whittley cruisemaster 700 or 2300

[chocolatemoose]

hi guys
so after pourrringg cash into my polycraft. kinda looking for my next project. i was obsessed with whittley cruisers as a kid in the 90s and they are now in the affordable range. anyone ever have any experience with these?

i figure the extended swim platforms on them provide more fishing room than my polycraft but i can save on accommodation fees "that and i also like going out boating with friends who arnt fishos at times"

[Shark Poker]

Almost all of those were powered by sterndrives, which is a major decision on its own.

I always thought the Cruisemaster 700 was a very under-rated sea boat.
I remember cruising smoothly and comfortably from Mud Island down past Peel Island and into Dunwich one afternoon in a 20-25knot south easterly. The ride was just beautiful.

The older Cruisemaster has more of the old teak style cabinets, which were a well thought out feature of the brands heritage.

The newer 2300 was encouraged by the dealer network to stop them having to compete for sales against their own fleet of second hand boats. But new features like the new modern shape and new deck mouldings helped them sell.
In either case, as boats in the 10-20 year old bracket (now) maintenance will be a leading issue.

Am pulling a smaller 2002 model apart for repair tomorrow morning. Can check with the owner first but I am sure he would not mind if you would like to see it.

[chocolatemoose]

what sort of repair work seems to prop up with these older whittleys
i havnt got to much of an issue with stern drives. i understand its not a die hard fishing boat. but im unlikely to see shelf work "in my own boat atleast" and most of the waterways i frequent are coastal or calm.
the mid/late 2300 sovereigns seem to weigh a bit less... is that something to be happy or worried about?

[seashawgal]

I bought a second hand Whittley Impala a few months ago and I love it.
I saw the new larger Whitleys at the Brisbane Boat show this year and I think they are amazingly great boats for the price. They pack the features in with the finer touches which other boats in the same category don't worry about. The guy who started it all in the back streets of Melbourne Jim Whittley said "I don't make boats for men, I make them for women because if you can keep the lady dry and happy then everyone will be happy".
Go for it.

[terryc]

I have the Whittley Cruiser 660 2003 with 6 cyl mercruiser Alpha 1 sterndrive, i was hesitant about going sterndrive as i had always had outboards, however i have found it reliable, easy to service, i did replace the manifold risers with a pair of stainless for longevity. The ride is great really handles the outside conditions well, drives and handles easily, having fridge, toilet, sink etc is really handy. i drive on and off trailer. The only downside is being a bigger boat having 2 people is better than having to launch & retrieve on your own. I reckon they are a well designed Hull and built strong, definitely recommend, hope this helps,
regards terry

[fisho8]

Cruisemaster 700 every day of the week I took one out for a water test with one of the guys at Nothside Marine it was running a Volvo Diesel the previous owner just spent 7k on doing the engine up we were in a 20knt northerly out on the bay and it just ate it up took it for a good run up the brissy river to and it was fantastic they are a brilliant boat mate I would not hesitate to buy one might be my next boat I think when I am ready to go down that road.

[chocolatemoose]

thanks guys. that helped a lot. im going to go look at a 700 tommorow. not affraid of doing work on boats. lucky to work in the industry. extended swimplatforms with raised rails look like enough fishing room for two. fancy the idea of being able to have girls come out boating with me.. instead of standing there at the ramp and say "thats it?? you want me to get into that thing"?

[grumpysmurf]

In your test ride, please see if the boat seem bum heavy. I have always liked Whittley, but all the ones I see on the water, they seem to be bum heavy and the bow pointing at the sky. And I believe they have trim tabs as well. Can't all be skipper error.

[chocolatemoose]

good point i have seen a lot cruising off plane sitting bum heavy... heavy engines and full tanks?

[terryc]

All i can say is that i own a whittley 660 cruiser, it rides well, handles well even in a following sea, yes they have trim tabs which are great at levelling out the ride if passengers cause too much weight on one side. They handle the chop and rough excellent. Bottom fishing out at the 24 fathoms, no problem. I feel the low down weight of the inboard motor at the rear equates to how well the boats handle. I have owned previously: 4.1 tinny, Haines V163C, 6.1 Hydrofield, Old Seafarer Viking, 1999 Cruisecraft Explorer 500 (which i thought was the best at the time, and still have a deep respect for), however the Whittley eats them all up especially when the going gets rough, If you want a caravan on the water which can tow skiers, fish outside and still be legally towable i think they are hard to beat.

[The-easyrider]

I have the 650 sea legend with a 220hp inboard and yes they are a bit bum heavy plus mine has an extended ss swim platform. With a bit of trim tab have no problems levelling the ride out even into a head sea and never have had a hint of a broach in a following sea. The inboard has not been an issue for reliability or servicing the later model fuel injected ones are worlds apart from old school inboards. The 700 sea legend is a hell of a boat but for me the 650 was the choice we can sleep our fam of four and with the extended platform I can fish four guys off shore easily.
Cheers
Azza

[MarkIC]

I've had my whittley 660 cruiser now for 2 years and have added about 150 hours to her for a total of around 620 hours now. A well looked after inboard with good serviceing and manifold changes every 5~8 years give you around 2000 hours until they need major attention.

On the whole it's been very reliable apart from a slight vapour lock issue a few times if shut down with out idling for a few minutes.

It's also quiet fuel efficient for its size achieveing between 1.1 to 1.45 klm/ltr depending on the conditions and load. A mates 625 cruisercraft explorer with a 225 yammy 4 stroke achieves about the same.

Noise wise the 4.3lt v6 is quiet allowing normal conversation at cruise revs of 3000~3300 and 22knots. It's much quieter than a 2 stoke but a little higher than a 4 stroke outboard which is probably because the inboard is in the boat although the note is nice to the ear with a big boat sound

Handling is excellent which I put down to a good hull design and the engine weight being low down and forward of the transom. I find it much better than my earlier cruisecraft 580 outsider which handled well and I also make better comfortable cruise speeds when the weather gets crappy even when compared to much larger 7m~9m mono hull boats.

Whittley build quality is exceptional and this is comparing it to some of the other big brand trailerable boats in Australia. Only quality fittings are used and everything is well finished regardless of where it sits, in sight or in an area hidden away under flooring etc.

Inboard engine wise I was initially the a little concerned. All my previous boats were outboards and dads launches and yachts had inboard shaft drive diesels. However, I believe if you perform the right maintenance & inspections and use the right materials, ie. us coast guard approved inboard fuel lines etc then they are very safe to use. 100s of thousands of boats using them confirm this. Most probelms come from poor maintenance, home converted engines and non marine replacement parts like starter motors and distributors etc.

I also fitted a petrol sniffer that alarms and turns on my bilge blower as a precaution.

As far as hp/$/life inboards are hard to beat, in the USA at least.

Where else can you get 220hp including sterndrive for US$8,000 or about Aust$12,000 with shipping and duties etc. A new engine less manifolds and ancillaries would set me back about $4,000 at my door. Australian mercruiser parts are much more of course, I import all my basic service spares for around 60% of the Australian prices

If money was no option and it was fishing boat I wanted I'd grab a 685 cruisecraft etc with a big yammy 4 stroke or similar.

However I dont think you can beat cubes for the larger cruising type boats. It would be hard to beat what you get in a whittley for around the $55~65k on the 2nd hand market. If the inboard is why these boats have so much for so little $ than you can only win if its well looked after :-)

Cheers and happy boating
Mark

[anythingfishy1]

Hi
Sally and I bought The-easyriders Sea Legend and we are so happy with it. I get to go fishing and Sally has all the comfort she needs.Damn good decision on my part ( or Sally's) I think.
Thanks
Kelvin