which boat?

[castamasta]

hi all,looking at buying a new 'allround' boat,something in the 4.3mtr-4.5mtr range that allows me to fish fresh,estuary and light offshore.i am currently running a 4mtr hornet trophy which i love dearly :) but it dose restrict me a little.i still like to dable in some bream/bass tourneys but would like to get back into some light offshore sportsfishing.looked at the' bluefin barracuda',seems ok,then looked at the' tabs sportfisher'...both boats seem to be ideal for what i want.as yet i havent compared prices but i think both would be in the low to mid $20's depending on set up of course...any thoughts or opinions on this subject on these or other boats would be appreciated.thanks, casta.

[tiges]

Hey Castmasta,

I recently got a Stacer 440 nomad and am impressed with it's all round capabilities so far. Got good get up and go with a 40 2 stroke on it and can handle a bit of chop cos of the v-bow. Still nice and stable at rest for dam and river fishing with it's reverse chine hull, which is what I do most of the time. Beamy and deep which makes it comfortable on realistic offshore days. 3mm bottom with 2mm sides. Fished 3 up in it at Awoonga last week, whole time in the shallows and timber, and was very impressed with it's manouverability with the bow mount electric. Cost me 15 grundy with a B,M,T package with a 54 lb digi bow mount and a few other extras. So there's an option if your interested.

Cheers mate
Tiger

[StevenM]

Casta, what about the Blue Fin Phantom??

[matthill80]

all reports to me say the bluefins are a very wet boat thats why they have the extra skirts on the waterline but they look a treat


cheers matt

[castamasta]

thanks for the ideas so far guys,yeah tiger briefly looked at the nomad and certainly looks like a nice boat,i am happy with my hornet aswell and may just go to bigger model yet but am keen to gather as many ideas and thoughts as i can.hi yo i thought the phantom was a bigger boat?...i dont want to go to big and i want a little freeboard aswell as casting platforms but will look at everything :-/....matt they do look good and are resonably priced,i think most small tinnies are damp but thats what i need to hear,thanks.look forward to more info guys,cheers,casta.

[StevenM]

Hi Casta.. only mentioned the pahantom as it is a grand total of 5cm longer than the barracuda that you were thinking off.

Would be good for what you are looking for as it has a huge front casting deck for your tourney stuff and the back half has a heap of free board.

Have seen them all decked iut with sounders etc for mid 20's

Heres the links

cheers

steven

http://www.bluefinboats.com.au/phantom.htm

http://www.bluefinboats.com.au/barracuda.htm

[castamasta]

hi steven,yeh i actually looked a bit harder at the website after i read your post :-[....actually looks like a nice rig.we have a bluefin dealer up here so i might pop around and get some prices.i know he doesnt have one in the yard but he may tell who has so i get a run and decent look at one.thanks again,cheers,casta.

[BoatlessDad]

check these out ;) http://www.trackermarine.com.au/brochure.asp?modelid=55055&