need help, after 6m half cab, which one?

[j_man_84]

Hey guys now im after a 6m half cab fibreglass boat, now it has to sleep a 6,2" bloke like myself no worries up front. It must be walkaround and have good storage. Now ive looked at the tournament 575 and 625, cruisecraft in the same sizes, havent had a chance yet but want to look at the seafarer as well. Now what boat does everyone recommend and why? price can vary a little but ideally at the end of the day i want the best boat, ride, setup etc for the best price as everyone does. This boat will be a fishing offshore boat and must be able to sleep to up front no worries. appreciate your input.

Happy fishin!!:)

[Robbo76]

The Tournament boats are very nice and the 580 looks as though it has plenty of room. This is my next toy! :)

[Lancair]

I have the Tournament 1800 (5.65-5.7m) and I LOVE it.
Im 6.2 and can sleep in the bunk, my feet need to hang over or curl up a bit but I fit. My GF fits in there with me too. Offshore I love it, handles great, no vices and stable at rest. The 115 Etec may be a tad underpowered for the ideal setup but it works. With the 160L tank I have approx 130nm range if you used it all, so 90-100nm to be safe. If I did it again and funds allowed Id put an Etec130HO on the back. Ive fished 4 guys offshore but 3 is very comfortable.

lancair

[johncar]

Well J_man_84, it's a tough choice and everyones priorities are different.
I had to go through the same thought processes this time last year once again, so I will go though my thoughts and reasons why I bought what I bought.
I wanted similar things as you although I am not so tall at about 5' 8" so the cabin length for a camp wasn't as critical.
I will firstly say that I have owned many boats, bigger and smaller than 6.25m but after this experience I have decided that this iis the magic size for all round affordable and managable trailer boating with offshore safety to me.

Secondly I will say that if Lindsay Fry was still building Seafarer Victory 6.0 I probably would have bought another one of those. I bought one from him back in 2000 and it was a great allrounder, unfortunate financial circumstances forced me to part with it, very upsetting... Beautifully built and fitted out to my spec and the only boat that I have been totally happy with out of the box.

Anyway I wanted a 6.25m boat or there abouts that I could manage myself in my semiretirement and senior years. I wanted safe walkaround centre cab, Good stability at rest and the ability to plane at low speeds when the going gets a little unfriendly, good performance across Moreton Bays chop and no spine damage, Good reliable and economical to run engine with a cruise speed around 25kn, adequate cab space, adequate cockpit space with a moulded finished floor with fuel tank access, (no carpeted or fully sealed floor) either self draining or self bailing, practical cockpit layout and comfortable coaming height with flat wide decks for safety and comfort. Least amount of wood as possible in the underfloor and transom structure. Good dash layout and adequate space for all the electronics.
I wanted seats mounted on frames allowing for trays and eskies whatever slid underneath, preference for alloy Targa top for less weight up top and pendulum effect when at sea.
Many other preferences too which were all considered when looking at what was fitted as standard or an affordable option. Oh and they had to be able to take trim tabs in a sensible position.

I narrrowed my choice down to Cruise Craft 625 Outsider, Haines Hunter 650r, Seafarer Victory, Tournament 2100 Walkaround.

I really didn't want the extra cost and maintenance hassles of electric/hydrualic braking systems plus controller install in the tow vehicle, had them before and they are just a constant worry. can be alleviated to some degree by going a Stainless Steel system but very expensive.

It just seemd so enticing to keep the rig under 2000KG on the road and so doing drops $$ thousands off the price and a with a much simpler cheaper mechanical over ride brake system to manage. It also keeps it within the range of towing capacity of many more vehicles.

At the end of the day, the one that ticked the most boxes for me was the Tournament 2100 WA and it was considerably less $ than the others. About $20,000 less than the CC 625 outsider which would have my 2nd preference but it's slightly bigger and heavier girth unavoidably sneaks it over the 2000KG adding a lot of extra cost for not a lot extra boat but bigger and nicely built admittedly.
The HH was just too expensive for what it was, heavier also and no walkaround and a few other things I wasn't fussed about.
The Seafarer just bothered me that it wasn't the same as before and felt that the finish and fitup didn't seem as I remember and it . It would probably have snuck over the 2000KG too adding a lot of cost, no walkaround either.

The Tournament 2100 was supplied standard with a what seems to be a good Alloy trailer and optional Alloy Targa. These two things secured the weight situation fully fuelled with fishing gear at 1940KG. It being a bit lighter may not have the ride of one or two of the other options but it does ride well in all conditions so far and feels very safe at sea and to date haven't had so much as a drop of water on the screen. well maybe one or two but you get the idea.
It wasn't without it's little teething issues but I was pleased with the help and support from the dealer and Tournament boats getting things right. I am liking the boat more and more as it gets finely tuned and I am getting more familiar with it's performance over different conditions. It feels nice and safe and easy to manage on my own. The walkaround and accessing the front is great, the alloy Targa is particularly helpful with that too.
I am up Bribie way and happy to talk to you if you have any questions just send a PM.

Good luck with your search.

A couple of pics:

http://i610.photobucket.com/albums/tt187/johncar/Tournament%202100%20Walkaround/BILD1714-1-1.jpg



http://i610.photobucket.com/albums/tt187/johncar/Tournament%202100%20Walkaround/BILD1716.jpg

[Robbo76]

Very nice boat mate!!! I want one! :)

[j_man_84]

Hey guys thanks heaps for your input and your ideas, they are definetely helping me on my path, i do really like the tournament boat, like you said johncar it has all the features and does tick the right boxes, plus keeps the weight and price down, which at the end of the day are some key issues. They are a nice looking and well built boat the tournaments, and everything is set out nice, very similiar to cruisecraft i thought. I also like the ideas of the frame seats as i want to store eskis under them and keep them off the rear deck and it clear for fishing. Keep doing my research but atm the tournament is in head for all the same reasons johncar meantioned. cheers guys

[tenzing]

I am also 6"2" and have a Seafarer Victory.
It is NOT a walkaround so you may want to discount it , but it is known to have a good hull that rides well in most conditions. My advice is to concentrate mostly on the nature of the hull and let the other things come in a fairly distant second. You can always upgrade a motor, add Tabs and the like but you are stuck with the hull.
As far as the seat frame etc , I had mine made by Dave Green for 200 plus clams when I remodelled the canopy last year.
I might add that if you put the esky with the cushion lid in place of the bunk infill it is an exact height match and extends the bunk length in the centre to about 2m.

Just something to think about.
Cheers

Brendan

http://ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?163472-The-Victory-is-Reborn&highlight=victory+reborn

[Jakers 69]

Hi,
Have a look at the new Haines Traveller TF 200.
Have just been threw the same process , bought the TC 200 with suzki 175, the TF is a nice setup and will meet your requirements

[Flex]

Cant go past one of these puppies I rekon.

http://www.noosacat.com.au/2300_walk.html

best walk about trailer boat you can buy.. if your rich.

[AnthonyL]

I just went through the same process too, took me two years to make up my mind lol.

I ended up with a Baysport 620 with a 150 yamaha 4stroke, heaps of room in cabin..it cost $64k with all the extras. Would have gone for the cruisecraft if I had another 20K spare but for what I saved I am very happy.

68028

[Scalem]

You guys obviously have more coin than I did when I bought my boat, JohnCar, I saw your boat at Springwood when I was looking, what a nice boat and I like your photos.:o

My Yalta triple 5 does everything I need, including enough room to stretch out in the cabin. While I paid low 40's with all my extras inc 115 Yammy 4S, I think a 150 would place my boat in late 40s which is much cheaper than any mentioned here......just a good, safe, capable but modest boat and only weighs in at 1.5 Tonne so any family size car or small 4WD can tow it. I admit the quality stands out with Seafarer, Haines, Cruisecraft but I'm happy:D

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp223/Scalem/Yaltaboatchannel-1.jpg

Scalem

[AnthonyL]

Scalem I think the Yalta is the best Value boat on the market and a great boat. It was in the running but we wanted a walkaround after coming from a bowrider. I was quoted around $50k for the Yalta with the 150 yamaha. So by the time I added on a anchor winch, trailor winch and some other luxuries the price was up to $55k for the yalta.

[four_button_arnie]

Glad you said it Scalem was about to jump on the Yalta band wagon, great bit of kit for alot less than the other major players, I have the 150 four stroke on mine and love it.

68048

[mull dog]

with regards to the tournament 2100 wa, where has the mould come from for this hull. is it a new one? dont think its an old mustang. looks great. whats the ride like champ?

[johncar]

with regards to the tournament 2100 wa, where has the mould come from for this hull. is it a new one? dont think its an old mustang. looks great. whats the ride like champ?

Hi, yeah I think it was pretty much a new design. It's not like any Mustang design that I ever saw.

Describing ride is always hard because the point of reference is always a bit dodgy, you know compared to what? and all boats bang at different times and even Cats have their problem areas.
But anyhow with all my 50 years experience with many boats of my own and being on many others of friends pretty much all the big brands around this size I would consider it for it weight and girth, above average in the overall ride department and in certain conditions across the bay it just eats up nicely.
I wanted a good allrounder with good stability at rest and a decent ride and at this stage of life realise that any boat is always a compromise. The 2100WA is well behaved up and downhill, tracks nice and straight, stays dry up top, trim tabs are handy for getting the best out of it in the slop and I believe that the balance between ride and stability is good. One of it's good features is it's ability to plane at a nice steady speed when the going gets rough which I have had to do on a couple of occasions, but most trips offshore see me comfortably running at 4000RPM at about 24kn and I can just sit in the chair pretty much the whole time other than at night when I stand to see over the screen for better vision.

[Repete1]

I have a customer wanting to get out of a Whitley USA. They sent me a couple of pics. It is a 08 but only done 9hrs. I haven't seen one before but it is 2100 walk around and looks mint. Worth a look I say.

[Chimo]

What about a pic or two pete

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