New Boat - can you believe it's a cat

[bugman]

Gentlemen,

I'm about 4 months late in posting this but time just seems to get away. As some of you may know I was looking around for a new boat for a while. I wanted a family friendly true fishing rig - tough to find I know. Something I can enjoy reef fishing and chasing big blue marlin off the shelf but at the same time - can take the family for a two or three day trip away just to enjoy the coastline.

The trick was I wanted it to be trailerable so places like 1770, the Witsunday's, Stanage Bay, Portland etc weren't out of reach.

I looked overseas for quite some time and even test drove a new Glacier Bay here in Aus but it seemed what I was after was right under my nose.

Introducing SCALDED - a Grady White F26 Tigercat.

Some Ausfishers may recognise her from the Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club where she was owned by Kym Lynch and often used by his son Connor (a member here). In fact many Ausfishers have fished on her during her 3 years living in Australia.

The details:

Grady White F 26 Tiger Cat (8m) imported into Aus 2009.
Refitted with new Twin Yamaha's F 150 4 strokes (currently 300 hours)
New Reelax 5.5 mts riggers and shotgun, New Raymarine C 70 chartpotter, Furono FCV 585 sounder, GME sounder, VHF, Furono radar.
Twin S/S eutectic refrigeration tanks in a 300 ltr box
Downstairs separate shower and toilet - fresh water cockpit shower (I've since installed a Duetto 12volt hot water system - perfect hot water)
250l live bait tank, 40 ltr insulated box, 50 ltr water tank.
Downstairs sink and double bunk plus 6 rod storage.
750 ltrs of fuel giving roughly 650km range.
We also had a sun cover (which doubles as a storage cover) made for those times lazying around the islands.
We've also reupholstered everything in the boat and had her fully detailed by Dave (Blackened) from here.

I haven't justified the purchase with enough trips in the last four months as I've been busy but for what I have done she's proved very worthy. The wife and child even enjoy our overnighters in the Tweed river.

The last piece of the puzzle is a Magic Tilt trailer from the US which was meant to be here this week but has been delayed. Hopefully by Xmas we'll be fishing and travelling to some well know haunts along the Qld coast.

Brett

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[Dan5]

Sounds like a quality rig......the Gradys are a well built boat,i bet your happy with it.

Dan

[Playtime]

Looks a top rig! Shoudl get plenty of memorable hours from that, for sure. Nice work getting the family out and enjoying it too.

[lampuki]

Brett.

Well done ...that is awesome! Not doubt she will bring fond memories for you and your family.

All the best!

[FISHAWN]

Unreal boat Brett, a dream come true! Look out OOglies!
What will be towing new rig?

[Horse]

I can't recall a sportsfishing rig any better than that. With the Grady White reputation and a great design it will be a beast of a boat. 1770 next year? A boat like that brings the Swains and other remote locations into the picture. Very nice

[Boat Hog]

Nice Brett, that's one bloody awesome machine. :o;D

Don't work too hard mate ... get out and enjoy it!!;)

Cheers,

[Greg P]

Good stuff Brett.

[jeffo]

Where are ya fitting ya crab winch Buggy?

[bugman]

Jeffo,

I had thought about using the anchor windlass :D but I've been going to the gym lately and am pretty fit ::) so I've been using the chest muscles. Actually NSW regs state all pots must be pulled by hand.

Fishshawn

The towing rig is the $1 million question. I've got a weighbridge just near our ramp so I'm going to pull her out of the water as soon as the trailer arrives and run her over the scales so there's no more guessing. GW say maximum wet is only just over 3 tonnes while other predict she'll come in well over 4. At the moment I've considered everything from the current Landy - F truck - Dodge - to a dual cab light truck. Once we've got the true weight I'll make the final decision.

I've already purchased the oversize signs and flags and have printed my permit for both NSW and QLD..

Thanks for the replies fellas.

Brett

[Bremic]

Bugman, as the trailer name implies, is it a tilt trailer along the lines of what you see under tinnies? Always wondered if a tilt trailer under a larger boat would save having to drown the trailer for retrieval.

Very nice looking rig BTW.

[MyWay]

congratulation bugman I wish u all the best and happy boating mate
every member of your family will love it
it is awesome boat

looking forward for some photos of fish hitting deck and sliding in kill tank :2thumbsup:

and if you having problem filling that kill tank just give me call ;D


cheers

[thelump]

Wow thats an awesome boat mate!! Will the Brooker be the tender?

[hercules]

love the grady in any shape . I have the tow vehicle , lets go !! ;)
Craig

[fisho8]

Very nice boat mate well done plenty of good times ahead.

[bugman]

love the grady in any shape . I have the tow vehicle , lets go !! ;)
Craig

Craig - I might be needing that tow my friend - sooner than you think :-)

The Brooker is staying in the back yard for that quicky fishing trip - i don't think I'll ever sell her.

Bremic, I'm pretty sure there is no tilt action on the trailer - maybe there was once. At that length they need all the support they can get. It's Alloy I frame in a tri axle version built to Australian standards.

There's no photos but you can have a look at their Aussie models here

http://www.magictilt.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=43

Brett

[hooknpull]

I can't recall a sportsfishing rig any better than that. With the Grady White reputation and a great design it will be a beast of a boat. 1770 next year? A boat like that brings the Swains and other remote locations into the picture. Very nice
horse do you know anyone who gets to swains in trailer boats and stay out there? just goes to show how boats are evolving. i wonder whats around the corner with trailer boats for that type of stuff..

[Jarrah Jack]

Great boat Bugs, I'd love to see that in Portland in May.:o

[Sheik]

Well done Buggsie, that's superb. Let me know when you need a deckie...
Looks like things are going well for you anyway so that's great. Keep up the good work and remember to enjoy that boat. Trouble is, it takes so much work to pay for the bloody things, you don't have time to take it out...
keep well mate
jimbo

[murf]

well done Brett :)

lets see you tow that to Fraser :P

cheers Murf

[Midnight]

It's a nice boat mate, I seriously considered it myself a while back. Enjoy mate.

Cheers,
Myles

[Dean1]

Nice rig mate well done! No turning back now your a brother but i saw The ol lightning on the market the other week maybe that woulda been a better option :) ;)

[tsea]

Brett, congratulations on the toy! What a list of goodies to play with.
Good times ahead for sure.
cheers
TC

[ashleyhj74]

Congrats on your purchase mate, in my opinion a walkaround cat is just about the best spec for a boat you could get. My F-Series would tow that quite well, it'll be up for sale soon to. Pointless havin a great tow vehicle without anythin to tow. Should never have sold my spearfish 21 *insert numerous, varied swear words that cant be used on a family forum here* :)

[GBC]

I'll get 2c in here - hercules isn't the only one with a tow truck, and I'm not talking about old holey moley...Not as flash, but it drags the bobcat around o.k. and it comes in at 4.5t. on the trailer.

[bugman]

I'll get 2c in here - hercules isn't the only one with a tow truck, and I'm not talking about old holey moley...Not as flash, but it drags the bobcat around o.k. and it comes in at 4.5t. on the trailer.

Um .... does that one have bullet holes in the bonnet !!!!!

[GBC]

Nah, I'm a bit gun shy of bonnets nowadays. No bonnet on a Canter. Safer that way ;)