My first "fishing" boat here was a Stacer 455 with a 60HP Merc 2stroke.

Great boat for your activity... We explored the inshore waters without an issue with the family (4 to 5 people). With up to 3 people i took it off the west end of Rotto and fished the back side of the 5 on many occasions. If the wind was above 12kts it would be a wet ride. Only time it every really felt to small was in the wake/wash of some of the big flybridges in the river. We took it to shark bay and did the run to steep point and back with some awesome fishing using under 50ltrs of fuel.

It was a sitting down fishing boat as the freeboard is quite small.

They seem to go for around the $10-14k with a decent condition trailer and motor. 

i have a stacer searunner 539 with a 90hp merc 4 stroke whcich was my first boat and am about to sell to upgrade. have had it about 4 years, and only selling as now that we have some little ones the wife wants a bit more luxury.

have had very good experiences with it. 90% of fishing is solo launch and retrieve and is super easy. have towed up to exmouth a few times wioth the prado (2.5tonne towing capacity, and wouldnt know it was there) fishing out from tantabiddi, and also over to the muriens, launched one at yardie creek, taken down to dusborough, mandurah heaps, been over to rotto heaps and done a few overnighters.

for their price i have found it a great first boat, sure a bit bumpy when it gets super rough, but think any ally in that size would be the same. have never felt unsafe, and have bene caught in some pretty hairy conditions. surprisingly stable when bototm bouncing.

great for pulling pots, crabbing, wicked little fishing boats, so they may be well worth a look for what you are wanting.

think i will cry when mine goes... lol :)

 I had a 475 Quintrex Coastrunner with a 60hp Yamaha on the back. Most of my fishing was 3 mile reef snapper fishing, but on the right day I also took it out to the bank and Rottnest. I had no problems with solo launch and retrieve (but I also do this on occasion with my new boat). Easy boat to own - cheap to run and look after.

It fished 2 comfortably, 3 at a push (but you got in each others way a bit). 

Bit wet with any seas running, I generally had a spray jacket with me when going out.

 I may haved used it on here before but the best small ali boat is one made of glass ! haha.

 I still say unless you are someone who constantly pulls boats up on beachs , glass still makes a great boat.

 and with all the boats mentioned not being plate , ( pressed usually thinner) lots of rubbing on sand will do them no good anyway.

 and theres plenty of posts even on here on keel cracking , transom cracks etc etc.

 pulling a 5m glass boat is very easy for most vehicles but the ride can be so much better,  but keep in mind mines a haines so they are built tough and thick.

 Now that I have learnt to drive a deep vee abit better i can sit on 18 - 20 knots coming home on mid strength sea breezes in realative comfort.

 We did shark bay last year , plus pots , squiding , trolling  off the 5 fath etc etc

 Just a thought anyway, and yes solo launching a 5m glass or ali is pretty similar.

I have had 2.....first bought a 4.2m with 40hp 2 stroke and tiller steer. Awesome boat for its size. Plate alloy and really wide. Sold it to get a side console and 4 stroke, so now have a 4.4m with 60hp 4 stroke Yammy.

These are great boats and well worth a look.

I have a quintrex Coast Runner 480 with Honda 4 Stroke. It has been a great versatile boat so far. Easy solo launch, good ride for an Ally with the Millenium hull, comfortable enough for the family (wife and 2 kids) and quite a bit of deck space for the size. I also love the window hatch for easy access to the anchor well. I have fished back of the 5, two rocks and out to 40m near Rotto recently. 

I have a quintrex Legend cc 475 and handles a little slop and wind really well. easy to use on solo trips which is why I use it often over my 6.4m plate. almost never get wet in it aside from in a strong head/side wind and heaps of fishing room for 2 being cc.

 best ali boat is a plastic

look at polycraft 

heavier but so much more stable - less pounding etc.

High sides......coupled with a 15hp long shaft .....stable and great for beach launching.   Had one for years and caught some huge fish out of it including a billfish .....are they still made?  

Cheers Guys,

Ended up landing a nice 4.55m Stacer Sunmaster Sports with absolutely all of the fruit for what I think was a great deal!

I had definitely considered glass and poly but for ease of towing/beach launching and where I am going to primarily be using it, I settled on ali. I probably should have mentioned that I already have a half share in a bigger boat with the old boy which we use for most of our offshore fishing around here so this is primarily set to be a bit of a solo and holiday/weekend away boat.

Thanks for all of the feedback!!

Congrats mate good times ahead