FastFisher 14 vs Buccaneer 130

kurtfalcon · January 09, 2010, 10:10:24 CET

Yes Darius Goodwin of RLR is very helpful. This summer I was performing a project for school about 2 stroke outboards and Mr.Goodwin spent more than two hours helping me and giving me information even though I was not a customer but a person just seeking information. Even the guys at mercury were very helpful. Only one dealer found all excuses not to help. But there was nothing surprising about it. This two stroke dealer just simply ignores his customers let alone a 17 year old looking for some info. I think all of you can sum up who this dealer was.

shanook · January 09, 2010, 17:33:53 CET

kurt any price for a first time guess..............the thing is that he has the best outboards in town for reliability and durability........oh well.

malvizzu · January 09, 2010, 17:49:12 CET

If you can be more specific Shanook it would help others with less knowledge than yours. You can email me if you do not want to make it public.

Destination Sea · January 10, 2010, 12:44:24 CET

Today manufacturers do their best to provide the best outboards. All have their good and bad points. No engine can be said to be better or worse. Usage, maintenace etc are all factors that effect the engine. All had their share of recalls, updates and modifications etc. like all other machines on earth... including Rolls royce , jets and space shuttles.

argonautilus60 · October 09, 2010, 11:22:51 CET

I was going through the forum on Sunday outings and fishing and was wondering whether I could add my tuppence worth of impressions! I recently bought the latest model Kaptan Twin (Sports) model with Mercury 30 HP 2 stroke engine. I use it for trolling and for pleasure cruising. With three people on board the boat planes immediately although planing with four people may be difficult unless the sea is dead calm. Notwithstanding, with four adults on board one makes good headway. I have found the boat to be very very stable and yet light enough to winch up onto a trailer without busting my guts. The Mercury 30 gives me good trolling speeds without any fouling of spark plugs at 100RPM. At 78kg it is light enough to afford me the possibility of adding a 6 HP 4 stroke auxiliary at some time in the future for peace of mind. I trust that my impressions may be of some benefit to the forum participants, even if perhaps late in the day. My last comment is that one needs to keep things in perspective, the Kaptan Twin is essentially just over 13 feet long so one has to mount the right size engine for it when one considers its displacement, carrying capacity and size overall. With the Mercury 30 HP 2Stroke engine I have found it easy to manoeuvre, very steady under my feet and takes the wash of the large cruisers in its stride because the front part of the hull is a fairly deep V and ploughs through the wash easily without wetting everyone on board.

lazyfisherman · October 10, 2010, 18:18:17 CET

These owner reviews are very interesting and helpful for those like me who would like to buy a small new boat sometime in the in the future.

I personally like the kaptan twin very much although I don't really know whether it is the type of boat for me (I tend to be more inclined towards the slow, smoother movement of the traditional frejgatina type of boat rather than the more agressive, more noisy motion of a modern planing boat although the slow speed of the former does limit one's range). It is good to know that you have found the kaptan seaworthy. How does it behave when stationary in a chop (e.g when bottom fishing) i.e, can you move around the boat comfortably without it tilting too much?

Destination Sea · October 11, 2010, 20:00:01 CET

I had a kaptan twin .liked the boat very much good all rounder. The only thing is that it is a bit low. However i am thinking of buying a small boat for the winter and it would be first on the list.

argonautilus60 · October 11, 2010, 22:06:22 CET

AM REPLYING TO DESTINATION SEA AND LAZY FISHERMAN ...THANKS FOR THE COMMENT BOYS, HERE'S MY TAKE ON THE SUBJECT

I have never done any bottom fishing on it in choppy waters but it feels steady under one's feet although one needs to try it to see for oneself. What I know is that my nephew, 6 foot 3 inch 17-year old and myself weighing 87 kg sat on one side of the boat with my nephew's father (about my weight) on the other side and when at a standstill the boat barely tilted two inches. I suspect that it is the flat bottom towards the stern of the boat and the chines that keep it virtually horizontal.

As for it being low, the hull has not changed at all but the new Kaptan model (October 2009 onwards) has somewhat raised gunwales so it's higher than the older versions, including the one before this current version.

I too was very much inclined to buy one with tiller steering (20 HP) but everyone advised me to go for remote steering and I don't think it regret it. The issue is that one has all the necessary power at hand without driving the engine flat out. In fact I only use half throttle most of the time and if one needs to go to Gozo from St Paul's Bay, for example, one can do it in 30 minutes at a leisurely pace. On a calm day one can plane all the way on three fourths throttle or less even (under dead calm conditions).

I use my boat for leisure and for a spot fishing, so it is not really set up for fishing proper ... if you wish to use it only for fishing, then you could opt not to have a console, use a tiller controlled outboard (say a 25HP) and you would then have loads of space. Given that 4 stokes give you less overall power than 2 stokes, I really wouldn't go for anything less than 25 HP. I saw quite a few 20 Hp and they are usually only slightly bigger (physically) and heavier than 9.9 HP engines. With a 25 HP rating, the engine build is generally one step up from 20HP and is closer to the 30HP. In the case of Honda for example, the 25HP and the 30HP are the same weight, which means that they use the same chassis and probably similar if not identical engines. Other manufacturers like Yamaha, for example produce a 25HP and then the next one up is a 40 HP engine. On the other hand, there is some difference in weight between a Mercury 25 and Mercury 30, so different manufacturers have different models for sale. All I can tell you is that with 4 people on board and a 30 HP engine, the boat moves but not at any planing speed, so for two or three on a fishing trip 25 HP would be ideal if you want to go at a leisurely pace.

Initially I was afraid that I would find it difficult to winch up the Kaptan but at about 250Kg + 75 Kg outboard it is really easy to do. A bigger boat would accommodate more people, run a bigger engine but would not be easily handled in terms of winching out of the water. Everyone seems to say that 13/14 feet is the ideal boat size if one opts not to leave the boat at sea.

Please note that what I've said is my own personal view and I am no expert in anything marine but I looked around for over two years before making my choice.

Good luck!

Destination Sea · October 12, 2010, 08:40:27 CET

Fully agree with your comments spot on argonautilus60. The kaptan twin i had was the first model but now they have increased its sides. with regards to engine you are very correct. Mine was equipped with 25Hp johson than changed to 30Hp electric start and 9.9 aux 2s with three persons its ok planes etc but as soon as another person is onboard it gets "stuck" so a bigger engine is needed. Max it takes 40hp if things did not change.anyway it was a great boat. with regards to launching and retrieving upto 17ft its ok (generally two are needed but as you get bigger you will need extra help .