more and more impressed after seeing each photo! There is no doubt in my mind that if anything, the build quality has improved since moving to China!

That’s just my opinion!

[Buddy Mania]

I agree with Ross. There's no rational basis for the assumption that Chinese welding can't be every bit as good as Australian welding, or anywhere else for that matter.

When I was making a plate boat buying decision, I looked at Noble and GS Marine (Darwin) boats.

Whilst I would have been perfectly happy to accept good welding regardless of the ethnicity of the welder, I decided that on principle I'd rather pay the wages of an Australian.

I buy Australian products whenever I can, whenever the quality is comparable.

[Flex]

The only issue with the overseas boat, is where do you stand on a warranty claim? or if you want some mods/repairs done how easy is it to do?

[DigFishing]

Jon,

Cunninghams Marine at Redcliffe would have to be one of the best dealers I have come accross and they have a large yard with Noble boats in stock.

Would pay to talk to IAN CUNNINGHAM.

Cheers

[Beekee]

Guys
Thanks for all the replies. Ben Nobel is no longer involved in the China connection and is starting back on his own. Not a pleasant story from what I can gather. They are one of the best designs of boats along with the fisher and Bluewater Alloy. I have to decide which way to go with but it will probably be the Nobel. I just like the look and a guy here in Bowen has one that I have looked at and will get a ride in it before I make a decision, He is rapt in it. A mate has a fisher and he loves it. The nobel is better priced. The price has gone througn the roof in the last 18 months on some of the brands.

[Ross_685]

Flex, good point! I spoke to Jason Lee about this and what happens is you lodge a warranty claim with your local Noble dealer and have it inspected, and then any work that needs to be carried out will be done so localy by an authorised repairer.

Beekee, definately go for a ride in your mates boat if you get the chance!
You wont be dissapointed thas for sure!
Hands down the best riding plate boat i have ever been in.

[james1]

I agree with Ross. There's no rational basis for the assumption that Chinese welding can't be every bit as good as Australian welding, or anywhere else for that matter.

When I was making a plate boat buying decision, I looked at Noble and GS Marine (Darwin) boats.

Whilst I would have been perfectly happy to accept good welding regardless of the ethnicity of the welder, I decided that on principle I'd rather pay the wages of an Australian.

I buy Australian products whenever I can, whenever the quality is comparable.


Buddy,

If you purchased either the Noble or the GS, you might find that they are both manufactured in China.

[siegfried]

Check out the Aqualine 660 $hits on every plate boat Ive been in for both ride and stability abosolutely kills the 6.8 super vee(I have no financial or business interest in any of em) The Aqualine(kiwicraft) 599 is an absolute weapon ,I have done 5 hundred hours in one and it runs beautifully with a 140 zooky..rated to 175 ,150 would be about right, light easy to tow and handle and I would own one tomorrow if I was after a boat in that class, Tradesmanship on these boats is exceptional. Made in NZ but so if you dont like kiwis welding your stuff they might be no good;D

[pilchardjones]

Check out Goldstar for sure during your research.
www.goldstarboats.com.au (http://www.goldstarboats.com.au)
I have a 6m sailfisher / 140 suzuki. Its not a walkaround, but the side decks are very wide and very easy to get up to the bow with lots of handholds and non skid. I recommend this setup over the walkaround as you get a much bigger cabin. Great quality construction and fittings and looks so good. Great ride.

there is a post on here also following the build of one so you can see what goes on during construction.


They are sold at coastal powerboats on the gold coast.
http://www.coastalpowerboats.com.au/

steve

[firstlight]

Beekee, i think you should also be including Fisher Boats at Caboolture onto your list of prospective builders, with a strong emphasis on custom building your plate boat options, and from what I've seen they are darn endless, which can be a bit of the problem - but good fun.

I will be posting some pics once my boat starts construction in a couple weeks, but definitely worth a look and make your own mind up mate.

Look forward to seeing which way you go and following through to the maiden launch.

Happy boat hunting.

Cheers
firstlight

[jake0]

Jon, going through the same thing the last few months, I would rather have a boat built on the east coast as these guys know the waters on this side of Aus,

I have nailed it down to two boat builders, Fisher and Bluewater, Wahoo (Daza) is having one built ATM with bluewater but said they are very busy so i might give the guys at Fisher a shot as i dont want to wait 4-5 months for hot work only

Good luck with it all and take your time with the research, big $$$ to lay out

[suzygs1000]

Hi,

Have you considered Borger Cats in Ingham?

They have a reputation for building the best aluminium cats in the business in the north, and have recently built a 7 metre for a pro in Townsville that is running a single 200 Suzy, just launched a month or so ago. It is a massive boat!!

I am sure they would be happy to discuss this with you, and maybe get a look at his boat.

Dave.

[suzygs1000]

PS

Google Borger Cats, there is heaps of photos of his boats there.

[Wahoo]

Am in the process of deciding on a new boat. Nead a plate boat as we baech launch and will camp out around the islands in the Whitsundays and Hinchinbrook. Am very keen on the Nobel Super V. They are no longer made in China as I understand. The other boat I am looking at is the Seastorm. We want a centre cab around the 6 metre mark and 150 horse to power it. Does any one have experience in these boats and dealings with the company.
Jon


G'day Jon, How did you go at Bluewater boats on Wednesday? did you have a good chat with Scott?? keen to find out how you went

cheers

Daz

[SNAPPERCOFFIN]

Have a look at Origin Boats at Clontarf 2010 series.
www.originboats.com.au (http://www.originboats.com.au)

[siegfried]

Just hade a perv at the Origin Boats Genesis..dead set knock off of the kiwicraft/aqualine, real good things> Definitly my choice if going back to tin