Boat type to application

[Shane]

Hiya...

Some time in the near future I would like to get a boat, around the 4m mark, that would bang up for some river fishing but also capable for inshore work. I know the deep v hull boats are meant to handle the rough chop a bit better than the v nose punts. But how would all the boats that everyone seems to the be buying now, ie the edge trackers and such, handle inshore work? Something around the 2-5km out to sea.

...Cheers

Shane

To be honest I’m not a big fan of the “dual use� boat. After all the boat tests Bear and I have tested in the last year my advice would be to get one that’s good at what you want to use it for the most.

There is no boat even under 4.5m that will be great at both and anything under 4.5m is never going to be a great offshore boat regardless. Sure you’ll get it out a bit offshore up north but other than shelters waters like The Sound down south you are pretty limited to what you can do in the 4m range.

The best way to work it out in my opinion is do this, write down on a piece of paper how often you think you will fish in rivers and estuaries and how often you would take it offshore. Say it comes out like 90% of one and 10% of the other. I’d buy a boat based on the 90%, doing anything else will totally compromise the use you brought for. Buy a boat based on what you will do the most.

[jimi]

Hi Shane 12 months ago, I would have said that a v-hull was the only option if you want a boat to handle some chop in that size range. However, the new v-punt designs coming out these days would probably have a comparable ride, particularly if you are on the tiller (being down the back means you sit close to the pivot point of the boat - giving a softer ride). I'd be keen to see what Ira says about his new edge tracker in particular.

At the end of the day though, the kind of boat you want is going to be a compromise. Boats that can handle ocean conditions well have high sides, are heavy and have a deep V. Almost all of these are the opposite of what you want for a river boat (heavy is probably still ok - gives you a slower drift rate in the wind).

It's a pity in a way that american flats boats (eg. Hewes Redfishers) aren't available here. They are the closest thing I've seen to a boat that would do rivers and inshore with ease. The closest aussie boat to them would probably be a Full Boar, but I doubt they would have the rough water handling ability of a Hewes.

One option would be to look at a widebody v-hull style boat. These are stable enough for breaming, but have highish sides and a deeper v for the ocean. Examples would include a Quintrex Topender, Trailcraft Profish, or a Stessco RV. Most boat companies have something like this.

If you have the cash, a Stessl Bass Boss reportedly does what you want and more, but they start at $25,000 for the 4.6m (my dream boat - if I can't have a Hewes). Full Boars are about the same (maybe a bit more?) too, for the 5.1m.

Whatever you choose, a boat that is still small enough for breaming is going to mean that you will have to pick your offshore days and keep a close eye on the seabreeze - they come in damn quick.

Still, fishing places like Cockburn sound is very feasible in a 4m boat, as is trolling for spaniards off the north metro coast (get your CD18's out now, they are starting to appear).

Hope that helps

James.

[Brody]

we have a 4.35 topender and it is absolutely perfect for going offshore(we fish for dhuies sometimes 8 km's out in it in a howling sea breeze off ledge point), inshore for whiting and herring sort of thing, going crabbing, pulling cray pots, and for breaming all u would need to do is put a lecky, livewells and maybe play around with the decks abit.

i think it is the perfect boat and it suits our needs beautifully. we do about 60% ocean work and bout 40% river work.
cheers, Brody