Stick With Fibreglass Or Switch To Plate ???

[Goldfinch]

Well...it's time to sell the ever reliable and beloved 2006 Haines Hunter Classic 600 and move on to a newer and different style of boat. For the type of fishing I do these days I will be looking for a centre cabin style boat and the question is, do I stick with a Glass hull, which limits the options, or do I switch to a plate boat such as a Rip Tide, Formosa or Offshore Master Marine. In the glass options the only boat in the 6m range I have seen that I like is the Haines Hunter prowler 580 or 650 but they are hard to come by secondhand with a must have 4 stroke outboard (No E-Tecs For Me). I want to stay around the 6m mark and must have a full walkaround. I would love to hear from owners of these or similar boats and why you think I should check them out. Please, no stupid suggestions, I am looking for serious advice before spending another $60-$70k and your time and ideas will be greatly appreciated. $60-$70k is my max budget. Cheers, Dave

[johncar]

Hi Dave, It's such a tough decision at times as both boat building styles have their pros and cons. I have pretty much been a GRP boat owner for ever but have recently switched to my 1st plate boat although I have owned a few misc tinnies over the years.
Mine is just a bare Ally boat and left that way so that it can be easily customised at any time and I think that is the big benefit of this type of boat. I think if you are going to get a Platey built and all tarted up, fully painted etc, you may as well buy GRP IMHO and I say that because I think that the GRP is easier to look after just with cleanup and so on.
I like the ruggedness of the bare Ally boat particularly when around boat ramps with limited beaching areas and I have no hesitation just nudging it straight onto the concrete ramp if that is the best option, which is not good to do with GRP unless you want to repair it all the time.
Another big plus with the Plate Ally is that most of the builders are happy to accomodate some personal customisation to suit your preferences and usually without costing much if any more unless they are major additions.
Don't leave Origin Boats out of you shopping list, they build a nice boat and should be able to accomodate something in your budget and don't forget you can always just get the bare bones hull built to start with to save some cash and set it up better and better over time, even painting or wrapping it later is an option.
Good Luck..

[Back In Black]

Dave,
Good to see you have seen the light!
Tony

[2IC]

Hi Dave I have a plate boat & agree with what johncar says about the benefits of such a boat.when mine was been built I had some customisation done to suit my needs which was easy to do as it is just another weld,,I left my boat as bare alloy & just before it left the shop I buffed it up then put two coats of pentrol oil into it as this seals the alloy & it wont tarnish off ,just do this once every 12mths better than spending dollars on paint,, therefore not to fussed about bumps or scratches
GOOD LUCK let us know your end choice ,, I have a Riptide love it

[Camhawk88]

PLenty of fibreglass centre cab options in US made boats. Is importing or buying a ready imported boat an option or were you after new?
If not I would be looking at Cobias, Stripers, Seafox, Prolines etc- all do nice WAs.

[Goldfinch]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.
Camhawk88...I have looked at a few of the US boats you mentioned above and although I can import one for a reasonable price, most of the boats I have looked at are very "cruiser" orientated and lack a lot of serious fishing features that a Haines might have. The second issue I have with US boats is I just Don't Trust Yanks. They will tell you anything to get a sale. I will happily pay a little extra and buy Aussie Made, new or secondhand. Its hard to fight someone when they are 20,000km's away. I appreciate the suggestions and I will check them all out.

[Jarrah Jack]

PLenty of fibreglass centre cab options in US made boats. Is importing or buying a ready imported boat an option or were you after new?
If not I would be looking at Cobias, Stripers, Seafox, Prolines etc- all do nice WAs.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Pretty hard to go to a tin can after a big HH....

[Camhawk88]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.
Camhawk88...I have looked at a few of the US boats you mentioned above and although I can import one for a reasonable price, most of the boats I have looked at are very "cruiser" orientated and lack a lot of serious fishing features that a Haines might have. The second issue I have with US boats is I just Don't Trust Yanks. They will tell you anything to get a sale. I will happily pay a little extra and buy Aussie Made, new or secondhand. Its hard to fight someone when they are 20,000km's away. I appreciate the suggestions and I will check them all out.

There are so many that have already been inported and are being on-sold these days that there is no need to import yourself. There are plenty of these on boatpoint at the right price. I share your concerns about importing myself.

I am surprised about the lack of fishing features you mentioned. From what I've seen many of these yank sportsfishing rigs crap all over aussie made in finish and features. Massive live wells, kill boxes and rod lockers are pretty common on a lot of those rigs from what Ive seen.Cheers

[Muddy Toes]

Probably leave the sea fox off that list if your looking for quality.

[The Woo]

Both plate and glass have their merits.

Goldfinch, have you experienced a plate boat? I find a lot of people find the slap slap and more "echo-ey" noise of a plate boat a killer blow, regardless of how good it might be otherwise.
It's a point worth raising I thought.

[llourd]

I found the trophy brand to be worth a look, they do a centre cab walk around and there are usually several for sale here in Aus.

[Boat Hog]

If you want the full deep walkaround (like the HH Prowler) then it's probably going to have to be plate. Not to many out there in GRP with centre cab and a proper walkaround. Have you considered the Hooker 6.7 WRC? A bit longer than what you're after, not quite the deep trench but a good looking boat, aussie built;

http://www.hookerboats.com/hooker_6_7m_WRC.html

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-fo...spx?R=12198331

Yes, I know, an etec on the photo's with that one! The package is with a 200 Suzuki.

Cheers,

[MEG-A-BITE]

Probably leave the sea fox off that list if your looking for quality.

I went to look at the Sea fox and they look like very good boats.Is there somthing I missed that you know about?

[Dicktracey]

http://coastalpowerboats.com.au/down...NSWFMJu112.pdf

Check thi s bad boy out I have the half cab and really rate it as a boat !

[Shawn 66]

In no way am I trying to have a dig at any one here , however I find it strange that we keep bemoaning the fact whenever an Ausie boat builder goes bottoms up , yet keep spruiking the merits of importing a yank boat.
Shawn