help on buying a boat

[bundopeace]

hi guys, i am a newbie in boating..i have 6000 bucks budget and thinking of gettiig a boat for general bay fishing and occassional offshore. wat length of boat am i looking at and wat hp motor? wats the diff in handling and the type of fishing in the centre console, side console, half cab?
i have seen boats on trading post going for 5k+ like 4.8m half cabin with 115hp motor. are these kind of deals any good? thanks!!!!
Nick

[gropeher]

On a good day you can get offshore in just about anything, however on the chance it turns nasty, or if you want the opportunity to get offshore more often I would think you will need to look at a boat of 5m minimum (or a little bigger still) depending if its a tinny or glass will depend on the motor size.
A tinny of this size will probably require 70hp, or a glass you would need 90hp minimum.
At this size it can be used for the bay, esturaries etc also. I think the difference between a side console and cc is more of a personal choice.
Remember that a glass boat is heavier than a tinny, therefore you will have a far superior ride in the glass.

Cheers

[Jeremy]

With that budget, you will be lucky. A fibreglass boat 5m or more requires at least 90 hp (as Reel_Majic said). A new 90 hp motor is around $18G. So you can see that to get a hull, motor and trailer you would be looking at a pretty old rig, and then you would have to question the reliability and safety for bay and offshore work. If you do look at any of these type of rigs, get it thoroughly checked out for hull integrity and OB soundness before you buy.

Jeremy

[bundopeace]

thanks guys...with 6k i am looking at old rigs... but i juz dun noe if they are good.. like those on the FORSALE page...even if there are repairs to the hull, will it be expensive? wat shld i looke out for when i go view a boat? the bare minimum..?
thanks

[krazyfisher]

jeremy what sort of 90hp costs $18g mine was $8000 3mths ago :o

[Jeremy]

Krazy, might have been exagerating there, but my 2 stroke 40 hp yammie was $7000 3 years ago. They'd have to be worth 12-15K wouldn't they.

What sort of 90 did you get for $8K?

Jeremy

[krazyfisher]

90hp tohatsu $8000
90hp merc $8750