buying a boat

sg · July 11, 2013, 10:56:33 CET

hi, I am considering buying a small boat (for 1-2 persons) mainly for fishing purposes...I do not have a garage where to store it. I have a few questions:

1. should I consider a dinghy or a "normal" boat?

2. should I go for an inboard or an outboard? inboards seem to be mainly on older boats...

3. what length: below 10 feet, or above?

thanks for any insight you may provide...

The_Gaffer · July 11, 2013, 11:11:29 CET

A boat is a presonal thing, so it should in pronciple satisfy your requirements.
SOme basic pointers though could come in handy.
1. If the boat you arre looking for is for 1 to 2 persons, go for something like 12-13 feet. Now this depends on how far offshore you intend to go out. If you're planning to fish for Lampuki, then 14- 16 feet is more like it.
2. Definitey 'normal boat' and not dingy, as you don't have a garage where to store it
3. Personally, I would go for an outboard.

skip · July 11, 2013, 12:21:39 CET

Based on your requirements I would tend to be looking at boats like the Petecraft 14 Open, Boats from Mecca like the Olympic, Marino, Quicksilver, Seabrave 14, Ratal Commander.

Personally I would go for an outboard too if you can afford to the fuel, otherwise you might have to choose a slightly different boat or perhaps a 16footer with an inboard from one of the local builders if they still offer this.

sg · July 11, 2013, 12:23:26 CET

ok - so an inboard consumes less?

lazyfisherman · July 11, 2013, 15:19:21 CET

I have another question for those experienced in boats since it is related to this topic and can help sg too.

Lets compare two 14 foot boats from the same manufacturer - a petecraft 14 foot open boat with an outboard and the petercraft 14 foot kajjik powered by a diesel inboard.

I know that the petecraft 14 foot modern open boat with an outboard will be much faster but consumes more fuel while the diesel powered kajjik is much slower but much more economic to run.

What I don't know is this - Which of the two would you expect to be the most seaworthy/comfortable at sea? (for trolling/bottom fishing)

PS - forget about a boat less than 10 feet long - i have a 10 foot boat - it is too crammed and too limited for fishing but I have to make do with it for now

malvizzu · July 11, 2013, 15:53:55 CET

Before I purchased my Petecraft 14 Open I had a 13 foot frejgatina powered by a 9.9HP Mariner 2-stroke. With my Evinrude 50HP ETEC i consume more or less the same amount as my old Mariner.

A big positive with the frejgatina was that it had more open space inside, but than it did not plain at all with an outboard and would swing from side to side with the least of swells, even when on mooring due to the fact that she had a round hull. With the Petecraft it's faster, modern and more robust.

kris · July 11, 2013, 18:06:06 CET

I own a marino atom 450 (15ft) powered by a tohatsu 30hp 4 stroke fuel injection. Before I used to own a 12ft frejgatina ta' pawlu ta rahal l-gdid. The main differences between the two boats is the hull design.

Basically a frejgatina, kajjik or luzzu have a bottom keel whilst most modern boats have a deep 'v' hull. The bottom keel of a frejgatina creates lots of drag, so when in windy conditions or when currents are strong the frejgatina is affected less than a modern boat. This comes in handy when bottom fishing or when hauling in bottom lines or drifting. The downside is that hull design does not permit planing and top speed is generally under 10 knots.

A modern boat with a planing hull is capable of reaching much larger speeds, but in windy conditions one might also be forced to resort to less speed as boat handling might become unstable. Since the hull is much flatter than a frejgatina, the boat rolls much less (the wider the hull the better). The downside is that since it has no keel, wind and currents will massively affect the boat...unless it is somewhat heavy. However when moving, the boat still handles extremely well in choppy conditions. On the other hand, in calm seas, there is nothing better than a light weight deep 'v' planing hull which is capable of reaching high speeds with a relatively small powered engine.

As others said..it ultimately boils down to personal choice, it depends on how much people will normally be onboard, uses of the boat...if just for fishing purposes of recreational, amount of distances that one intends to cover with the boat (if coastal fishing or offshore trolling), and of course budget.

Hope this helps

simonc · July 11, 2013, 22:16:48 CET

hi sg I also have a Petecraft 14 open with 40hp mariner 2 stroke. Although it's not as economical as Malvizzu's Etec it's not so bad. I found the boat great in rough weather and handles extremely well. I use it for fishing and we are always 2 people. The boat has a pedestal seat by standard in the middle behind the console and rear seats. This was annoying and restricted space drastically in the rear. However this was solved by introducing a bench from side to side instead of the pedestal seat. Also budget is a main issue when purchasing a boat. Some boats are more expensive, but as I see it in marine equipment you are always getting what you pay for. on have a look at the link, seems like a good price for the package. http://www.maltapark.com/item.aspx?ItemID=2579639

felic · July 13, 2013, 09:59:50 CET

What about a 30hp Mariner 4stroke engine? Is it believed to be an economical engine?

malvizzu · July 13, 2013, 10:35:58 CET

Today's 4stroke engines are economical and Mariner have always been one of the best outboards on the market.

sg · July 13, 2013, 15:41:31 CET

thanks to all for your helpful comments

skip · July 15, 2013, 15:25:39 CET

Mercury/Mariner are the same engine built by Brunswick and are simply painted different colours with different decals, locally different dealers.

I'm inclined to say that a DI engine is a better fit for a 14 foot boat in terms of performance given that it has a much better holeshot than a four stroke. But a 4 stroke 40/60hp is going to be lovely and smooth by it's very nature and potentially better suited to slow trolling.

shanook · July 17, 2013, 08:26:51 CET

My only advice is when buying a boat is to buy the highest horsepower the boat can take. If you cannot afford it, don't go for less power you will regret in after just one season. Better to wait a year and then buy it.

Moonwalker · July 17, 2013, 11:10:46 CET

Definitely agree with Shanook.
I have a twin 150HP and my friend with a similar boat has a twin 225HP outboards. While trolling I consume between 6-8lt/hr (1 motor) while my friend consumes only 4-5lt/hr (1 motor). The difference is that I am running 17P props while he is running 22P props so his motor runs on lower revs.