Hi All. Newby here

[fishbreath]

Hi,was surfin and found THIS excellent site,just had to register. I've had boats for most of my life.Last was a stessl bluewater 5.1 only 12 months old but my divorce settlement seen that goin out the gate.I was fishing down the jetty a couple of weeks ago and was watching all the Wonderful boats at play and well ,I just gotta get me a boat.Problem is even after having had a few It's still as confusing as ever.I'm a fair weather fisherman so I dont want a cab,cuddies are too low for my creaking knees and I want a lot of deck space.I was toying with the idea of a 18 ft runabout,something deep and solid. I havent had one before and was wondering if they are suitable to use out wide.Cheers to all and will look forward to posting and replying in the future. Fishbreath :)

[fishingrod]

Welcome to the site !
A bit more info could help us guide you :)
Budget, what area are you in( theres different weather conditions out wide in each state), how heavy can you tow?

[fishbreath]

Hi Fishingrod,12k max at this stage.I'm in Sth Australia,and out wide for me is 5nm give and take in spencers gulf.Mainly chop but can be 8-10ft close swell at times.I'm not usually out then but have been caught out a couple of times.Nothing like the seas on the east coast.i went out on a charter last time up at the gold coast and couldnt believe the rolling swells,looked like mountains and valleys to a fairweather fisho like me.The next time I go out there the boat will have to have P & O written on it somewhere. Towing vehicle is a 3.5 jackaroo,always had patrols before this but wasnt figurin a boat into the equation when I bought the jackaroo.It does seem pretty capable though. Has anybody had any experiences with a kingfisher pursuit 5.4. Cheers Fishbreath

[fishingrod]

Mate
A 18 footer would normally be classed as OK for 5nm offshore.

The Kingfishers wont all that popular in NSW, but i see them for sale from time to time. They are mostly the "sierra" "" half cabin versions, but i have seen the pursuit runabouts. If you are lucky you could find one with a 5-10 year old motor at that price.

You could also look about for a Quintrex 5.2m Kingfish runabout. They came out in the early 90's. I dont think the hulls are particually high tech but are good and honest. The ride in the KingFisher would be much better as it is fibreglass. However the Quintrex would run ok with 70-90hp and be good on the fue. The Kingfisher would need min 90hp.

The Seafarer Vikings (up to 1992?) are 5.2m cuddy cabins. They are called a cuddy, but could ALMOST be called a runabout as the front area is not very tall or large at all. They would be in your price range as well respected as offshore rigs.

Another option is a Haines Hunter 17R runabout from the late 70's to late 80's. Very well known and trusted boats. Careful they are also known for rotten floors and transoms if you dont check carefully !!
The 19R are good too, but rare and prob over $12K

Cruise craft made a "Stinger" 5.06m runabout and "Charger" 5.06 Bowrider in the mid- late 80's. They are a good boat.... i know as i own the 5.06m half cabin version :) ..... I have seen these around $12K with a reasonable engine. It might be a bit smaller than you are after. They dont look all that big, but i have had mine in some nasty weather and come home to tell the story.

If the seas are very close together you may get the occasional wave over the bow and into the c*ckpit with a runabout. It should be OK if you have a decent bilge pump. As you said you only fish good weather, so it probably wont matter, but the boats mentioned above would notmally cope with the occasional rough afternoon with a sensible skipper.

The Jackaroo would be able to safely tow almost any 18 foot mono hull.

[fishbreath]

Hi fishinrod,I have seen a couple of seafarer vikings sold on ebay.I fancied the look of them,and also the vsea.So i went to a local dealer and got in one (vsea) but I just about had to get on my hands and knees to work the hatch to the anchor. Is the viking hatch the same height from the floor as the vsea? As I did like them I have been wondering if an anchor winch would fix the problem or maybe a new split screen.Not sure if these are viable ideas cost wise.I enquired from a dealer here and he said it would cost about $3000 to supply and fit anchor winch.I have seen anchor winches advertised for supply only for around 4-5 hundred so I'm hoping this dealer is on his own with this sort of pricing.If not I'll explore the split screen idea. On the dealers vsea the previous owner had fitted a stainless bit of piping through the screen and pulled the anchor rope from the cabin through the screen.Looked like it must work but the finish really looked ordinary.Thanks for the suitable boats list,will give me boats to look for.I was looking for fibreglass this time,the last boat i had was a 5.1 stessl aluminium,nice roomy boat but it used to get pushed a bit like a cork in anything other than a head sea.

[fishingrod]

I dont know if the Vikings are any bigger inside sorry. You would get a good Vsea for $12K :)

I dont think a split screen would help, it would be too far from the bow?
Personally the tube idea would be bloddy hopless if the anchor was snagged and it was choppy day. Maybe OK for very calm weather and a sandy bottom !

Have you seen the method where you attached a short rope to the bow and then actually throw your anchor out the side of the boat and then tie it to the ring and throw it over the side.. When you want to retreive you motor forwards and grab the rope from the side of the boat, untie the ring and haul it in. It can be difficult on your own if you are not able to steer the boat into the wind and pull the rope in at the same time (sorry prob a bad explaination !)

An electric winch CAN be very heavy and may upset the trim. You will need 2 good batteries on board probably. You still need to be able to be able bodied enough incase of a winch failure or rope jam etc

The quality winches would be a couple of $K. I dont know what you would get for $500.

Maybe a bowrider if a good choice for you as it has a open front deck ?

By the trailer boat magazine and have a look thru the photos, or get hold of Jeff Websters Second Hand boat Secrets (or called top 2nd hand ?) magazine and have a flip thru it for ideas.

Rod

[Alex9797]

Hey fishbreath,

have a look at the savages as they have a great setup where you walk through the screen and lift a sideways opening hatch to access the pick. most of them can be set up so that the pick is carried on the bow sprit. I can reverse the boat onto a beach sitting in the skippers chair steering and feeding the rope out from the anchor then snub off the rope at the right distance from the beach.

Savages are built in Victoria so there should be heaps for sale down your way. They don,t seem to be as popular up here in QLD for some reason.

I generaly have to do everything in my boat by myself as the kids are too small to help.

Have fun looking. It costs nothing :D


Alex

[Jeremy]

Have you seen the method where you attached a short rope to the bow and then actually throw your anchor out the side of the boat and then tie it to the ring and throw it over the side.. When you want to retreive you motor forwards and grab the rope from the side of the boat, untie the ring and haul it in. It can be difficult on your own if you are not able to steer the boat into the wind and pull the rope in at the same time #(sorry prob a bad explaination !)




A mate of mine does all his anchoring in his 19R from the cabin. The anchor is kept in a big nally bin under the seat but the rope is looped through the bow sprit. Drop the anchor and tie it off using a cleat on the gunnale. Retrieve using the poly ball and ring drive away so it floats the anchor to the surface. Easy as. Hope this is clear and helps.

Jeremy

[fishingrod]

Hey fishbreath,

have a look at the savages as they have a great setup where you walk through the screen and lift a sideways opening hatch to access the pick. most of them can be set up so that the pick is carried on the bow sprit.
Alex

Good suggestion ! ....

Also talking about Vic manufacturers, the Streaker 5.02 Runabout might be in his price range :) but im not sure what the bow arrangment is.

[fishbreath]

Hi Fellas thanks for your ideas.I reckon the side anchoring sounds like a good option in good seas and if I get caught out on the odd occasion then I'll bite the bullet and hands and knees it to the hatch.Will look for good condition vseas now.I'll look in NSW or Vic .I looked in the yards here in SA but for my 12k here they only have tired looking boats with tired motors.They want 17+ for boats here that are selling interstate for 10-12k.I figure its worth the 800 or so dollars to get it freighted over to here and if its in Vic well I can go and pick it up myself.Only drawback is not being able to see it myself before it lands here,pictures always seem to make boats look better than than are.Also I cant do an on the water test if its from NSW.Will still have an inspection though.Have been looking fairly hard here for privately sold boats,but not a lot sells here that fall into what i'm after,and if they do they are snapped up quicker than I can blink.I was coming out of a local boat yard a couple of Saturdays ago at 9am and when I was getting into my car a boat was pulling into the dealers yard with a for sale sign still on it.I had that mornings local paper with me so looked up the boats for sale list and sure enough that boat was listed by a private seller.It was listed in the paper for 14k ,it was a haines signature,not large but looked neat as a pin.thay will sell that for well over 20k.They have boats selling over 20k in their lot of tired boats.Will probably buy from a dealer interstate ,I'm a bit worried about the payment side of it if buying off ebay.Thats a lot of money to send on faith.Thanks again fellas... Fishbreath