bow rider or similiar?

[JEWIENEWIE]

Looking to upgrade the current 4.2m stacer runabout with something a little bigger and better for the family. Have been looking at the Bowrider/ easyrider type of set up. The reason being i have a young family, a 4 year and 6month old, and the misuss and want to be able to go out fishing or a day cruise with them and like the idea of being able to keep them up the front and comfortable away from all the hooks, blood and thrashing fish, if i catch something.::) ::)
Dont want to go any bigger than around the 5 metre mark if possible. Will be used in the river,bays and offshore with mates at times. Can you get a cap or cover for the front bow as not to fill up if i cop a wave,
Thoughts and experience with these would be great. Just in the early stages of planning. Will be buying second hand but near new or new donk prefered. Just my current train of thought at the moment but looking for advice as some if my previous ideas have been far from ideal. Just ask the missus and the "bolting the baby seat in the boat scenario":o ::) ::)
Thanks.
Jewie

[PADDLES]

g'day jewie, we upgraded our 4.2m tinny to a 550br signature about 5 years ago and it was a bad decision for our usage. we're up the top of the bay and like to go to moreton and the bay get's pretty rough up here. we had quite a few trips home when the waves were taller than the boat and when we got back in the river we'd look at each other and go "thank f#$k for that".

our issues were that you couldn't use the front section whilst underway because it was too cold and when we got to the beach we simply set up a shade tent and chairs on the beach so the bowrider section was a waste. the freeboard was minimal, even though the 550 signature variable deadrise hull is a quality hull i never felt safe in rough conditions. if you managed to stuff up and got water over the front, there's no way you'd stop it without a hard fibreglass cover and there's no way the bilge pump would keep up.

my recommendation to you guys would be to look at a yalta or freedom 5.3m half cabin. my reasoning for this is that whilst you sacrifice some fishing room at the back, you can chuck a few books and toys up the front and the kids treat it like a big cubby house and will hang out up the front where they are safe. alternatively look at a runabout so you still get a hard nosecone for any water to run off and get more room in the back. we'll never buy another bowrider ourselves, they're no good for long distances over open water i don't reckon, but they are ideal for sheltered waters so it's horses for courses i reckon.

the stacer and quintrex bowriders are a lot taller than the glass ones and so a lot safer for kids, but i'm not a big fan of pressed sheet tinnies for open water use personally.

[Chimo]

Hi Jewie

With a family and the uses you indicate stay away from bow riders.

Your wife and kids need shade and shelter, and maybe you too sometimes.

Get something as big as you can that you can tow and dont be too fussed about the new motor if there is a budget issue. 5m would be the minimum size to look at and frp if possible to get a softer ride as the kids will be up in the cabin in their Paddles cubby house colouring and listening to music (when they get older).

Also rather than a new motor you need a marine mechanic / tech that you trust to service your motor. If you haven't got a relatiion ship with your tech its time you two had one!

Get him to check what your thinking of buying and make sure that he knows he's the one whos going to be servicing it so no "rubbish"

There are lots of older motors that are going to last for hr and years if they keep getting good service.

Also dont forget the privacy a cabin offers for female (and male) loos etc Priceless!

Cheers
Chimo

[wind rider]

i have a bow rider and love it great with the little fella 4 yr old had it for 3 years now. 5.4 long. go off shore and tube in the river or just anchor up and relax. heaps of storage room wife loves it as well.
if you want to go for a run to see what they are like just give me a pm.

regards mark.

[Marlin_Mike]

Looking to upgrade the current 4.2m stacer runabout with something a little bigger and better for the family. Have been looking at the Bowrider/ easyrider type of set up. The reason being i have a young family, a 4 year and 6month old, and the misuss and want to be able to go out fishing or a day cruise with them and like the idea of being able to keep them up the front and comfortable away from all the hooks, blood and thrashing fish, if i catch something.::) ::)
Dont want to go any bigger than around the 5 metre mark if possible. Will be used in the river,bays and offshore with mates at times. Can you get a cap or cover for the front bow as not to fill up if i cop a wave,
Thoughts and experience with these would be great. Just in the early stages of planning. Will be buying second hand but near new or new donk prefered. Just my current train of thought at the moment but looking for advice as some if my previous ideas have been far from ideal. Just ask the missus and the "bolting the baby seat in the boat scenario":o ::) ::)
Thanks.
Jewie

Brother in law just put his on consigment at john crawfords on saturday. 5.7mt bowrider full storm covers cover over bow seatiung area as you mentioned. excellent condition 130 Honda, a b argain at $28K. god knows what crawford will put on it

Mike

[Furnari]

Hey jewie,

I just bought mrs and I a 2009 stacer 509 easyrider with a 75 merc on it. We both love the boat as we can use it for ski, fish and cruise. The boat for us is a good size as usually its only the 2 of us that go out. We have the cover on the front of our bow made out of the bimini material but the boat doesnt really take on any water. If the bow is taking on water than you probably dont really want to be out there for long anyway.From what i saw for sale bowriders hold their value pretty well so we weighed up the pros and cons and bought new. id highly recommend ross from northside marine on sandgate rd. did us a great deal on ours. 33 grand with all we need. storm covers, ski pole, bow cover, vhf, sounder, plus the 3+2 yr warranty on the motor and 3 yr on the boat. Only issue i have with my bowrider is i should have went bigger, even to the 519. Hope this helps. any questions just pm me

matt

[JEWIENEWIE]

This was my way of thinking. When under way the family in the back with me protected from wind and cold etc, when i want to fish, up the front they can go to escape my shinanigans. Not concerned about taking in water as if it is that rough the family wouldnt be with me and if out on a serious fishing trip a hard top cover of some sorts to go over the bow and double as a casting deck. Good point about the sun factor Chimo, didnt thinkof that. What do you mean by frp for a softer ride?
Thanksfor the input and keep it coming.
Jewie

[Tritto]

Jewienewie, everyone wants a boat for a different reason but my advice is to avoid the bowrider. Unless you want to ski and are going to use a river only they are not suitable for a young family. I brought a four winns bow rider for my first boat a few years ago and it was a great boat but we had some uncomfortable times in it. I have two young girls and my littlest did not like being in the boat as any time we hit a big wake of another boat or any ruff conditions water woult come over the top and the boat hit hard. It got to a point it was hard to convince the kids to come out. In the cooler months it was cold and windy. I just brought a Yalta triple 5 before christmas and already it is a massive improvement. There is great shade cover. Wind cover and the front bed is an awsome cubby for the kids. They can go and lie down when they are bored and you know they are safe. With the bowrider when they go up the front you can't turn your back on them. Also no matter how good the hull is on a bow rider it is still not good enough to take any decent swell or wake. I wouldn't be taking a 6 month old out in bow rider. Take it from someone who couldn't be convinced otherwise when we wanted a bow rider. Now we say, "I wish we brought the yalta first time" would have saved ourselves alot of money. Good luck

[JEWIENEWIE]

Tritto, thanks mate, you sound like a person who was in my position a few years ago. I am used to the back jarring a tinny can giveme but the kids love going out in my tinny at the moment so dont want to stuff that up by shaking the crap out of them. Do you have a shot of your boat. I have no idea what a Yalta looks like and what price range would they be in. Looking second hand around the 5m mark. I was still pretty keen on the bowrider even after the above info but your post has hit the nail on the head for me. The last thing i need right now is to blow my hard earned cash on a boat that the kids and th e missus dont want to be out in.
Jewie;)

[Tritto]

Mate this one is 6 metres but they are a very good boat. You can see the extended bimini which provides great shade. Mate brand new you are looking at over 40k with a 115 four stroke. You can get it under 40k with a 2 stroke but second hand you will get them cheaper. Also they come in a 535 Allrounder which is shorter and obviously cheaper. I am only new at trying to upload images so I hope this works. Otherwise search Yalta and you will find heaps of photos from various owners. There is a thread called Yalta owners roll call.
55657

[datamile]

I've got 525 stacer bowrider. Both points of view are correct. Its a great boat for messing about in, we use ours for skiing, fishing, running up on the island beaches etc, but its a slamming ride at anything over 0.7m wave.

Wife and kids love it up front on a fine day, and went against a cabin due the 'lost' space.

Boats do vary. The stacers are high sided and wider than a lot of the boats we looked at as we were worried about the kids falling out the low transoms on some boats. My 525 also takes 6 people which is 2 families if the kids are all under 12 ( QLD ).

For a better ride you could go FG bayliner, but no running up on the beaches then, but I guess you'd do less of that around Byron.

Watch out for underpower min packages with 70hp on the back. Best option is to tour the boat yards, sitting in the boats until you find one that you like the layout etc. Some will nicer leather layout etc. 25-32K should get you anything. There will also be a range of bimini ( I'll tall so I wanted to be able to stand ), sets of clears, and gps/nav which is will affect your choice.

Check out boatpoint for a selection

[PADDLES]

hey jewie, go and have a run in a few different types. there's hire joints around that should be able to cover you for both a bowrider and a cabin style boat.

we went for a freedom 6m glass cabin boat similar to tritto's 6m yalta when we got rid of our bowrider. if you wanted to stick to around 5-5.5m, all the builders make something in this size with yalta and freedom (now called baysport) being the cheapest and most basic glass ones. don't be scared to run a glass one up the beach either, they're fine, just don't run it up the ramp or onto rocks, i can't see any of the tinny brigade being keen on concrete or rocks either, but it'll do less damage to theirs.

datamile has nailed it too with his power comment, don't go for something cheaper that doesn't have enough power, all the boat yards try this trick with new boats to make them cheaper as a package, mind you there's plenty of sucker buyers out there too that buy purely on price.

another thing to consider with a family is access into the rear, ideally look for swim platforms moulded into the rear of the hull, you'll sacrifice more space, but have a good area to keep most of the water outside the boat after swimming as well as making it easier to put kids and wifey in. swim platforms bolted to the transom are still ok though.

[Chimo]

Jewie

FRP is fibreglass with heaps less typing. It gives a softer ride so less trauma for the kids and the mrs when you hit a wake or a wave and you will do it.

Nothing tends to put kids and wives off more than cold, wet, sunny, rough and banging ride. Also not too many females are into using buckets in the middle of a crowd of your friends / mates so a cabin with a hatch or a flap has a lot to recommend it.

It hasn't been mentioened yet ( I dont think) but DO NOT scrimp on the trailer. You want lots of rollers, forget runners, you want good quality tyres not the crap you may be stuck with if your not careful. If the rig is over or even close to 750 kgs you need brakes. Make sure the discs / rotors are true and dont have high spots as the pads will rub on the high spots and heat the wheel hub and bearings up and then when you launch the boat (if you didn't wait long enough) salt water will get sucked into the bearings which can give you headaches if the bearing fail on the side of the road. Did I menchon a good spare wheel. Get one even if they want to charge you more for it.

Not trying to put you and yours off but if you get the right boat, set up right with plenty of horses and its on a very good trailer you will not have to spend extra to change stuff / boat / trailer and most of the hazzards of boating will never impact on you.

Lastly dont take the safety chain and winch hook off until the boat is down the ramp and into the water and drown the wheels and hubs as little as you can which is possible because you got a decent trailer with lots of rollers and got a good jarrett 3 speed winch.

Cheers
Chimo

People who dont get the right gear and don't learn how to use it are a delight to watch every Xmas as they visit the ramp for the first time. Better than TV.

[JEWIENEWIE]

Chimo, i dont know if your helping me or stressing me out!!!!!! Only joking mate. The info i am recieving on this forum is invaluable to me. I dont know where else i would be getting an unbiased and first hand information. thankyou all so much and please keep it coming.
I am trying to stay close to the 5mtr mark if i can, I do go out by myself at times and want to keep it easy for me to launch if possible. A bit scared of going fibreglass due to the extra care needed at ramps jetties etc but the softer ride certainly does appeal to me and the family i am sure.
This will be my third rig. Started with a 3.95 stacer, went to a 4.2 stacer so i wouldnt say i am a complete newby to boating , but no billy corten by any means.
No better way to past the time than at a boat ramp on a sundy through the olidays watching all the antics.
And the safety chain thing yeah been there done that. Very embarrasing.
My budget is around 20k. am i being realastic at what i want for that price range.
Paddles, the swim board or platform is a must for my family. They are all fishes themselvs and cant keep them out of the water. Just how careful do youneed to be with a FRP boat.
Jewie

[Chimo]

Hi Jewie

Ive had both and (actually still do) and I dont know if its just me, but I treat them both about the same. I dont run up onto rocks and also avoid the end of boat ramps. I do carefully nudge up onto sand and I also choose to use an endless loop to anchor off the beach or rocks to aoid damage and tide strandings.

Personally I think if your a rough bastard you can damage anything and similarly if you use common sense you can avoid damage to any hull.

Heres one to consider and it wont loose you too much money given the brand.
http://boatpoint.ninemsn.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=8233027

The 115HP V4 Evirude is one of the better motors so a 5.5 m with one of them might also be worth thinking about

[PADDLES]

g'day jewie, i don't reckon you need to be any more careful with glass than you would be with a similar sized alloy boat. i say this because people treat a 6m alloy boat different to a 3.8m alloy boat when it comes to the ramp and rocks. we actually have a whittley 660 now (believe me, the ladies make all the decisions in our family) and i'm not scared to run it into the beach at all, you won't see me run it up the ramp though, but how many owners of a 23 foot alloy boat do you see running their pride and joy up the concrete either.

[AnthonyL]

I have a bluefin bowrider 5.25mtrs with a 90 optimax bought 4 years ago.

We find it a perfect family boat as having the bow area is great as we arent all crammed in the same space. My wife calls the bow the verandah and she sits up there with the two little ones 3 & 5(& doggies), they have only come in a couple of times in rough weather otherwise its fine sitting in the bow while underway.

We are looking at upgrading to a new boat and have been looking at getting something with a cabin. Why we havent moved forward yet is that the way we look at it the cabin would get rarely used compared to the bow being used every trip and for all of the trip.

I would rather get another bowrider but want one with a loo and the only ones we have found have been glass boats and had the low sides. I liked the bluefin bowrider as it had high sides and the bow area was not cramped. We paid $33 000 new 4 years ago but that was with some extras and you know extras add up.

I think you would find a boat similar to mine around the 20k mark, I have been quoted 20 - 23k as a trade for mine and would look at selling it somwhere around there.

[AnthonyL]

Mate this one is 6 metres but they are a very good boat. You can see the extended bimini which provides great shade. Mate brand new you are looking at over 40k with a 115 four stroke. You can get it under 40k with a 2 stroke but second hand you will get them cheaper. Also they come in a 535 Allrounder which is shorter and obviously cheaper. I am only new at trying to upload images so I hope this works. Otherwise search Yalta and you will find heaps of photos from various owners. There is a thread called Yalta owners roll call.
55657


The Yalta is our top choice at the moment for a new boat, everyone who has one seems very happy but I havent been out in one yet so its good to hear more positive feedback, where did you buy yours from?

[Tritto]

AnthonyL, are you at Belmont NSW. There are plenty of Yalta owners to help you out with advice and photos. The Qld dealer is Marine Tune on the Gold Coast. If you are ever on the coast there will be plenty of offers for a run in one. Cheers

[wilcara]

Jewie I had a Quinny Freedom Sport 480 with a 80 Yam four banger on it for the exact reasons you describe. Boating is the ultimate compromise and the Quinny was just another that enabled me to get my kids out for some fun and up front out of the way. It did mean the loss of a lot of space in teh fishing dept but that was something I had to live with. Sun will be an issue but I guess you could look at a full bimini. If I can help let me know.

[AnthonyL]

Tritto I am in Queensland... thanks.

[PADDLES]

tritto/anthonyl, i would be asking serious questions about a dealer selling a 6m glass boat with a 115hp motor. that's ridiculous, i'd be thinking of a motor in the 140-150hp minimum for a loaded 6m boat. a 115 would be more at home on the 535 or freedom equivalent. don't forget to have a look at freedom/baysport and haines traveller ranges as well as the yalta if you're looking at the budget/basic fibreglass end of the market, they are all good boats.

be aware though, as i have said earlier, this end of the market is where dealers offer packages that are way underpowered in a bid to drop the price and suck in unsuspecting buyers. the last thing you want is to be unhappy with the performance in a year or so when you got 3 mates and a full icebox in it and the poor thing struggles to get onto the plane. make sure you do a water test and make sure you take 3 of the biggest mates you have with you to confirm engine performance.

[timddo]

Yalta Craft "Triple 5"
Length: 18' 3" - 5.55m

Calling it a 6meter boat is overrated.

[PADDLES]

ahhhhhhhhhh, my apologies i always thought it was 6m and 555 by marketing name only. i'd still spend a bit more coin for a bit more mumbo than a 115 though. do you have one? what size motor does your have tim? they're a great looking boat at the right price i reckon.

[timddo]

ahhhhhhhhhh, my apologies i always thought it was 6m and 555 by marketing name only. i'd still spend a bit more coin for a bit more mumbo than a 115 though. do you have one? what size motor does your have tim? they're a great looking boat at the right price i reckon.


Naa i don't have one. That measurement was off a dealers website.


http://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats/ed.html?de=30863

and get this

http://www.marinetune.com/specials/specials_detail.asp?ID=74

http://boatpoint.ninemsn.com.au/reviews/2002/yalta-craft/yalta-craft-triple5hc-9229

I'm not a glass man . i have a 115 on a plate boat and i find it underpowered. Now thats 5.45 meter boat.

[Tritto]

Timddo, I am not really interested in getting into this discussion but I feel I should give a reasoning for me referring to the boat as a 6 metre. You have referred to a link where the boat is quoted as 18.3" You have also added Marine Tunes link where they have the boat at 6m. To my understanding the reason they stopped calling it a "triple 5" and it is now called a 2000 is because it is 20" long and the triple 5 was not correct. I am happy to be proven wrong but that is my understanding of the length. Cheers