Hands down Swift Crafts good hull, will never sell my 2

Is one of yours a Dominator?

Just read your profile...18ft, either Dominator, Viking or Explorer.

 I have owned a swiftcraft and spent a lot of time in a pacey of that size and owned a smaller pacey and  I would not buy either but would get a baron sportsman.

If you get a swifty trimtabs are worth getting.

Hope it goes well for you which ever way you go.

 Like the boat, probably not as soft riding directly into a sharp head sea as the deeper-vee'd old stuff, but very stable laterally and general good all-round sea boat. They like to be trimmed well in into a sharp sea to keep the bow in the water, trim tabs, as mentioned , could be useful?  Good deck space for the side of boat, cuddy is big enough to be useful and accessible for storage, not big enough to sleep in. Top coamings will take a narrow rod holder ( BCF sell a good one ) . Do well on 115Hp,less power needed than the deep vee's. 

I can head straight into a southerly slop out of the river at Kalbarri down to pull the pots on a typical December morning, and do it sitting down and on the plane.. So it fullfills my criteria.

 I used to own a Pacemaker Calais and it was a beautiful dry boat with a deep vee. Very soft ride also. But I love the Dominator hulls like Ranmars I reckon both are timeless hull designs.

 Is yours an origonal or one of the newer ones ? I had a 2000 model viking and one of my mates has got one of the older dominators with the motor on a bracket and its ride was heaps better than mine.Agree with you about stability and deck space.

 Lots of great info, but I'm no closer to a decision because they both appear to be good for different reasons.

Cheers for taking the time to respond.

Although I am bias because I own one, but a Bonito would be worth considering also. I have owned a Baron Sportsman and Fraser 525 and prefer the Bonito.

 Bought from Attwood Marine new, I bought from the original owner, and have the original receipt---from memory it was $14, 000.  So zero depreciation in 32 years.  Motor and trailer, of course, not original. The NFB steeering arrived yesterday and was promptly fitted--been out this morning to pull pots, bloody brilliant. Just point it where you want to go and let go of the wheel. Mate out with me, who has Hydrive hydraulic steering on his plate ali, said it feels very much the same, except you can't let go of the wheel to the same extent.

 Viking, mariner. And sea ranger. Thing I like most is the room and beam on them. Been out on a fair few dominators great boat not the softest ride .( none are) mine is 1 down from dominator.17.6. . Has more fish room than most 20 feet boats great cuddy cabs. Best thing take both out for a ride in  25 knot s/wester. Swiftys love following seas. But hate front quarter panel. Very dry boat . Good luck.:):) both good boats your choise

 I completely aggree with the plus sides to the Dominator. I have owned the Charger560 and spent a lot of time in a Dominator and the pacey is hands down a better ride in rough seas, BUT at rest the Dominator wins. If, like you say are going out by yourself and are worried about weather turining on you I would be looking at the Dominator with the cuddy cab being the bonus, and will be more stable for pulling the pots with a better beam. Saying all this Ive got a Baron Sportsman project happening and this is my classic WA boat of choice!!

Cheers CC 

 I have a swifty explorer... love the old girl. All i can say is about the swifty cause i have never owned a pacemaker or been in one and so far everything mentioned about the swifty by the previous posts is spot on. Loves a following sea and stable at rest. Heading into the swell i nose it down a little. Be good to see what you come out with

 I've found a Swift Dominator...but in the old "non-clinker" style which makes it quite old. Cool boat though. It's got a blue/grey gel coat which may not appeal to everyone, but damn I love it.

Also looking at a Pacey 560 Charger tomorrow.

What's the max 4 stroke power you would put on the 560 without overloading it. I ran into a guy a few weeks ago with a 175HP 2 stroke on his and he said he pushes 45 knots with more to go. That's insane.

I'm guessing weight might be a deciding factor.

 From what I have seen. Also slightly (4 inches?) shorter. As with any glass boat, the devil is in what had been done and when. I have seen boats from supposedly reputable australian manufacturers get soft patches in the floor at five years old   Really well-sealed older boats can go forever without timber replacement and reglassing, but they would be in the minority. Beware a fresh coat of two pak, it might look fabulous, but, if the work hasn't been done, it could be hiding real problems. If they have actual pics of a rebuild or can refer you to the shop that did it, well and good.

As for hp, the Dominator is rated to 200HP, believe it or not that would be terrifying. F115 pushes mine to 33 .point something  kts @6000rpm and 20 kts cruising at 4000rpm with 2.1 to 2.4 km/l depending on load and engine conditions.  a really heavy motor on the trnsom would do them no favours. I reckon a 140 Suzuki would be excellent as regards weight vs HP.

 Whats a "non-clinker"? 

 They are on about . Ribs going length wise . Down hull instead of smooth sides:):) just a guess:)

The hull has not been painted, it is original blue/grey gelcoat.

I checked out a Pacemaker this morning and while the layout is good (apart from the rear quarter seats which would have to come out) and pleny of deckspace I felt really exposed with the low cabin and windscreen. Ive been used to higher screened boats with cabins and its amazing how much smaller a boat feels when you dont have the additional height afforded by the higher dash and and gunnels near the helm position.

 If i have the right Pacemaker in mind, the layout is more runabout than cuddy, which is the Dominator style. The  equivilant Swiftcraft would be the Viking--slightly longer section of open deck, less undercover storage upfront on a lower headroom, less weather protection. Going the other way, Swiftcraft made the Explorer ( Explorer/Dominator/Viking all the same hull) which is almost a half cab, bunks long enough to overnight in. Popular in Victoria, so you get more shelter from their miserable weather while on the pick in PPB trying to catch snapper instead of a cold.

 If i have the right Pacemaker in mind, the layout is more runabout than cuddy, which is the Dominator style. The  equivilant Swiftcraft would be the Viking--slightly longer section of open deck, less undercover storage upfront on a lower headroom, less weather protection. Going the other way, Swiftcraft made the Explorer ( Explorer/Dominator/Viking all the same hull) which is almost a half cab, bunks long enough to overnight in. Popular in Victoria, so you get more shelter from their miserable weather while on the pick in PPB trying to catch snapper instead of a cold.  Dominator with just a windscreen and a folding canopy , and no side clears is a very dry boat, in my experience. I actually wouldn't mind having a modest hardtop on it, but i'm not ditching $500 worth of nice new folding canopy top get it.

 Yep. That's the way I see it too.

If I can keep the weight down I'll try to make a hardtop for what ever boat I get. 

 Hey Bradz

I have the pacemaker 560 with a 140hp suzuki on the back, love the boat. I have it a multi roller trailer and it so easy to put on by myself. As for a good sea going boat for its size it's really good, plenty of deck space and a really dry boat.

Do you think a 4 stroke 150hp would be too heavy for the 560 Pacemaker?

I can get a 115hp 4 stroke pretty cheaply but feel it would be underpowered. As such have been looking for a 140hp Suzuki to give a bit more oomph. The 150hp Suzuki is another 45kg. Is that too much to be hanging off the transom?

I want to make sure the boat isnt left wanting when I have 3 people on board.

Cheers 

 But a deeper vee than the Dominator, hence would need a bit more HP? 3 POB , full fuel , all gear and a full 100 litre icebox and my Dommie still goes really well on the F115. Anything over 140hp would be overkill, unless you have massive miles to do on calm enclosed waters and want to sit on 30 kts plus. Was the 45 kg the difference between 140 and 150 hp,or was that a typo and was the 45 kg between the 140 and the 115?

 The weight difference was between a Suzuki 140 and 150. Big jump from about 180kg to 225kg.

It's not too speed I'm concerned about as you can't often do more than 25knots. It's more about having the oomph to stay on the plane with a good load and not be constantly wrestling with the throttle.

 The pacey my son is selling had a 115 2 stroke on it Bradz.  Damn thing went like a scalded cat 35+knots but ran like a lumpy cammed V8 at slower speeds. Has a Honda 90 now not as quick but great on fuel 

 On ANY boat, that's a lot of weight on the transom.  I think you have your answer in the last post above. At least on my boat the difference between an earlier 90-100 hp four stroke and my F115 is very significant. I know of one Dommie with a carbed  Honda 90, and another with an older carbed yam 100, and mine just murders them for go, and is still very economical. Weighs less too, which is a double whammy, particularly on the Honda.  Or if you want to spend the money, the 140 Suzuki.

Hey Bradz, I had the Charger 560 with a Yamy 115 and 2x 90ltr tanks up the middle of the floor. The weight of the 115 made the boat sit in the ass a little but did not affect the ride. I would not be recomending any more than 140 as I felt the 115 was easily enought hp for that boat. If you want to feel good about the number on the motor I would go no more than 140 4 stroke, its over kill to go more hp and waste of money. I never once thought of going up in size from the 115. Great boat, great ride and moved along at full noise! I only sat on 3.5 -4k rpm in southern ocean conditions. Never once needed to put the throttle down. As with the Dominator I would go 140hp min

 Hi CC.

Was your 115 a 2 or 4 stroke?

 4 stroke Yammy

 I have a F115 on my Dominator, i reckon the 140 would be the max I would go, as I said in an earlier post.And I am basing this on the 140 suzuki being similar weight to an F115 (178kg or so) The F115 does exactly to the Dommie as you said it did to your 560. Can't really use any more performance unless it is on calm, enclosed waters, and we really don't have any long stretches of that in WA, unless you want to count the bigger Kimberley rivers and Lake Argyle in. Dominator is transom rated to 200hp, but that really is overkill. 90/100hp four stroke is a bit underpowered, those extra 15-25 hp make a massive difference.