Buying First Bay/Offshore Boat

[Lawrie23]

Hi

I am a new member and am looking to buy my first boat. I have grown up around boats all my life however they have mostly been tinnies up to 4.5m. I am currently looking fora used bay / offshore boat to be used around the Port Phillip Bay and Sydney Harbour areas. This boat will only be used for fishing with friends as i dont have any kids to consider.

I have looked at a number of options already and have decieded that a fibreglass boat would be the best option for its ride comfort. My budget is at max $20 000. I have seen some haines 470f and 470df for around this price, would this boat be big enough for what i need (overnight stay in the bays may happen every now and then however i dont need a lot of comfort) and are there any other boats out there that could suit my needs.

Thanks

[Sheik]

Hey Lawrie, good luck with the buy mate. I think you need to give us a little more on how many might be going out with you (bigger the better), how often you might like4 to go through the heads (bigger the better), whether you'll go out every month or every six months (4.5m fine), what size you are and your friends are (bigger motor the better) and I guess what sort of car you drive.
Having said that, if you're average sized as are your friends, then a 4.7 may be big enough, depending it it has a 70 on it, which i think is what these hulls are rated to. You might also see that the DF stands for day fisher, so it's not something you'd expect to be sleeping in, unless you take a swag and bunk down in the fishing area.
Having said that, they are a Haines, so resale is good, and they're well made.
Hope that helps a little
regards jim