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seaeagle
13-12-2005, 10:32 AM
After a few opinions on the 4.55 polycraft. I realise there a pros & cons & have not been in one myself but am considering doing so. Do they handle a little bit of rough stuff out at sea for that size boat .They say they are in between fibreglass & alluminium.

reScuE_RanGEr
13-12-2005, 01:32 PM
G'day seaeagle.

The 4.55m polycraft is an excellent performing boat. We have a 4.55m frontrunner as part of our fleet at QLD Trailer Boat Hire with a 50hp Suzuki fourstroke. There should be some pics uploaded onto our website soon. www.hireboats.com.au

Regards
Steve

polydriver
13-12-2005, 02:47 PM
HI Seaeagle

Check out the reports of owners of various sized polyboats at www.polyboatowners.com
There are pictures and reports of the boats sent in by the owners. The site is non commercial and so it is a commerically unbiased resouce.

wayneoro
13-12-2005, 08:46 PM
mate i checked them out with local experts the pro scuttlebuck is that they are great up to 14ft after that there is a problem with the sides plus they sell every one that comes of the mold light as a 2nd guy across from me bought his 6mtr hull for $2000 he now has rigged it with new & used gear built trailer himself saw it forsale at port bunderberg marine brokers for $38,000 cheers

polydriver
13-12-2005, 11:05 PM
Wayneoro

could you re phrase what you wrote as it doesnt make any sense and I dont know what you mean? esp the part about coming out of the mold??

thanks

FREYR
13-12-2005, 11:29 PM
Wayneoro

could you re phrase what you wrote as it doesnt make any sense and I dont know what you mean? esp the part about coming out of the mold??

thanks

I think he's saying that if a polycraft comes out of the mold imperfect (or "light") then it is sold as a "2nd" (like a 2nd's factory outlet)
Enterprising people buy these 2nd's Hulls for next to nothing, add a cheap motor and trailer from whereever, and sell the lot at a huge mark-up.

Correct me if my translation is wrong though.

rajawolf
14-12-2005, 01:03 AM
FREYR,

That is how I read it also.
Cheers :)

Tony_N
14-12-2005, 05:53 AM
Selling 2nds cheaply doesn't sound like a very sound long-term marketing strategy for the boat manufacturers. I don't think I'd like to buy one (first quality) if I knew I was going to have trouble selling it 2nd hand later on because people know there are duds out there.

The bit I didn't get about the post is exactly what is the problem on the sides of the bigger boats?

Tony

wayneoro
14-12-2005, 06:17 AM
freyr mate youve hit it on the head the real bad ones they melt and reprocess i guess its hard on people who have paid retail as you cant tell the diff i heard the bigger boats lose shape on the sides which will affect on the water performance cheers

Leo_N.
14-12-2005, 07:42 AM
Losing shape seems to be an issue when they are on a trailer without full-length skids. Other than that the hull has a four year warranty.

billfisher
14-12-2005, 07:45 AM
I find it very hard to believe that they would sell "factory seconds" boats. The buyer might be happy getting them cheap, but what happens if they go on the market. Polycraft would be asking for their brand name to be destroyed.
I'm suspicious about the the claim the sides loose shape too. As there is no weight or strain on the sides and can't see this happen. If its going to warp it would be the hull from sitting on the trailer. This is why they specify a special trailer with skids.
These claims sound like myths to me. These boats are a major threat to vested interests. Compared to the aluminium and fiberglass models they represent low cost, low maintainence and high performance. I'm afraid the usual marine industry tactic is to bad mouth the opposition with vauge, no detail criticism which is always from a "friend of a friend" or a "guy down the road".

wayneoro
14-12-2005, 08:44 AM
you might be right about the sides that is hearsay but selling the 2nds cheap is right on any one can buy them from factory in bunderberg read my 1st post $2000 for 6mtr bare hull i guess its better for them then recycling how i got on to it 1yr back they had a bunch of 2nds they sold under a tender system in the local rag ::) cheers

manacubus
14-12-2005, 10:27 AM
I was in the same scenario and ended up looking at the Poly's. If you aren't put off my the scaremongering in this thread, check out my earlier thread:

http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfish/yabb2/YaBB.cgi?num=1132709986

Also, this might be of value:
http://www.polyboatowners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66

Relaxed
14-12-2005, 10:54 AM
Hi Seaeagle,

I have a 4.55 Frontrunner with a 60hp Yammie.

Great ride with plenty of power behind it, can be a bit wet in rough conditions but this is only the wind blowing spray back over the side not poor design.

I am re-designing the trailer skids on mine as it is on a Tasmanian made trailer
and I dont think the skids are long enough (the trailer was in the package sold by the dealer).

Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

Cheers Andy. ;)

GBC
14-12-2005, 12:29 PM
Poly isn't robinson crusoe in the selling of seconds, all mass producers (telwater etc) do it....
I had a 455cc with a 50 honda, and now I miss it. Great little hull that fights above it's weight/length.

madmix
02-01-2006, 10:46 PM
visited polycraft bundaberg, shortly after release of
5.99 frontier, and spoke at length with manufacturer and was very
impressed. Shown around and all facets of manufacture/design
were fully explained and where ever possible shown personally.
At that time was quoted $16,000 for new hull.
Was shown three 2nd grade 5.99 c/c hulls. Minor defects
included imperfect colour blending, and other marks. one with
rubber tyre marks from where they had driven over it with a bigfoot
style monster truck, only other damage I could see to that one was
a slight bow in the transom, which was not an issue, as the hull
was stil to be foam filled and the stainless steel covering had yet to be fitted
to the transom. I was offered one of the three 2nds for $10,000
as the other two were already sold

Streetkid
03-01-2006, 03:08 PM
Looked at them very closely myself a few years back and the only thing that put me off was the 50hp power limit at the time which I thought was not quite enough to suit my needs. I ended up buying elsewhere but now that the 4.55 is rated to 60hp I would not hesitate in buying one of these setups as in my opinion they are the best value and most capable boat available in their class.

billfisher
03-01-2006, 06:12 PM
The largest Polycraft is the cheapest 6m on the market (from about 34K for BMT) and is probably the best value out of the Polycraft range. These boats are a very exciting addition to the market. Plate alloy and fiberglass boats are getting very expensive these days and you hear a lot about quality problems with the cheaper pressed alloy boats.

Pirate_Pete_Tas
03-01-2006, 08:06 PM
I am looking at a 455cc & its is priced in Tassie at $5800.00 for the hull only. I have also seen plate hull 4.5cc at $5200.00 for a flat pack in West OZ let alone the freight to Tassie & then having to weld it together. So the polly seems the way to go to me ;D