Looking to buy a boat

[Whaletail 2019]

Good morning to all. I am interested in getting a boat and must admit that I am new to this and obviously inexperienced. But I am prepared to do any courses required to learn the basic safety and other stuff there is to learn. I suppose experience is gained over time.
But if I may, just some things which come to mind to the old and experienced hands here. Is it better to buy a new boat or should second hand one do? I am not familiar with boat and accessory’s prices and have come across second hand boats like seacat, wildcat, kozi cat, yeld cat etc. Which is preferred and do one really need two motors if you most probably never going to go beyond say 3 km offshore? Also a few terms that I don’t know such as trim and tilt(heard it before but don’t really know when to use or do this). Then also how do you value a second hand boat? Cars have a second hand value book for instance. If I want to buy say a 2009 Kozi Cat with two 50 hp motors which have been running100 hours, how does one determine the value of that unit without getting screwed?
So yes I suppose there are hundreds of questions but for now I would really appreciate some pointers to make an informed decision in buying what I always dreamed of and what to be aware of in attempting this. Budget is around R125k to R180k.
Then I appologize if this is a topic which have been discussed previously and annoying to some readers.
Thanks in advance and happy fishing !
 

[FishStyx]

Your first boat, if you are going to stay in boating for years to come, will in all likelihood not be your last. People tend to change their preference as they hone their skills and their interests. New boats lose value very fast... as you're driving them out of the showroom. I eventually bought a new boat because by then, I knew exactly what I wanted and the decision to purchase came from a very informed opinion built up over the years from having owned numerous pre-owned boats.


If you are going 3km off-shore, have 2 motors. If you are fishing the back line, have 2 motors. I might be shot down in flames by those experienced blokes who have fished with a single motor for years, but I'm cautious. I had a little C-Ski with a single and it was fine, but I could not relax while offshore. After that, I bought a boat with 2 motors... They were in excellent shape, but I still had to return to shore once on a single motor. IMHO, single installations are for dams and rivers.


The more time you spend looking at boats, the more you will understand about pricing. You should also think of buying according to your technical skills. Don't spend your budget on a boat that needs work if you are going to rely on "experts" to do the work.


The reason forums like UA exist is to act as a pool of knowledge. Don't be scared to ask but also use the search function to look for info on the forum. There is an absolute wealth here.

[John F]

There's plenty to be said...

For now I'd simply say this: don't buy a boat just now! Find a friend with a boat and spend time on it. Not just on the water but help clean, fix, contribute to the bills. Keeping a boat is expensive and people don't immediatly realize all the implications.

Learn the ropes under competent supervision. Spend as much time on the water as possible.

 Then you'll be ready to own the boat of your preference.

[emjay]

If you have the financial ability to get a boat with two motors, then definitely get a boat with two motors! I grew up fishing on my dad's 15ft Yeld with 2x 40hp motors. We have returned quite a few times on one motor, sometimes a distance of 40km. Had we only had one motor to begin with, it would've been a lot more stressful than a minor inconvenience of arriving home a couple hours later than expected. I know that the Americans, Aussies and Kiwis go stupid far offshore with their single engines and I know outboards are a lot more reliable these days but as the saying goes, two is one and one is none. My mate has a duck with a single 40hp and just recently his engine decided to cut out unexpectedly while he was surf launching. He couldn't get it started and had to surf his boat back to the beach! That isn't a situation anyone wants to be in. He could easily have flipped

Having one engine also limits yourself as to how far you are legally allowed to go. With a single engine, you only allowed to go up to 5 nautical miles offshore, with two engines you can go up to 40 nautical miles offshore, depending on experience and safety equipment

As has been mentioned, go on a friend's boat, or even a charter. Pick the skipper's brains. You'll learn a stack. Afterwards you'll be in a better position to decide on what you want

[Whaletail 2019]

Thanks for all the input thus far. It all makes sense and I will definitely follow the advice you guys have given above.


Much appreciated.

[Big B]

Welcome to Ultimate Angling, please dont appologise for asking questions on  this forum, there is a whole bunch of knowledge on this forum and guys are more than willing to help if they can.
To answer your question wrt trim and tilt, it has to do with a button you press on the hand controlls of the motors, so that your motors wil be lifted or dropped(trimmed up or down) with hydraulics, where as with older motors you had to do that manually, a very nice feature on the newer motors. Hope that makes sense. The deeper your motor lies in the water, the more power you have to get your boat to plain, and when you are cruising to a spot you trim your motor up and it glides easier with less resistance in the water.

I cant agree more with the advice given here, spend time with an old sea dog who has been doing it for many years, you will learn so quick,  and its important to crew on the sea for many hours, 50 if I remember correct before being able to apply for a skippers license. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Good luck with eventually making your decision, boating and fishing is a way of life, and to think some people never even get exposed to it..........., I guess I was just lucky that I grew up with a Dad that lived for it. Cheers.

[Whaletail 2019]

Thank you for the explanation and added advice, greatly appreciated !

Welcome to Ultimate Angling, please dont appologise for asking questions on  this forum, there is a whole bunch of knowledge on this forum and guys are more than willing to help if they can.
To answer your question wrt trim and tilt, it has to do with a button you press on the hand controlls of the motors, so that your motors wil be lifted or dropped(trimmed up or down) with hydraulics, where as with older motors you had to do that manually, a very nice feature on the newer motors. Hope that makes sense. The deeper your motor lies in the water, the more power you have to get your boat to plain, and when you are cruising to a spot you trim your motor up and it glides easier with less resistance in the water.

I cant agree more with the advice given here, spend time with an old sea dog who has been doing it for many years, you will learn so quick,  and its important to crew on the sea for many hours, 50 if I remember correct before being able to apply for a skippers license. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Good luck with eventually making your decision, boating and fishing is a way of life, and to think some people never even get exposed to it..........., I guess I was just lucky that I grew up with a Dad that lived for it. Cheers.

[Spickerish]

Some good advice already shared here so I'll just throw in a couple of things that bit me in the backside.
*Don't spend your entire budget on the boat you want to buy, save some money for the add on's - New Fishfinder/Charts/VHF/Rod holders/cup holders ect
*Second hand boats will have stuff to fix no matter what the price you pay - latches/hatches/cupboards/screws/stainless fittings/door hinges/Hydraulic's/seat covers
*Trailers that's been in salt water a good couple of times may need some fixes or mod's - new hand winch/electric winch/trailer lights/bearings/mag rims(if that's your cup of tea)/rollers/tires/break system
*With every new/old boat comes a boatload of tackle, you walk into a tackle shop needing a pink x rap and you end up a week later at the bank manager pleading not to reposes your wife's car because you spent a years food budget on lures and tackle.
*buy a boat the size of your friends/family list on your phone, finding crew for a holiday can sometimes be a headache and launching the titanic with 1 crew member can be a frustration.
*If you know nobody with a boat my advise would be to launch with a reputable charter for a couple of time from where you want to fish, talk to the skipper and learn from his experience, steal as much as possible with your eyes and ears or better still join a club. There is always somebody needing crew and most clubs got very good skipper training programs/days.

some will ask if it is worth it in the end.......... yes it is

[Mukiwa1]

Morning Whaletail,


This is my first post here so I apologize in advance if I needed to introduce myself somewhere.


I cannot agree more with the advice given above (Spickerish), we have been in the Eastern Cape now for two years and coming from the Bushveldt (Northern Transvaal) my introduction to the abundance of fishing and boating opportunities here has caused me to buy my third boat in the two years. From a 4.2 m RIB to a Cathedral Hull and now an Explorer 465, quite a contrast in choices!


You will see that your requirements will change as your passion and enjoyment increases!


Good luck with your search and enjoy!   

[colin]

  mukiwa

[Whaletail 2019]

Mukiwa1 and Spickerish thanks for your input as well. Definately will follow the advice given.


Thanks, much appreciated !

[stephenrplumb]

Well I am not sure if you got the boat? I had a dam boat which was great at the time. 200Hp on 17ft and went like a rocket. My wife was home schooling so we got down to the vile river pretty often. Fast forward and the price of a boat locker on the vile river was getting steep and we were always dragging the boat on holiday but could not get out to sea, although we went out in Dbn Bay, Knysna, Kosi Bay.
Clearly we had the wrong tool for the job. Kids were fancying themselves as spearfishers to I sold the dam boat and bought a rubber duck! So needed to do a skippers course. (If you can get to Dbn for a week - I highly, highly Recommend Paul Dawson.) I did mine through a friend I knew from Varsity which was a mistake. It took way longer than needed and several trips down to KZN to do the surf launches.
Was then getting my COF on the rubber duck and Ronny (windsor - also very nice guy) asked me for my radio license! Well there was some more cash spent and more time but I have it now.


I spent around 80k on the rubber duck with 2x40Hp yamaha's. It served us well, but recently I have bought an ace glider 530. This is much more comfortable. My son is happy to stay at sea from 04h00 to 17h30 in sumer and the ace glider lets us do this in some comfort without getting roasted. We can now also go moer ver out which I did not really feel comfortable with in the rubber duck. (For me far is perhaps 7-10Nm offshore - I am only allowed 15Nm offshore with my license, but frankly even 5Nm feels pretty far out when there is no one else around you.)


I must say that people complain about the cost of boats. I am a redneck, so I actually enjoy the maintenance. Wheel bearing are the most frequent issue but cost a couple of 100 ronts. I have always serviced the engines and that is usually just plugs which is cheap, impeller which starts to add up a bit more, and then zinc anodes which are pretty fierce for what they are. I did the gearboxes on the yamaha's as they were taking on water (that was around 3k/motor) but this is not regular maintenance. Generally I like to just keep an eye on things and replace fluids when required. I did the carbs on the yamaha which was around 3k as well.


in short, I think you can keep a boat reliable for relatively little money if you just keep things maintained well and, make liberal use of grease and q20 or similar. As for the type of boat, I guess the one you can afford is a good place to start, but as others have mentioned, try and go out with someone with a boat and see what you fancy.