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Gilera

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Posts posted by Gilera

  1. I'm looking at 70's-90's but have decided I want to make sure I get something that has already had the hard work done. Problem is that lots of people says that the boat has had floor/stringers/transom done professionally but then have no photo evidence or receipts etc. 

  2. Can anyone recommend a boat inspector for a pre-purchase inspection on an old fibreglass trailer boat in Brisbane/Gold Coast area?

    Who did you use and was it worthwhile? 

    Don't mind spending some cash to get some confidence that I'm not buying a stuffed boat but want to make sure they are trustworthy. 

    Don't know if it's true or not but I recently heard of a case where someone found a great deal on a boat and then felt that an inspector had shafted them by ringing one of his mates who then went and bought the boat prior to the inspection he'd booked.   

  3. I went and had another look. It is not too easy for me to get an expert to look at it as the owner is away currently. I could in a couple of weeks if it came down to it but these boats are at a price point where there is a limit of what the owner will be prepared to do for a sale. I realise it is always a gamble. 

     I noticed a few things I didn't notice last time (it was raining then and a bit hectic). There is some cracking in the surface of the gel coat in a few places. Kind of oval shaped around the two rear angled rollers on the trailer and also along the base of some of the chines - see photos below. I noticed that the boat is not sitting on the skid on one side and the roller may have been taking a lot of weight. I also have some photos of the new floor. I noticed when standing on the recessed part between the bunks that floor there was flexing and creaking but everywhere else felt solid to walk on.

    I took a cheap endoscope camera that plugs into my phone and stuck it up the bung hole. A small amount of dark stained water came out. Hard to get a focused image of the stringers but did get a couple of something wooden. I assume it wasn't the underside of the floor as that should be glassed over. For what it is worth I will post those too. I saw movement of some bugs crawling around in there.

    Any advice appreciated as I am not up for a project where floor has to be ripped out again or major structural repairs need to be made. I am in a position where I can leave the boat in the water for a few weeks at a time in summer and wouldn't want to have to worry about it taking on water.

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  4. 45 minutes ago, noelm said:

    Whitley tended to go for the "family" market style of boats, pretty flash and lots of cabin space, I can't remember a Whitley fishing boat as such.

    No reason why it wouldn't suit fishing though for 1-2 persons though right? As long as the are a capable hull for good days outside. Moderate V hull and helm fairly far back should make for a fairly dry boat I would have thought. 

  5. I am looking for a family boat for the river that is also capable of the occasional trip outside. Emphasis is on the family boat part as I have 3 young kids and have a ramp a few hundred metres away. The Whittley half cab boats from 80s and 90s in 5-6m range seem to tick a lot of boxes. I realise they have less deck space and more cabin space than some other boats of this size but also seemed to have more extras from a time when boats were pretty basic. Wondering about build quality and performance as there is not a lot of info available online compared to other manufacturers. Does anyone have any experience? I assume that they are equally subject to rotten transom/floor/stringers as other similar boats from that era.  

  6. I'm looking at keeping a runabout style fibreglass boat 16ft at my pontoon for periods of time when using it frequently during summer. I don't want seagulls crapping on the deck and unecessary sun damage to upholstery when not using it for a few days as it cops the western sun.

    What is the best option for a cover?

    Half-cabs often have storm covers that extend back from the cabin or folding canopy but I don't see that this would be as easy to fit on a runabout. The boat covers that are sold for storage/towing have straps that wrap around the bottom of the hull which wouldn't really work when it's in the water. 

  7. 3 hours ago, Rebel said:

    The Safari is the offshoot version of the Crestcutter.

    Same hull except the Crestcutter is a half cabin.

    I had a 1978 Crestcutter for years. Top boat, never had a problem.

    You can put a 115hp motor on them.

    Cheers.

    Thanks!!

     

  8. Thanks guys. Yes I think there are other good boats around that don't command the premium of having the Haines or Seafarer name. I have noticed several old Caribbeans for sale where there is specific mention of "solid transom and floor" in the ad. Not sure if there is anything to that in terms of build quality over other boats from the same era as rot is the biggest issue in boats this size - it isn't terribly cost effective to get them redone unless you're willing to do it yourself.  

    I saw a Safari with a 135hp on it. Perhaps not legal with that size motor.

  9. Anyone know anything about this model? Surprisingly little info available online for a large boat manufacturer. They are 16ft from and what i can see they were made in the 80s. I guess that era would mean that they don't have a Pride equivalent. From a first glance they sort of appear like more of a ski style runabout with back to back seating but seem to have a deep V. Also seem to be able to handle big motors. I am wondering whether it might be suitable for reef fishing on good days and also a family runabout in the rivers. Not expecting miracles from a 16 ft boat but for example whether it would perform similarly to a Haines V16 or Seafarer V sea etc. Anyone owned one or know detailed specs - max hp, seating cap etc ??

  10. As above - has anyone every heard of these hulls? I never have. I'm looking at a hull advertised which is called a "165" - 16 foot half cab. Wanted to find some info on build quality and performance but could find nothing. Guessing its from the 80s. 

     

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  11. 2 hours ago, motiondave said:

    My old pongrass surfmaster seems to really do well in semi rough conditions.

    I wouldn't have thought these little boats would be that seaworthy but I just watched a youtube video of them being used in the surf. They look surprisingly dry. Even when ploughing straight into 6ft surf the just went over the top. I'll keep an eye out for one of these. 

  12. 12 minutes ago, noelm said:

    Probably the best of the "old boats" would be the Seafarer VC, simple and a pretty good all round boat, don't be fooled by the hype surrounding these old boats, most will be rotted out, or already repaired, but they are reasonably light to tow, require modest HP, OK messing around in a lake, but more than capable offshore as well.

    Thanks Noelm. I have heard they are very capable boats for their size but at least around here they seem to command a real premium. Seems 10-12k is the going rate for one with an old 2 stroke and in fair condition overall. I'm yet to see one that has already had floor/transom done in that price range. 

  13. 16 hours ago, Mullatt said:

    I had a pride Playmate 4.45mtrs in the late 70's. At the time I thought it was reasonable, probably because I couldn't afford anything else at the time.....but I would suggest they are not fantastic boats. Quite shallow hulls and even though I took it outside regularly, wouldn't say it was great in a chop.😕

    Good to know thanks. This reinforces what I thought. I know they made some larger deep v hulls but the smaller ones all seem very much like very light ski boats. 

     

    • Like 1
  14. Thanks guys that is great info on the Steber. I just rang and spoke to them. They seem very friendly and helpful as stated. The fellow I spoke to was Alan and he knew the boats very well. He said that the 475 was a much dryer and more seaworthy boat than the 425 if looking at taking it in open water. He said there was timber in the liner and an inspection should involve making sure that there are nothing that has compromised the liner that would allow water through. Also timber in the transom. They sound like a great little boat but harder to find the 475 than the 425 it seems. 

  15. Hi,

        I am in the market for an affordable used fibreglass boat around 14-15ft. Something to knock around the rivers and estuaries with the family and not have to worry too much about it. I can leave it in the water in front of my house for periods of time which will of course lead to it degrading over time.

    What i would really like though is something that I can also occasionally go offshore with weather permitting. 

    Old Haines hulls are quite sort after even if they need a lot of work and not as easy to find as some of the other well known aussie boats such as Cruise craft, Savage and Steber. I was told that Steber have no timber in their hull which gives them a big advantage over the others. 

    Alot of these manufacturers had models that seemed to be marketed as "all-rounders" in the 70's and 80's. Runabout style front drives that had layout similar to ski boats but the pictures of them give the impression of quite deep V for a ski boat - boats such as CC Rogue 14 and Savage Envoy.

    Even some full on ski boats like Haines 1600SO look like they have a reasonably deep V compared to hulls like Pride that look like they would be struggling to handle even small shop. I know the much larger Haines 2100 was marketed as a ski boat with offshore capabilities.

    All of these boats mentioned are rated to carry fairly high hp ratings for their size which would indicate decent built quality and good for quick trips out to the reef. One obvious disadvantage is the limited deck space they have for their size due to a fairly long enclosed front and limited beam but are still big enough for 2 to fish from. 

    Steber seem to be a bit of an exception in this era as they had models in this size range marketed as proper fishing boats similar to Haines.

    My questions are:

    How well do these runabouts handle larger seas (safety if caught out) ?  

    Is it true that a Steber boat should never require transom and floor replacement due to age?

    If anyone can suggest a particular model that would suit my needs please do!

  16. I'm very confused. 

    I want to convert a 12ft tinnie to inboard with jet drive as I usually fish in an area with shallow dirty water and many sand banks.  For a several reasons including cost, convenience and availability I would like to use an older small jet ski powerplant. Likely a 567cc 2 stroke Rotax engine which had around 50hp when new. 

    I will need to get the boat registered and I live in NSW, however I suspect that what I am about to say relates to equally to other states. 

    In an attempt to ensure that I would not be doing anything illegal, I emailed Maritime NSW and asked if there would be an issue with registering a tinnie with an inboard, and whether there is any restriction on engine size. I pointed out that an inboard motor mated to a jet drive is significantly less efficient than an outboard when it comes to power delivery and therefore, I don't believe that any hp ratings related to outboards should apply. After 2 weeks and no response, I rang them and asked the same question. I was told to ring the people that issue boat codes and ask them as it wasn't a maritime issue. 

    I rang one such agent and asked the same question. He told me that to issue a HIN number, he must see evidence of ownership, and apart from that the particulars that are recorded against the HIN code only relate to boat dimensions. He said it is not his responsibility to determine whether any engine fitted to the vessel is appropriate or safe. 

    I rang Maritime again and told them what the boat code guy had said. They then changed their minds about this and told me that I need to contact the manufacturer of the boat and ask them. I told them that many older boats such as mine have no builders plate and the company that I believe manufactured the boat no longer exists. I also told them that I highly doubt that any manufacturer would accept the liability of providing such information in writing for no benefit to them. They then suggested that the manufacturer could possibly just give a ball park figure! So at this point I realised that I was wasting my time talking to Maritime about it. I asked one specific question - would any such modification interfere with the registration process. They admitted that this is not a consideration for registration. The person then told me that if I was pulled up by a maritime officer on the water, they have some shipwright training and are somewhat qualified to make an assessment of the safety of my vessel and potentially deem it unsafe! I find it hard to believe that this could be legal but I guess it is somewhat similar to a cop giving a defect notice for a car?? The difference being that there seems to be clear cut laws about what you can and can't do when modifying a car. Are there any such laws for boats? The take home message was that I don't believe that they knew whether what I was talking about was legal or not.

    I know that conversion to jet propulsion if not that uncommon. I have seen commercial guys use tinnies with a jet to run mullet nets off the ocean beaches up and down the East coast. I have also seen people on several forums who have homemade alloy hulls about 10-14ft long with large (up to 300hp) jet ski transplants and at least some of them seem to have registration. I looked up one such QLD registered vessel by the rego numbers on the QLD govt website and it just stated the length and "inboard jet propulsion" under the engine type with no details on hp.  Also there are hundreds of race/ski boats out there with huge V8 engines in very small hulls and I assume that any such boat using navigable waters must be registered.

     

    I have read many threads about the legality of fitting larger outboards than what is recommended by the builder and people often mention things about issues with insurance if something goes wrong. I'm not sure what insurance they are referring to exactly. I cannot see that determining whether a boat is overpowered would be very easy in cases of no builders plate. I would not be insuring my boat against theft or damage as it would not be worth much and I am not worried about damaging other vessels as I rarely encounter other boats where I go. If I do it is another tinnie. Personal liability insurance is not included in boat rego like it is with car rego and although it may be included when getting property insurance cover, I doubt many owners of small inexpensive runabouts have this type of insurance - right or wrong it would mean that it is a moot point in these cases. 

    So after all that, does anyone know whether it is a clear cut case of being illegal the law to convert an old boat with no builders plate (but with a HIN number) to an inboard motor/jet unit? If so please help me by providing some info on the specific legislation which I would be breaching. 

  17. 44 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

    i would cast and they would wind in-kept them (and me) very busy for a couple of hours whilst my wife either went for a run or had a sleep in. Caught plenty of trevors and tailor doing this and had plenty of fun-the main thing for safety was i did the casting-the constant winding in kept them interested.

    That's an awesome idea. 

  18. I really appreciate all the advice. I can see now that what I am trying to acheive is not very realistic. It is easy to scan through ads of boats and dream. A boat large enough for family getaways is going to be either out of my price range or too big a liability or both. The guy I know with a Sea Ray 29ft with twin v8 petrols said he hardly uses it because of the cost of fuel. Converting to outboards is an option but very expensive. 

    I think I will wait a couple of years until the children are a little older and are able to come fishing and get a reef boat and getaways might have to be on land or hire boat. Until then i'll stick with a tinnie for the calm waterways. 

  19. I have thought about some of the above boats for fishing only. A few people near where I live have Trophy's but have heard quite a few negative comments on their build quality.

    I have not tried to stay on a 30 foot boat with the family and will take the advice onboard. The idea of having a boat for going on a family break would be to take it places where a calm water boat cannot go e.g. North Stradbroke Island, Moreton etc. 

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