Seafarer Appreciation thread

[Oceanic Dave]

That I may do... A little bit of sleuthing on the BBS website (hint: exhibitor list) may yield some info

I went through the exhibitor list yesterday and didn't see what I saw today! Looks like you are right, can you confirm on the Victory? I just need to plan the trip!

[Seppo BNE]

Been looking at boats for ages and finally decided to get a Seafarer Victory !...
Thankyou so much Ocean_Spirit for the helpful info on the million questions I had when looking into your one-
Picked it up this evening after a good look over and can't wait to get her out on the water!

[tenzing]

Congratulations Seppo
You have bought yourself a very solid reliable boat.
I am sure that you and your friends and family will get as much enjoyment out of it over the years as I have with mine.
Well done
Cheers
Brendan

[outta line]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...d-i-say-haines

wonder how many victorys they have made since i put this post up .....

[rodneyk]

Seppo, the current model 6.0 Victory was introduced in 1997 by Lindsay Fry. They have always been rated to 225HP, except some (like mine) that are rated to 250 (only ever sold to experienced owners). Some of the facts above are not correct. I worked for Seafarer for 5years and had been around that factory since I was knee high. The 1993 - 2007 generation were and still are the best production trailer boat we produced in Australia for quality. A couple of comments on build;

- The floors and transoms are overbuilt. Go into any brand factory and have a look at the gap between the stringers and hull - sadly they are usually bogged, foam filled and sold to the unwary customer- on a Seafarer you couldn't get a cigarette wrapper under them, and if you could, the boat wouldn't leave the factory.

- Glass work was both woven roving and matting. Every hull was weighed as it left the mould. Lindsay had a reputation for sacking people who didn't understand what perfection meant.

- Have a look at the transom and the quality of the moulding. Completely sealed with no screwed in alloy for water to penetrate. The transoms were heavily layed up with glass panelling anyway i.e multiple layers - bloody strong and built to last. I had a well known shipwright repair one for a mate whose boat came off the trailer on the Gateway Bridge - cosmetic repairs and he was astounded on how well built they were.

- The floors are fully glassed and before that, everything was flow coated - have a look even under the cabin panels.

- Rex Hunt wouldn't accept free boats from other brands - he ripped the bow rail off another so called top of the range glass boat when tied up. He has personally paid market rate for 3 Victorys for him and his boys and that says something. These were late 90's builds.

- The cabin bunks are designed for 180cm adults.

The best information you will get on these boats is from those who worked on them during the Lindsay Fry era. There are quite a "few" perceived experts that know nothing about them, and I'd hate to be behind the wheel with some of these guys.

Seppo, you contacted me on the weekend about the Victory I have for sale on ebay at the minute - selling for a mate who isn't in great shape health wise. I personally own a 2005 Victory that has every imaginable option on it (not for sale) and so you can have a look and see the indifference on the two. Its cheap and a great boat with plenty of interest this week - owner is keen to move it on.

Thanks for this thread very informative this is what ausfish is all about thanks Rod

[tenzing]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...d-i-say-haines

wonder how many victorys they have made since i put this post up .....

None. The last ones were made 8 years ago on the Gold Coast
cheers

[outta line]

None. The last ones were made 8 years ago on the Gold Coast
cheers

lol...aint that the truth

[Ocean_Spirit]

Here's evidence. The last Victory out of the factory.

Attachment 110385

[Chimo]

OS

Do this please and we can see what your posting

Do this http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...he-chat-boards

and then do this http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...files-to-posts



Thanks

Cheers
Chimo

[Seppo BNE]

What an awesome boat! - Took the Victory out on both days over the weekend, ended up with around 6 hours more on the clock after all done
Few trips to tipplers, Jumpinpin and around with family, inlaws etc.. The weather was beautiful so couldn't have asked for a better day on Saturday.

Sunday, went for a cruise from Jacobs way, down to the Gold Coast.. It's a new feeling catching up to boats around the waterways!
Went out to check out some reefs a few miles out from the coast, Had been out in a friends 6.3m plate boat and I do prefer the Victory, handled nicely in the ~1.5m swell.

Slowly putting together a list of things to do on it to make it perfect.

1) Anchor Winch -- solo anchoring is a challenge in strong currents, --- Anyone have any thoughts on the ones listed on Ebay lately?, or other good ones??
2) Boat catcher - (Katchya, or similar) -- solo launch/retrieve.

[tenzing]

What an awesome boat! - Took the Victory out on both days over the weekend, ended up with around 6 hours more on the clock after all done
Few trips to tipplers, Jumpinpin and around with family, inlaws etc.. The weather was beautiful so couldn't have asked for a better day on Saturday.

Sunday, went for a cruise from Jacobs way, down to the Gold Coast.. It's a new feeling catching up to boats around the waterways!
Went out to check out some reefs a few miles out from the coast, Had been out in a friends 6.3m plate boat and I do prefer the Victory, handled nicely in the ~1.5m swell.

Slowly putting together a list of things to do on it to make it perfect.

1) Anchor Winch -- solo anchoring is a challenge in strong currents, --- Anyone have any thoughts on the ones listed on Ebay lately?, or other good ones??
2) Boat catcher - (Katchya, or similar) -- solo launch/retrieve.

Glad to hear you are having fun!
Boatlatch (Land R) is the one. no new holes in the boat. solid and works, not too dear. Got mine from Spiro at Bluebottle at melbourne show. generally a bit cheaper at the shows.
I have a factoy fitted muir winch , I am sure the stressfree ones are a better design, However, as we only ever anchor using reef pick, that is deployed from the cabin and retrieved with a foam float,much simpler and quicker.
There are quite a few other things you can add. I personally cant get by without the tabs.
Cheers
Brendan

[scottar]

IMO drum winches have it all over the gypsy types in most ways bar cost and physical size. If you want to use it in any sort of depth, free fall is the way to go. Plenty of good ones around - just do your research. As Brendan has mentioned - Trim tabs - if you don't have them already, make a good boat sooooo much better.

[Chimo]

Another vote for trim tabs. The first thing to buy. It even makes the Vagabond a better boat so imagine what it could do for a Victory!

And buy a foam float with a stainless steel split ring on a short length of rope, to slip on and off your anchor warp. Buy one and try it off shore in deep water and any current you can find even by yourself (as I do ) before you buy your anchor winch. Easiest way to retrieve an anchor.

[ranmar850]

Or even better, get an ezi-lift anchor clip. Clip it on before you finally tie off, use like the stainless ring, but the anchor will not slip back down when you take the tension off. It'll just sit there under the float as you motor slowly back downwind to it leisurely retrieving the rope. The only reason some people don't like them is that they reckon they don't work, as they put them on backwards, or something. Couldn't be easier, I regularly have 100 metres of rope out in 20-odd fathoms of water, usually not solo in that depth. Having it out there while fishing has the added benefit of damping the amount of sailing your boat will do on the pick if it is breezy. I use a 300mm red fluoro inflatable which easily lifts a 15lbdanforth and 7 metres of 6mm chain.
That said, I would eventually like an electric winch, but for the shallower water, when I am fishing solo and moving around more.

[Marchy001]

I used a float setup on the Noble prior to getting the seafarer. Good setup and yes it works well.
Drum winch on the seafarer is just that bit better again in my opinion. $2k better well that I'm not sure about just yet but so far I love my drum winch.
A boat I worked on out of Townsville had a vertical capstan and it still required a person to be on the bow laying the chain into the locker. Easier on arms yes but that's about it.

Oh and please stop talking about how good trim tabs on seafarers are, there is no way I will be allowed to spend any more $$$ on the boat for the foreseeable future.