What do you look for in a boat
Submitted by Faulkner Family on Fri, 2010-12-03 00:07
just thought i would ask all on here . What do you look for in a boat when buying 2nd hand. where do you look for faults , electrolysis in ally's and other stuff to look for when looking around.
Im not in the market for one but there seem to be a few on here looking around atm and this could give some useful info
____________________________________________________________________________
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
danno
Posts: 1676
Date Joined: 12/07/09
im no expert but the first
im no expert but the first and most imprortant thing to look at is the condition of the hull. then have a look at the inside of it electronics, intera. then trailer and motor.
allrounder
Posts: 1853
Date Joined: 10/11/08
it needs to float
that is a prerequisite of any boat i have owned
So tell me have you got your info from years on the water or hours on the internet?
fisho-ron
Posts: 2539
Date Joined: 26/09/09
russ for us it had to have a
russ
for us it had to have a sleeping area up front and enough room to fish 3, other than that we were open to anything.
but i do want a patriot?
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
As a decky - an anchor winch
As a decky - an anchor winch ;)
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
bloody spot on there!
bloody spot on there!
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
it needs to have fishing
it needs to have fishing room, ability to fight fish over the transom,
a good 4 stroke motor
a good tried and tested hull with heaps of storage
check the transom for probs
personally , a runabout is perfect. some shelter when it blows up and tons of fishing room.
i got a cuddy cab . slept in it once.
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.
brenz
Posts: 2182
Date Joined: 15/06/06
a yammy
a yammy
plucky
Posts: 11
Date Joined: 11/07/07
The first thing you need to
The first thing you need to decide is what are you going to use it for. That will point you to the style you are looking for. I bought a cuddy cab because I have 3 kids and everybody told me the kids need somewhere to have a lie down or go to when bored of fishing. That was the first mistake, the kids never go in there, they want to be out in the open air and never get bored of fishing and it is actually me that would like to go in there for a lie down, all the people with young kids know what I mean. Deck space and all round access is what I now wish I had. My next boat will be a Centre Cab.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Purpose
What do you intend to do with it, up creeks, crabbing, trolling, offshore bottom bouncing, over nighters , skiing etc. You have to ask yourself all pf these things and then work out what you will do most of. Its like the 90%/10% rule, you cannot build something that will cover the 10% of what you do with it adequately when you use it for the other purpose 90% 0f the time. Some boats cannot cover all bases.
Inspect the hull inside and out, climb down under the trailer and follow the keel looking for chips/cracks or repair marks.
Take it for a test drive and not on the river if you want a boat for offshore fishing and do it when the sea breeze is cranking.
Get a mechanical report on the motor. On an inboard remover the filler cap and poke your finger in and wipe it around to check for buildups signalling its done lots of hours and start it up with the breather hose off to see if it puffs smoke out the filler hole.
Want to see receipts for maintenance and ring who ever did the work on the leg, outboard etc.
Check the electrics to make sure the all work, even the Epirb expiry date
Any little thing you can think of check it out because its you thats buying it and you will be stuck with it if you get it wrong
snappermiles
Posts: 2100
Date Joined: 05/11/10
ive bought a few second hand boats
and the first thing i look at is the bloke selling it!! is he the type of bloke thats all talk or is he a real bloke who actually has maintained it! i think you can tell how the boat has been maintained by the bloke your buying it from!! so scope him out first!! then check the boat out thoroughly! go away think about it then go back for a second look! you dont want to rush into it then look back after you have bought it!
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
Juneka
Posts: 222
Date Joined: 14/12/09
What I look for
Doesn't matter if it is a new boat or an old boat or something in between... I'm ALWAYS looking for a big dhuie or snapper on the deck, with MY hook in its mouth!
Save the Whales! May as well - they won't fit in my catch bag!!!
AllBoatsChandlery
Posts: 118
Date Joined: 17/07/10
Buying 2nd hand
Well anyways if your looking at buying second hand seriously check us out as were the only dealership to give 6 months warranty. Have a look at http://www.allboatbusiness.com.au/how-to-test-a-boat-before-buying-2706/
Cheers
"There's no business like boat business"
sea-kem
Posts: 15041
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Being a boily if it's ali
Being a boily if it's ali the first thing I look at is the welding ( just second nature I guess)then General condition . It depends on the price, but if the motor is crap forget it. If it's glass then stress cracks in the bow.You really need to be on the ball buying second hand, but then again some people don't care and can't be bothered checking. I've seen it first hand. Some guys I know bought a beautiful looking trailcraft and never checked anything. It broke down every time they took it out. Even the spare tyre attached to the trailer was shredded and never fixed. No exagerations there are guys like that out there.
Love the West!