Best second hand offshore fishing boat under $20.000

 Been looking arround for ages the more i look the more frustrated i get. Like the fibreglass boats for the ride but very heavy. Two mates have ally boats and they are great setup for fishing but ride is not that good. I like to fish near Rotto bu rarely go out deep. Anybody got a good boat that might suite let me know?

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Jewskip


Posts: 187

Date Joined: 19/08/13

Baron Sportsman

Sat, 2017-02-25 15:01

 look around for a good Baron, you won'tbe dissapointed    cheers ACE

Posts: 308

Date Joined: 28/05/15

 I have a 2003 Southwind

Sat, 2017-02-25 15:12

 I have a 2003 Southwind SF500, it's a fibreglass 5m cuddy cab. I believe they are the BEST 5m fiberglass cuddy cab you can buy. You should be able to find a 2003-2004 for under 20k, from 05 I think they were sold as southern star boats. 

Amazing boats ans handle the seas so well.

Posts: 8016

Date Joined: 07/05/12

I had my eye on one when I

Sun, 2017-02-26 10:37

I had my eye on one when I was researching boats. Very similar hull to my Seafarer Vsea.

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Honourary Pies member for a while

Baden01's picture

Posts: 67

Date Joined: 11/10/12

 Swift Craft 18"6 Explorer

Sat, 2017-02-25 17:32

 Swift Craft 18"6 Explorer are great fishing boats it just so happens I have one for sale @$14500 in excellent condition 

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 Brocky 

Posts: 108

Date Joined: 14/05/13

PM sent

Mon, 2017-03-20 16:20

pm sent re: explorer

Ashen's picture

Posts: 1042

Date Joined: 22/03/13

Voyager LTD

Sat, 2017-02-25 17:36

 Voyager LTD.  Good allrounder with great seaworthiness!  Enough for rotto and decent for 3-4 guys to fish off.

 

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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!

Alpha's picture

Posts: 193

Date Joined: 13/02/17

+2 for the swift craft

Sat, 2017-02-25 18:23

 +2 for the swift craft. There a good boat, they track great, plenty of deck space and for under 20k that would be a good buy. For a fibre glass there not heavy make Rotto easy. 

Posts: 101

Date Joined: 27/05/12

Interesting

Sat, 2017-02-25 18:23

 Thanks for the feedback guys at this stage 4 zip to the fibreglass boats. I am sure the Baron is a great boat made by the same maker as Leeder always been a fan. Im also a big fan of the the Southwind five and six meter models but are like rocking horse shit to find. My cousin had a a Swifty many years ago and was a great boat. As for the voyager the i think think for there size the Voyager LTD is a clasic and i am looking at one next week that is mint condition. Mate of mine has a 19 foot Koolyn Craft ali nice boat realy well set up for fishing but lakes a bit of beam so a bit unstable at rest. Keep em coming guys really appreciate your feedback. At this stage iam leanig towards the Voyager LTD.  

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Jewskip

Ashen's picture

Posts: 1042

Date Joined: 22/03/13

Good choice

Sat, 2017-02-25 20:42

 You can't really go wrong with a Voyager (all models!).  I would love to have a Voyager Marquis!!

I had a Voyager LTD a few years ago. Loved it and spent many many hours bashing around Direction bank annoying Sambos. Lol

I spent alot of time and money doing her up from pretty much a blank canvas, so I can confidently say I know them inside and out. 

What you should know about them:

They are quite a stern heavy boat, even though the factory 70-80L fuel tank is midship, under the floor.  How I overcame the stern heavy issue was put a 200 AH battery and subwoofer in the cabin.  Handled much better after that.  Haha!

The fibreglassing topside of the gunwhale (where rodholders are usually installed) is quite thin...  

Most important!!  Structural weakness is in the chines under the cabin bunks.  There'll be two inspection plates/boards when you lift up the bunk cushions.  Have a look at the inner chines.  If they show signs of cracking, be aware because it could mean theres cracks in places which you wouldn't know unless you rip up the whole floor.  However, if there are no cracks or signs of stress, then internal structure "should" be in good nick.  

I'm not a boat expert but willing to share my experiences when I had  and renovated the LTD.  Luckily, mine was in very good condition when I bought it, but theres a few LTDs going around with the above issue...

The only reason I sold it was because we rarely used the cabin and it took up valuable fishing space.  I now have a Penguin Huntress runabout.  Same size (18.6ft) with no cabin and I reckon the deck space on the Huntress would be the same as a 21ft cabin boat! 

Hope that helps a little and let me know if you require any assistance.  Would be more than happy to give second opinion of any LTD you have your eyes on.  

Happy boat hunting and sorry for the long post! 

 

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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!

Posts: 308

Date Joined: 28/05/15

 There's a reason the

Sun, 2017-02-26 07:34

 There's a reason the southwinds are hard to find, they rarely come on the market, I got mine from Sydney.

Darren253's picture

Posts: 570

Date Joined: 23/07/16

This looks solid...

Sat, 2017-02-25 22:39

Posts: 4561

Date Joined: 01/02/10

 Boats unlimited have just

Sun, 2017-02-26 08:04

 Boats unlimited have just taken a 570 cruisecraft as a trade. That's a good rig.

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Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

Posts: 187

Date Joined: 19/08/13

seafarer a bargain

Sun, 2017-02-26 08:35

 now that seafarer Vagabond 6.2 is a bargain for someone who is prepared to give it a tidy up

Darren253's picture

Posts: 570

Date Joined: 23/07/16

Gone

Sun, 2017-02-26 22:33

 It went in less than 12hrs

teamjelly's picture

Posts: 47

Date Joined: 27/07/16

Trailcraft

Sun, 2017-02-26 09:36

I av a 485Trailcraft, nice high sides, easy 1 person launch, has a back transom door, early models before 2011 were West aus built (now china built). Plate ali bottom with pressed sides.
Cuts through the chop no dramas, only flaw I can pic is that it rock n rolly when sitting still, so I make sure the 120litre built in fuel tank is always full.
Picked mine up for $18500, though I've added a brand new Suzuki 90.

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Give a man to fish and he'll eat for a day, Teach a man to fish and he'll sit in his boat and drink all day...

Posts: 101

Date Joined: 27/05/12

Hi Ashen I sent you a

Sun, 2017-02-26 13:38

Hi Ashen
 
I sent you a PM
 
Regards Greg

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Jewskip

Posts: 5738

Date Joined: 18/01/12

Gumtree

Sun, 2017-02-26 13:42

This popped up on Gumtree, while I wouldnt describe myself as any sort of a petrol inboard fan, it looks pretty tidy.
Id make sure it has a bilge blower that works and you know how to use it.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ellenbrook/motorboats-powerboats/20ft-regent-cabin-cruiser/1140340679?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

Ashen's picture

Posts: 1042

Date Joined: 22/03/13

LTD

Sun, 2017-02-26 20:11

 If you end up buying a Voyager, I will happily be a deckie on her! 

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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!

ranmar850's picture

Posts: 2702

Date Joined: 12/08/12

Standard disclaimer on all used F/G boats

Mon, 2017-02-27 08:50

 Be very wary with regards to hull condition. Even something as relatively young as that Vagabond can cost you a lot of money in repairs if you buy one with rotten transom/floor stringers. Floor is usually obvious( spongy underfoot in places) , other areas will be less obvious. but  If you have really done your research on this subject, fine. That Vagabond looked like a good buy, well regarded hull--tatty upholstery, generally a bit neglected-looking for it's age. Cosmetics like that can be rectified for relatively little, but hidden problems such as I have mentioned can easily cost you $10K, unless you are handy enough to do it yourself. Motor would be very thirsty, but replacement with something modern is expensive.  Looking at the staining on that outboard leg, it has sent time sitting on a mooring or in a pen. Which means its been in the weather. Outdoor living kills glass boats faster, exposure to consistent heavy rain and high humidity is actually apparently the biggest problem for rot, with construction standards being equal. Think FNQ. Not so bad in WA. 

 I bought an 82 model Swiftcraft, with not a little trepidation. But I knew its history, one owner, always stored in a closed shed. Bit of UV fading from sitting outside up here during xmas holidays when they always visited, when it NEVER rains. Everything checked out, so I bit the bullet. Subsequent drilling of the transom to fit a s/hand f115 , to replace the twin Merc 60 2 strokes, showed clean, dry timber. Phew . A few threads on here in the Boating section.  fishwrecked.com/forum/southwind-sf655-flooring  and here  fishwrecked.com/forum/new-rig-southwind-sf640-200-yam     The second boat looked really nice, but he quickly discovered things were pretty bad underneath, fishwrecked.com/forum/transomfloor-replacement-recommendations   If you haven't already, research the subject. Boating thread here is good, and there is a very good one on the Ausfish forum.   www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/forumdisplay.php/61-Boating-Chat  heavily Queensland based , but very active.

Problems with tinnies are a lot easier to spot  HTH

Posts: 158

Date Joined: 21/05/15

I am biased because I own

Mon, 2017-02-27 10:27

I am biased because I own one, however a Bontio 180/185 are very good all round boats.

gdupagne's picture

Posts: 66

Date Joined: 01/11/12

Westerberg for sale

Mon, 2017-02-27 13:37

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rockingham/motorboats-powerboats/westerberg-5-0m-plate-ali-boat/1140200432

Selling my Westerberg. this is good for all forms of fishing from crabbing in the estuary to fishing out wide. have done many trips out deep with this boat. handles very well. you wont find one in better condition

gdupagne's picture

Posts: 66

Date Joined: 01/11/12

price drop

Fri, 2017-03-03 13:36

price dropped to 17,000

Posts: 101

Date Joined: 27/05/12

Can certainly see lots of

Mon, 2017-02-27 16:16

Can certainly see lots of sides to this story. I must say thanks to the contributers for there advise and input. RANMAR 850 has me a little scared of buying the glass boats that may have rotten wood in places were you cant see and nearly impossible to detect without pulling up the floor. A few of the Voyager boats i have looked at have had the transom replaced. The one that i am looking at on the weekend has a new transom and other wood rot replaced in the cabin profesional job apparently. Just wondering if many of yuo have had a bad or good experience with the glass boats?  

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Jewskip

Paj man's picture

Posts: 359

Date Joined: 16/09/12

Don't be too scared

Fri, 2017-03-03 14:16

Just make sure you go through the right paths when choosing a second hand fiberglass. As ranmar said, these paths are more difficult to get down than plate boats but you can buy with confidence.

I picked up an old seeker and took it to Rod Pallister at the Joondalup boat shack who had a good look over the boat before purchase. When I upgraded my motor I also used Greg at GT fiberglass, any glass boat I buy in future I will have him look over - he certainly knows his stuff.

That being said I had a side stringer come undone which Greg had to repair and there was nothing which could've been done to detect this pre-purchase. That's just life unfortunately and I know a few guys with old plate boats with the welding cracked and constant hull leaks.

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aka Nick

Walfootrot's picture

Posts: 1386

Date Joined: 23/07/12

Cant go past the Swift craft,

Fri, 2017-03-03 15:35

Cant go past the Swift craft, I have 2, LittleJohn has 1, and his boys have 1 each, great boats

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More drum lines, kill the bloody sharks!

Ashen's picture

Posts: 1042

Date Joined: 22/03/13

Happy days

Sun, 2017-03-05 18:53

 Greg (Superfish) is one very happy gentleman.  There's an awesome 19fter sitting in his driveway right now! 

 

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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!

Posts: 101

Date Joined: 27/05/12

New Boat

Mon, 2017-03-06 09:23

 One very happy chappy after finding the boat of my dreams at the right price. Thanks to everyone the comments epecialy to ASHEN "fishwrecked" for his knowledge and patience directing me in the right dirrection. 19 Foot GHIA "Fraser " Excellent condition many happy days ahead with family and friends

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Jewskip

Ashen's picture

Posts: 1042

Date Joined: 22/03/13

Enjoy!

Mon, 2017-03-06 20:08

 That beast of a boat will surely bring you and the family alot of good memories!  Looking at your boat makes me miss my old LTD alot...

 

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A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!

Posts: 23

Date Joined: 01/01/70

photos??

Mon, 2017-03-20 20:52

 got any picks of the new rig??

Posts: 23

Date Joined: 01/01/70

photos??

Mon, 2017-03-20 20:52

 got any picks of the new rig??

mjohns's picture

Posts: 337

Date Joined: 11/01/07

 We are selling our

Mon, 2017-03-20 18:15

 We are selling our swiftcraft explorer, floor and everything was completely re done when we got it a few years ago, has a well maintained 4 cyl inboard

 

Not a speed boat but cant beat it for seaworthiness and safety 

 

I think dad is after around 11k for it if anyone is interested ?

 

Enjoy the new boat :)