4.3 to 5.35

[blaxland]

Hello peeps Ive had my Stacer 4.3 seaway for two years done 400 hours thinking of going to Barcrusher 535 so I can get outside a little more, will mean a 40k debt any thoughts?

 

[kingfishbig]

A good 2nd hand fiberglass boat will do the same (or better) job for possibly a lot less money (especially if you factor in the interest payments). You may have to spend a bit more on maintenance but it still might make more financial sense than borrowing to buy something that depreciates. 

[mii11x]

I had a look at barcrushers at the recent rosehill boatshow.  After checking them out, i reckon there are better boats out there.   

I currently have a 4.5m brooker side console with 50hp mercury 2 stroke.  Have done 500 plus hours since i bought it new in 2009.  Was looking at updating to an open side console with barcrusher.  Went and had a look and a chat with them.  I was actually dissapointed.  I did see and check out an anglapro sniper 484 and really liked that.  Geez, the price of aluminium has really gone up since i bought mine in 2009.  

When i bought mine(from the rosehill boat show) i planned on using it to get outside too.  I have done one trip outside botany heads, the epirb has just sat around since.

Do you already fish "outside"?  Lot of money to dump if your not going to use it "outside" as you say.  

 

[MerryFisher]

Barcrushers are very nice boats, but do come at a premium price. if it's a plate boat you are after I think surtees is also a good option

[blaxland]

19 hours ago, mii11x said:

I had a look at barcrushers at the recent rosehill boatshow.  After checking them out, i reckon there are better boats out there.   

I currently have a 4.5m brooker side console with 50hp mercury 2 stroke.  Have done 500 plus hours since i bought it new in 2009.  Was looking at updating to an open side console with barcrusher.  Went and had a look and a chat with them.  I was actually dissapointed.  I did see and check out an anglapro sniper 484 and really liked that.  Geez, the price of aluminium has really gone up since i bought mine in 2009.  

When i bought mine(from the rosehill boat show) i planned on using it to get outside too.  I have done one trip outside botany heads, the epirb has just sat around since.

Do you already fish "outside"?  Lot of money to dump if your not going to use it "outside" as you say.  

 

Yes be close offshore a few times but  have to pick my days would like to chase snapper through winter and have a go at the close offshore reefs

 

[blaxland]

1 hour ago, MerryFisher said:

Barcrushers are very nice boats, but do come at a premium price. if it's a plate boat you are after I think surtees is also a good option

Looked at the surtees but when I contacted the local dealer he said the 550 was no longer available. I want to go to a 5mtr boat but not so keen on 6 mtrs as I fish solo most of the time

[MerryFisher]

I fish solo most of the time and have just moved from a 5m aluminium boat to a 6m fiberglass. Think I've seen you at Roseville bridge boat ramp, I'm there quite a lot

[Fishop]

On 5/30/2018 at 7:30 PM, kingfishbig said:

A good 2nd hand fiberglass boat will do the same (or better) job for possibly a lot less money (especially if you factor in the interest payments). You may have to spend a bit more on maintenance but it still might make more financial sense than borrowing to buy something that depreciates. 

Im not going to say the same or better, but I picked up a 5.6m fibreglass half cabin last year for 10 grand and it handles rough weather quite well.  No issues in 18 months of ownership so far (touch wood).   There are good deals to be had if your patient.

[campr]

Like you I fish a lot by myself and although some glass boats ride better due to weight etc I wouldn't consider anything but alloy as it is easy to make errors when retrieving on trailer by yourself and alloy will shrug off a bump that could hole glass.

I went from 4.5m Quin Lazeabout to a 5.6m Quinnie Classic with Millenium hull and love it.  I used both to go to The Peak, 12 Mile and the Sydney Fads and planned to take this one to Browns Mountain but haven't done so yet.  I fish 50/50 inside and out and love the space and stability but concede the Barcrusher would handle a realy nasty sea better but does so by being a lot narrower with resulting loss of space inside.

Best advice I can give is try to find someone with the boat your considering and try to get a ride to help you decide.  Someone on fishraider may be able to help here.    

Good luck.    Ron

[kingfishbig]

Fiberglass is tougher than a lot of people think. It's pretty hard to put a hole in it, more likely you might damage the gel coat and possible gorge the glass, but this is quite easy to repair.  You don't have corrosion to worry about and metal and welds can fatigue when they get old. Actually I would trust an old fiberglass boat (provided it doesn't have any dry rot) than and old aluminium boat, especially given the latter often just have air chambers for floatation. I wouldn't make my decision on perceived toughness unless you were launching from a rough boat ramp (ie with no beach or jetty to pull up on).