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Thread: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

  1. #1

    Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Hi,

    Can I ask you guys about the configuration of your boats and what you've learned over the years ? Did you start out with one type and move to another ? Have you had to take into consideration family use ? Have you gone so far as to install a toilet ? Is there something you wouldn't do again ? Is it particularly hard to sell a certain configuration ?

    I have a family of 4 with two young adults. I would like to take it north to Airlie and further (I'm in SE QLD). We've ferried to Morton last summer and yet to experience Fraser but know Hervey Bay quite well.

    My daughter is right into getting the wind in her hair and snorkelling, the son will enjoy the fishing and the exploration. The wife not so much ... :-)

    It would be the landlubbers first boat - having wanted one for decades.

    Cheers,

  2. #2

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Hokeydokes , ill be the first for comment . ive had most ,open , ctr console and mostly cuddy cabs with familly whilst Children were young and no regrets whatsoever as doing mostly offshore Fishing . Been far as Arlie , Cape Hillsborough towing tinny full of camping gear will two Famillies and had a ball and if you plan to enjoy your Boating / Fishing with the Familly and can afford it go for a cuddy cab in a size that suits the numbers and comfort.
    I now have a 4.9 ctre console and it suits the purpose for Missus and i just nicely with a cost that doesnt empty the pockets to run as mostly fish inshore .
    Toilet ?? yep twenty ltre white bucket with a swim noodle cut and trimmed to fit nicely to the rim making it comfy for the bottom , only probs you may have here is who wins the battle picking the noodle colour lol..
    And offcourse a screen barrier for when one wants to go and an old bed sheet here can surfice .
    Lots of things one can do to make it more comfy like how big an ice box depending on how much fishing versus camping is done , solar on the roof run a small fridge/freezer . storage for carrying cooking gear etc etc..

  3. #3

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    I've been lucky - I've never needed to consider others as I've bought boats pre or post relationships …… My first boat was a centre console , then I've had (still have) a couple of side consoles ……. and more recently another Centre console . Unless your missus & kids are wind in the hair and spray in the face kind of people - forget any console type of boat . They are great fishing platforms - and particularly good for solo use but they are wet & generally open to the elements.

    I might get attacked here ..... but if you like the idea of going out to the islands & running the boat onto the shore ...... then what ever you buy - consider aluminium . As you head further north ( Whitsundays etc) The islands generally have fringing reef & coral rubble to deal with - so it's not the place to take a glass boat. If this is your first boat - that's another reason to go Aluminium .

    I've never owned a cabin boat - so there is little I can add on what would be the best configuration .

    Good luck with it …… boating is a great pastime.

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  4. #4

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Thanks guys,

    Am considering a 5.5m plate runabout now because the size of 6m+ boats means I'd have to buy another car to tow it. I went to a local canvas guy too and am thinking of a full length aluminium-frame shade over the whole thing. I know its not a cuddy but it does have a little protection.

  5. #5

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Quote Originally Posted by NAGG View Post
    I've been lucky - I've never needed to consider others as I've bought boats pre or post relationships …… My first boat was a centre console , then I've had (still have) a couple of side consoles ……. and more recently another Centre console . Unless your missus & kids are wind in the hair and spray in the face kind of people - forget any console type of boat . They are great fishing platforms - and particularly good for solo use but they are wet & generally open to the elements.

    I might get attacked here ..... but if you like the idea of going out to the islands & running the boat onto the shore ...... then what ever you buy - consider aluminium . As you head further north ( Whitsundays etc) The islands generally have fringing reef & coral rubble to deal with - so it's not the place to take a glass boat. If this is your first boat - that's another reason to go Aluminium .

    I've never owned a cabin boat - so there is little I can add on what would be the best configuration .

    Good luck with it …… boating is a great pastime.

    Chris
    You can get a Keel Guard for fiberglass boats that sticks onto the keel for protection.

  6. #6
    Ausfish Silver Member Ducksnutz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Beachmere
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    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Had both. Started with a Bar crusher for my first big boat for the forgiveness of it being aluminium and being a newbie and nervous with pontoons and banking etc. I then went with a bigger Haines signature 632f for a better ride and the kids were little and could sleep in it. Kids have moved on and now it’s my “ME” time and I have a Tournament 1900 Bluewater centre console and will have it until the inevitable comes.
    All boats have compromises and life changes and with it your boat may change.
    In my opinion, cuddy cabs are the best for the little ones as it gives them some protection when the weather turns.
    All the best in your search.

  7. #7

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Quote Originally Posted by billfisher View Post
    You can get a Keel Guard for fiberglass boats that sticks onto the keel for protection.
    A keel guard is fine for just sliding up a sandy beach or even a concrete ramp …… but not real good for sitting the boat down on coral rubble which can make a real mess of the bottom of the boat on a falling tide .

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  8. #8

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Quote Originally Posted by NAGG View Post
    A keel guard is fine for just sliding up a sandy beach or even a concrete ramp …… but not real good for sitting the boat down on coral rubble which can make a real mess of the bottom of the boat on a falling tide .

    Chris
    Maybe, though I'm not sure why you would want to ground/ strand your boat like that.

  9. #9

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    All my runabouts had no option to drive standing if the canopy wasn't rolled up,made for very wet rides at times.

  10. #10

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Quote Originally Posted by billfisher View Post
    Maybe, though I'm not sure why you would want to ground/ strand your boat like that.
    Sometime - if you are camping on an island & the tide goes out ….. that's where the boat comes to rest - sometimes it can be 100m plus from the sand to the deeper water .
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  11. #11

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Spent my formatve years running around in the old mans runabout and my own open tinnies. Then to a 20 year relationship with a centre console as well as access to bigger cuddies and hard top rigs via employment. 7 years with the current cuddy thus far which has just been converted to a hardtop with a small tinnie as a second. No one rig fits all bases. After 20 years of frozen body parts and varying degrees of water in the face (right up to needing to wear a facemask to drive) I was well and truly over the centre console. That said for chasing pelagic fish they are hard to beat. For family boating, something with a bit of shelter will probably more likely get the thumbs up from the ladies too. For four adults, you will basically want the biggest rig you can tow short of upgrading your vehicle.

  12. #12

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Centre consoles are often purchased because of fishing room, but in a strange kind of way, they have little room for fishing, mainly because the console is towards the stern, then a seat, and all the fishing room at the back is gone, the space in front of the console rarely gets used, so, depending on what sort of climate you fish in, some sort of weather protection is good, especially as soon as family is mentioned, then there's the question, do you need bunks? what suits one person is not what someone else needs. Probably best to make a list of what you need, then what you want and take it from there.

  13. #13

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Pfft bucket. How gross. Poop deck down beside the motor. Gunwhale is the privacy screen. Take the deck wash with and the liquid soap

  14. #14

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Quote Originally Posted by myusernam View Post
    Pfft bucket. How gross. Poop deck down beside the motor. Gunwhale is the privacy screen. Take the deck wash with and the liquid soap
    Try convincing your missus she should hang her arse out for all and sundry to have a gander down the pin on Australia day....

  15. #15
    Ausfish Addict Chimo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Gold Coast

    Re: Boat configuration - centre console, cuddy, runabout

    Bidet ! Sounds like a plan as they are all the go are they not?
    What could go wrong.......................

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