Thread: boat advice opinions...

Originally Posted by 5teve

as far as the condition of the hull goes... few scratches on the keel area some big chunks out where the winch pulls it to the roller stop and a bit of a crunch on the bowsprit (i think its called, where the anchor rolls over) there are some big cracks under the bowsprit too as i assume it has taken a hefty impact cant see this being an issue tho! Cuddy is small but not bad and could possibly sleep me with some discomfort (6 foot 1) full cover also that are new with a raised roofline for taller riders. only has 5 seats tho.. but can carry 6... the drivers seat doesnt have a rear facing pod seat on the back of it.. and its fixed seats at the rear either side of the engine. like i say nice boat... but would probably want to repower it soon.. mainly for economy on this size boat..

Right then.

Glass or aluminium, it doesn't matter if you are going offshore. Think of how many yachts sail the world and how many of those are glass these days, nearly all of them, and very few are aluminium. If you are a fisherman, and I have been one, you want something you can bash about, that doesn't cost too much to repair and in fact can be repaired simply and effectively, if not attractively - one skipper I had used to pour concrete into the bilge to stop leaks very effective and added good ballast but the purists would freak.

However, your description of the damage is an area of concern, especially in the places you talk about. These are major structural features in a plastic boat and if they are weakened it will cause more serious issues to develop. Cracks in gel coat will let water in and, depending on the core structure, could cause rot, delamination, and all sorts of nasty things to develop. If the breakage is near the bow and under the fairlead (your bow sprit thingy) there are significant->extreme forces acting in this area. I would decline this vessel on that point alone! In a worst case this can and has led to the deck separating from the hull.

But you also say that there is damage around the area of the winch eye from the trailer. Again this is a point of massive force distribution and added to that, it must cope with being pulled onto the trailer too. For example on my boat that area is made up from about 3 cubic feet of epoxy and blocks of wood forming one huge lump under the bow. Through that is a two foot, 15mm diameter threaded stainless steel rod onto which the eye is attached. Your case suggests that there will be ongoing concerns from this area, as mentioned above, and possibly that the boat doesn't fit the trailer properly.

If the boat is not fitted to the correct trailer then it is possible it has had its shape deformed.

As for the rest, the creature comforts will be a choice you would make. But I would suggest going for the auminium one. At some time in the future you might find that you wanted something with a cabin, but for now I think you might be going on day trips more.

One important reason for having a cabin and the reason I agreed to having one on Beatrice is that you can get in out of the sun on really hot days, and if it is blowy its nice to have a place you can shelter. Overnighting happens less often than people plan for.

Originally Posted by CraigE

Being in Esperance and down here reg for the last 20 odd years. Glass hulls break and are a drama to repair. Ally is much more suited for ocean going and heavy weather and is also easily repaired. If you talk to most of the serious fishermen down here 99% will say gey ally.
I have no real bias but being an off shore rig you are looking for I would go ally.
The Stacers are a beautiful boat and really well designed. A great compromise for family vs fishing.
I will be buying a Stacer or Razorline (Albany built boats) when I can afford one.

Thanks Craig.. i know you can have issues with GRP boats especially with cracks.. and its something i was looking hard for on the hull.. other than the obvious stuff it was hard to tell the hull from a 2003 reef runner i had seen.. so im happy it had been looked after. the stacers seem to struggle for published information but as i have said the reviews that are there are very complimentary. Im not sure that the older stacers are quite up to the standard of the new ones finish and looks wise but its still a nice boat with huge deck space!

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

is the carribean trailer a drive on?
could/should/might be--?
this might explain the marks around the winch area.

If you look at the fibreglass boat market, the old haines V17 etc are STILL dragging in good prices,, why? because they were built like tanks, weigh as much as a tank,
but like a tank-- will absorb punishment way beyond the next era of glass boats, which went "lightweight" due to customer requests. enter the dreaded soggy bottom syndrome

it is a drive on trailer Pedro yes... however he never 'drove' it on there due to all the crap being dragged into the engine when you do this. im fairly happy this boat is also built alonk the tank lines... and im sure the damage is pretty superficial.

Originally Posted by disco2hse

Right then.

Glass or aluminium, it doesn't matter if you are going offshore. Think of how many yachts sail the world and how many of those are glass these days, nearly all of them, and very few are aluminium. If you are a fisherman, and I have been one, you want something you can bash about, that doesn't cost too much to repair and in fact can be repaired simply and effectively, if not attractively - one skipper I had used to pour concrete into the bilge to stop leaks very effective and added good ballast but the purists would freak.

However, your description of the damage is an area of concern, especially in the places you talk about. These are major structural features in a plastic boat and if they are weakened it will cause more serious issues to develop. Cracks in gel coat will let water in and, depending on the core structure, could cause rot, delamination, and all sorts of nasty things to develop. If the breakage is near the bow and under the fairlead (your bow sprit thingy) there are significant->extreme forces acting in this area. I would decline this vessel on that point alone! In a worst case this can and has led to the deck separating from the hull.

But you also say that there is damage around the area of the winch eye from the trailer. Again this is a point of massive force distribution and added to that, it must cope with being pulled onto the trailer too. For example on my boat that area is made up from about 3 cubic feet of epoxy and blocks of wood forming one huge lump under the bow. Through that is a two foot, 15mm diameter threaded stainless steel rod onto which the eye is attached. Your case suggests that there will be ongoing concerns from this area, as mentioned above, and possibly that the boat doesn't fit the trailer properly.

If the boat is not fitted to the correct trailer then it is possible it has had its shape deformed.

As for the rest, the creature comforts will be a choice you would make. But I would suggest going for the auminium one. At some time in the future you might find that you wanted something with a cabin, but for now I think you might be going on day trips more.

One important reason for having a cabin and the reason I agreed to having one on Beatrice is that you can get in out of the sun on really hot days, and if it is blowy its nice to have a place you can shelter. Overnighting happens less often than people plan for.

Thanks once again disco.. your ongoing info is always helpful to me apart from the fact im STILL jealous that a) you have the space to build a boat and b) you built a boat!

The bowsprit or fairlead as you called it im pretty sure isnt structural i think its a moulded section thats added to the cabin roof. it obviously lends some strength but would be uncomfortable saying it would weaken it significantly. chances are that the cracks are just deep cosmetic paint cracks.

The trailer was new when the boat was new and seems to suit it perfectly... i cant quite work out where the damage has come from but it is around the same level as the roller at the front so maybe it has just taken a bit of a battering on the roller.. the front must be made of a huge section of GRP as the boat does get dragged up regularly on the eye and i had a bit of a tap around it and it is solid section most of the way up to probably more than 50mm from the leading point of the V the only thing i was concerned about was the chips etc causing sogginess.

the only creature comforts it really has over the stacer is the lockable cuddy compared to the open cuddy (lockable one possibly being slightly larger), the better ride of the grp and padding everywhere! all the rest are just practicalities i guess.. overnighters can still be done on the stacer as it has the full covers too... im yet to check them out tho... dealer is going to get mighty fed up with me being so pernickity!

strangely they both need the same creature comforts adding too... dual batteries, stereo, chart plotter etc... so just looking into these also now..

hopefully i can get the stacer out tomorrow morning and see what its like... if not its going to be early next week! we will probably follow that up with a run in the carribean as the seller will take us out at anytime...the dealer has 2 others that are waiting to hear what happens with the stacer too...

Thanks once again guys

Steve