Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a boat. I have only got $5,000 to $6,000 absolute max. I want to be able to get out of the bay on the flatter days, I want to be able to Dive and Fish out of it and take family out on it.

I Have been looking at 1980's model Half cabins 15-17ft of which there are a few around in the price range. I realise looking this old i'm going to be looking at old motors, i have to look out for weak transom's and spongy floors and also any cracks that may be in the fiberglass.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good boating forum, or give me any advice at all on what to look out for or maybe a better type of boat to look for.

Any info would be great.

Cheers.

There was a great spearing boat in the for sale section of this forum a month or so ago! Think it was a Brooker?

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I've got a magazine called "Secondhand Boat Workshop" by Jeff Webster which you can get off ebay for about $10.

It has a how to on rebuilding a floor and transom and a section that goes through all the old hulls. Might be some help and if you are coming to the club meeting next week i'll just lend you my copy.

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hahahah lol nice try rhyno it was worth a shot

Hey Lethal, That mag sounds good but wont be at any coming meetings. Will keep an eye out on e-bay for a copy.

Rhino not quite what i was looking for mate LOL !

get a ducky

get a centerconsole,

heaps of fishing room and room for dive gear.
i can handle 4 divers + gear in my 16ft c\c.

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Yeah i was considering something like this >

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-for-s ... ?R=7417645

Supposing the motor is in good condition would this be any good out of the bay on a "flat" day ... Just thinking there isn't a great deal of shelter if i was to take the young fella out fishing ...

Haines hunter. Most likely though anything in that price range with orig' motor you would be a bit wary of.
Personnaly I'd rip out the gay bucket seats, put in a bench seat across, nice big removable esky, with a cushion top so it makes a nice seat for passengers. Have a good check over the electrics & steering on any boat your looking at.
Center consoles are way overrated, spec' in sloppy weather i think your more exposed. Rubber ducky is great for spearing from, I wouldnt be taking the family out fishing in one though, in the end they cost quite a bit just for a rubber boat$$

Make an offer one something like this...http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=7471225

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Yeah that boat is what im after but in QLD, 2 very similar just sold in Vic before i got my money.

Fairly shattered as i was talking to one of the boats owners and it sounded pretty genuine... Will have to wait for a couple more to come onto the market...

definatly stay away from the tinnies mate,only takes a little chop and its a horrible ride home. He wants to much for that tinnie any way. And watch it buying off ebay,had a few mates f@#ked over buying boats.

Yeah i will be taking cash with me and hoping that they are willing to take me out in the boat for a test drive before handing it over... i would never buy anything of too much Value especially off of e-bay with out first seeing in in real life.

You're buying a boat and would like some recommendations?

I highly recommend you take your boatless and currently shore-based diving buddies out on spearfishing trips in the new boat as often as possible.......

But seriously though, I'd have to strongly agree with Tyson's tip on getting a half-cab rather than a centre-console; if you're planning on taking the missus and young fella out in it, having a comfy half-cab to stick them in out of the wind and the spray should the conditions get a bit ugly will make an absolutely mammoth difference to them.

They might be able to hack a cold breeze in a boat, but in a centre-console they'd be copping spray from the bow no matter where they were in it, and when that happens they'll get really cold, really quickly.

If they're getting cold, wet and miserable on every trip, pretty soon they won't want to come out at all, and who knows, if the budget gets a bit tight, you may just find yourself under a bit of pressure to sell the boat.

So if you can find a safe, reliable and seaworthy boat that'll keep em warm & comfy in all conditions, um, probably the other thing that might throw a major spanner in the works is whether they get seasick or not....... guess you'll just have to keep your fingers crossed on that one (and maybe stock up on some "Sealegs"!).

Yeah i'd say that the boat will be in the water fairly often when i first get it. Getting a Half Cab for sure !

The best advice I can probably give is; Be Patient. There are heaps of crap boats on the market that stay there for months or years. Don't be in too much of a hurry and fork out for a lemon. Check the trading post online every couple of days for new boats that come up. Every now and again, you will find a very well priced boat that needs to be sold in a hurry. Have a few makes/models in mind and when one comes up for a good price, check it out and pay (or at least put down a deposit) ASAP. Call up and arrange an inspection the next day, during the week if you have to, these boats usually last a couple of days tops.

I don't know much about older glass hulls, I do know, however, that the Haines 17C is very good and probably pretty close to what you are looking for.

If you see a tinny for the right price, don't turn your nose up at it. There is a noticable difference between the way glass and ally rides in chop, but it isn't huge. Put a couple of people and some gear in the boat and you probably wont even notice it. The only problem with older ally hulls is that they are more prone to problems such as stress fractures, electrolysis and so forth.

Also check things like fuel tank size and so forth, you will find some will be geared as 'coastal boats' with fairly large tanks, others may have been set up as large 'estuary boats' with quite small tanks, this would of course cause problems if you wanted to do a fair bit of offshore work.

Also remember, in boats under 4.8m in length you MUST AT ALL TIMES be wearing a lifejacket. Unfortunately a wetsuit does not qualify as a class 1 pfd.

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