Blue Fin plate Boats

[Foxie]

Does anyone own a Blue Fin plate boat like a barracuda or cobia and what do you think of them as I am thinking of buying one. Thanks fellas

[mackmauler]

foxie, this is a rig of an ausfish members but he doesnt get on here much to post, not sure if its plate and i dont know the models you are talking about but its a great rig and the fitout is real nice if you are a flyfisher, they are pretty well priced apparently, i know there happy with it.

[cheno]

Foxie,

Blue Fins are not in fact plate boats they just use non- pressed sides and still use pressed bottom sheets. It gives the appearance of being a plate hull but it isn't. Other boats like the Stessl truck are the same deal. There isn't anything wrong with that but just be aware of it when you are making price comparisons between them and true plate hulls becasue the differences will be substatial. Having said that, they seem to be great boats and good value for money. One good thing about blue fin is that they give you a choice of your own custom paint colour as part of the deal. Seen some pretty smart looking ones around the place.

cheno

[Jono_SS]

Foxie.

Cheno is spot on, to the best of my limited understanding.

I have a similar style of boat to the Bluefins, a Stessco Tornado, which has flat sides, giving the impression it is a plate. But it isn't - I could be wrong, but I think the aluminium comes in a roll and is flattened out during construction, as opposed to the typical plate boat construction (e.g. fisher boats). I'm certainly no boat-builder, but I found it frustrating that, when I was researching my impending purchase, there seemed to be a lot of different stories floating around. Even I could see that some dealers didn't really seem to know what they were talking about and swore black and blue if it had flat sides it was plate.

It would be interesting to hear some objective information from some people who really know.

Jono

[Jethro]

I had a serious look at the Bluefin range when I was looking for a new boat and they are rock solid.

It was a close call in the end with the Elegant boats. I ended up with going with an Elegant because they are local and I am very happy ;D ;D with the choice.

If you are interested have a look at www.elegantboats.com or give Raffi a call

Here is a piccy of my new girl :o

[fish-wa]

Hi Jono

The tornado looks excellent.

I can't see this on the stessco site.

How long ago did you buy it as it may be discontinued.

Approx how much does this sort of rig set you back.

Looks like a strong boat.

What size engine?

Cheers

Rob