Best 6 m fishing boat recommendations

Righto, thinking of upgrading my trustie 540 trailcraft, which has served my faithfully for the past 3 years and has landed many a good fish.

My requirements are:

- must have soft ride due to my dodgy back. Glass only.
- fishability critical. My traily is excellent, must have a large cockpit, which excludes the typical American boats like boston whalers as their cockpits are just too small and distance over the transom too far when fighting fish around the back of the boat.
- must be able to do 40 knots flat knacker so cruising at 30 is comfortable.
- I love centre consols for fishability but just too wet and cold in winter, so runabout layout probably best.
- max 200 hp to limit fuel consumption, which I think correlates to around 6 to 6.25 m boat length to achieve 40 knots with 200 hp.
-$100k max new, will consider good second hand.

Ones on my radar so far are:

- cruise craft 625 explorer or outsider
- evolution 600 extreme - recent bad rap......
- Haines hunter 600 r

Would love a seafarer 680 voyager, one of the only true alkaround centre cab glass boats I know of, but it's just too big and would need a landy to tow.

Not sure if I should look at yankie imports? There are some great hulls with excellent build quality but th cockpit layout of most yank boats is just not to my liking, with long transoms, no proper foot recesses etc.

Would be great to get your feedback on various d presences, likes and dislikes.

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Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.


fisho-ron's picture

Posts: 2539

Date Joined: 26/09/09

mate if interested i know

Sun, 2012-10-21 11:32

mate if interested i know someone that has a 6.5mtr kingcraft that will be for sale for the right money.

this thing is like new mate, no money spared with all the fruit, including a 585 and hds10, removable lounge for the back when not fishing.

only bad thing it has a 200 ficht donk on it, still been a great donk for him with no probs.

i think 55k woulod secure it

Posts: 9358

Date Joined: 21/02/08

There are a lot of recent

Sun, 2012-10-21 11:32

There are a lot of recent thoughts about this.

The deep transom is a bit of a pain in some boats, the newer and larger haines really suffer from it, along with the gunwales being a bit high for a lot of spin-jiggers.

I personally think there is a great opportunity for someone to put together a good walkaround for sportsfishing. More protection than a CC, but the good rear control position of a CC :. better ride than a runabout/forward controls.

I really like the Trophy 2152 in this segment, the marlin board on PeteD's boat really makes it, but try and chase a few more horses!

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Posts: 408

Date Joined: 23/11/09

680 patriot

Sun, 2012-10-21 11:55

My 680 Patriot may be up for sale shortly. Great walkaround boat. Has a sterndrive which gives more fishing area than the outboard version and a nice marlin board accross the transom. Ride is excellent and better than the outboard version thanks to the central, low down weight of the sterndrive.

Has all the toys and an excellent trailer.

cheers

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.

 

Handi 1's picture

Posts: 151

Date Joined: 27/06/11

Whats a ficht donk ?

Sun, 2012-10-21 13:04

Whats a ficht donk ?

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Dhui on river to sea jig a few years back , 16 kg ! PB for me .

fisho-ron's picture

Posts: 2539

Date Joined: 26/09/09

its the older model eveinrude

Sun, 2012-10-21 13:09

its the older model eveinrude mate, before the etec came out, still 2stroke.

there was reports on them having issuse but that is on every brand anyway.

Posts: 5808

Date Joined: 18/01/12

 It was more than just

Sun, 2012-10-21 20:51

 It was more than just reports, it brought them to bankruptcy, along with some financial shenanigans by coin shufflers.

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

Posts: 9358

Date Joined: 21/02/08

Yeah, hard motor to want,

Sun, 2012-10-21 21:05

Yeah, hard motor to want, even harder to recommend!

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Posts: 5808

Date Joined: 18/01/12

FICHT=F++k I Cant Handle This

Sun, 2012-10-21 21:28

FICHT=F++k I Cant Handle This

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

fisho-ron's picture

Posts: 2539

Date Joined: 26/09/09

yeah thought it was something

Sun, 2012-10-21 21:31

yeah thought it was something like that, touch wood he has had no probs with it at all.

rex73's picture

Posts: 19

Date Joined: 20/07/11

we bought a new boat from

Sun, 2012-10-21 13:40

we bought a new boat from Chivers Marine, I know its ali but the ride is great very few big bumps even in rough water. it’s a centre console but  we have a big windscreen and roll down clears that keep you well covered. It weighs about 1700kgs fully loaded including the trailer, so most cars shouldn’t have a problem towing, we towed it to Exmouth and back in June with our diesel Holden Captiva and had no problems.  It has a 150hp Yam on it and we have had it up to 37kn in flat water and cruises well in the high 20’s. and it comes in well under your budget. The boys at chivers are great to deal with and they also sell Haines Hunters too so you could get a ride in both boats to compare. But the best part about getting an ali boat from Chivers is that you get to customize your boat to fit your needs. i will try and up load some pics into my profile section so you can see the boat. or send your email address and i can send the pics through.

 

Posts: 539

Date Joined: 29/03/10

 2x for Chivers Marine. Go

Sun, 2012-10-21 15:29

 2x for Chivers Marine. Go speak with Luke or Mike. Great guys to deal with. They have been in business for 50years....they must be doing something right by their customers.  So glad i got my boat built by them

 

Posts: 193

Date Joined: 04/02/09

Know

Sun, 2012-10-21 14:28

 Of a 6 metre Evolution (glass) John . Genuine reason for sale, little bit of info on it 

175 Etec

Ally trailer

Furuno 620 & HDS5 ( gen 2 ) GPS

send me a pm if you want more info ...cheers Nev

grayzeee's picture

Posts: 2283

Date Joined: 09/07/09

I was in the same market and

Sun, 2012-10-21 15:42

I was in the same market and looked at seafarer victory and HH 600

seafarers very nice but fuel tank too small. On the biggest day's out , I use half a tank (110 litres)

You're welcome to have a gander at mine though John although the cockpit maybe a liitle small due to the missus's want for full length bunks.

I think mine tops out at 3 fisher's really.

I've never had a problem with the transom depth , it's not the shallowest and certainly not the deepest.

Mine will get 36 knots with the 175hp but it is a heavy built hull. The day's i can do 25+ are good days.  Most often around 20 knots but good economy

I think HH , Cruisecraft and Seafarer have all been in business a long time , and that's what mattered to me.  They all have good names

P.S  mine blows for anchoring.  

 

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If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am. 

Posts: 9358

Date Joined: 21/02/08

There are a lot of v19-based

Sun, 2012-10-21 15:32

There are a lot of v19-based sportsfishers, but imho, they aren't that hot for fishing as they're not walkarounds, and the controls are too far forward;

http://www.edencraft.com.au/offshore.html
http://www.bassstraitboats.com/boatdesign.html

Maybe its too hard to get a decent centre cab or walkaround into 6m?

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bradz's picture

Posts: 693

Date Joined: 29/10/07

Cruisecraft and Seafarer

Sun, 2012-10-21 15:40

 I have had a Seafarer Victory 5.9 and currently hace a Cruisecraft 575.  Both nice boats. The Victory has tons of space and feels bigger than 6m. The 575 is excellent but would love a Cruisecraft 625 for my next.

 

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I did then the best that I knew how. When I knew better, I did better.

kane's picture

Posts: 1752

Date Joined: 07/12/08

Leeder

Sun, 2012-10-21 18:27

 There was a leeder wildcat with yanmar diesel for about 80k for sale for ages, I would have bought that if funds could have stretched, they're a beautifal boat and in diesel HEAVEN!!!, rare as rocking horse shit...

6 metre trophy..... you know you want one.... tonnes of spare change left over for other toys from a 100k budget too!

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Gooooone Fishin!

scuttlebutt's picture

Posts: 453

Date Joined: 24/03/06

I've got a 625 explorer, 200

Sun, 2012-10-21 16:01

I've got a 625 explorer, 200 opti, does 43 knots, brilliant fishing boat, very stable.  Not the softest ride but not too bad. 

solly's picture

Posts: 375

Date Joined: 11/09/05

 Tournament 2100 walkaround

Sun, 2012-10-21 18:02

 Tournament 2100 walkaround with a 200 on the arse would be a boat that would be in your range.Cheaper than the cruisecraft but same quality.dealer is a site sponser as well

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There are two types of people ,do'ers and watchers
Right now the do'ers are the doing it
And the watchers are watching us do it

fisho-ron's picture

Posts: 2539

Date Joined: 26/09/09

for 100k john im sure you

Sun, 2012-10-21 19:41

for 100k john im sure you could pick up a 780 patriot, that would cover all your options and one hell of a boat to boot.

my dream boat

glastronomic's picture

Posts: 892

Date Joined: 16/02/11

On your list, the Cruise

Sun, 2012-10-21 19:59

On your list, the Cruise Craft would be my first consideration.

HH would be a close second.

Kane's boat is a ripper and one like that could be considered as well.

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Vinesh87's picture

Posts: 2751

Date Joined: 02/04/11

I have a Trophy 2152 and love

Sun, 2012-10-21 20:16

I have a Trophy 2152 and love it. Get a really nice kitted out one for half you budget!

 

If you wanna come out for a ride let me know !!

The_Wanderer's picture

Posts: 735

Date Joined: 24/09/08

Check out the Northshore

Mon, 2012-10-22 15:47

Check out the Northshore Range of boats. Sherbs and my mate steve has one in the 650 configuration and its a great boat ,stable at rest and the ride is great too. He has a 225 honda.

regards

Posts: 812

Date Joined: 09/10/06

Northshores are great boats

Mon, 2012-10-22 16:52

Northshores are great boats but hes looking for something with a good size cabin, the Northshores suck cabin wise, they have the lenght but not the height. lm only 5'9 and l could hardly sit in there.

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2839

Date Joined: 07/07/10

Thanks for all the replys

Mon, 2012-10-22 19:06

Thanks for all the replys guys.

 

I dont care about the cabin, smaller the better, I want cockpit space for fishing, fishability is critical. Are Northshores still made?

 

Checked out the Haines Hunter 625 Offshore Classic (thanks Grayzeee......awsome boat, but just not enough cockpit space and too long a transom reach to figh fish for my purposes, but what a nice boat), a HH 600 R, slightly more deckspace than the Offshore, but not enough for the compromise in quality of finish. 

 

Have yet to see a Crusie Craft 625.

 

Have one other iron in the fire as well.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

 

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Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 812

Date Joined: 09/10/06

 sorry mate confused your

Mon, 2012-10-22 20:43

 sorry mate confused your term cockpit for cabin.  

Northshore who knows , was selling factory direct , but lack of demand wasnt producing. was mainly doing insurance work.

jng's picture

Posts: 488

Date Joined: 03/08/07

Hey John, I have the Haines

Mon, 2012-10-22 21:00

Hey John,
I have the Haines traveller tc200 pretty happy with the boat WoT 37knotts with a suzi 175
Feel free to come for a ride
I think They are now rebadged vigour 6.2 seafarer

Justin

The_Wanderer's picture

Posts: 735

Date Joined: 24/09/08

Hey Jon As Far as I know he

Tue, 2012-10-23 09:25

Hey Jon

 

As Far as I know he is still building boats, however things have been queit for him so has mainly been doing insurance work and other repair Jobs.

give him a call and have a chat.

 

regards

 

Ben

scubafish's picture

Posts: 962

Date Joined: 15/08/12

http://liveimages.boatsales.c

Tue, 2012-10-23 11:13

http://liveimages.boatsales.com.au/boatsales/boat/private/bp4902762476157683138.jpg

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http://img.gg/BQ91Sys

pelagicyachts's picture

Posts: 1322

Date Joined: 23/02/11

Hi mate this a little bit

Tue, 2012-10-23 14:26

Hi mate
this a little bit left of field and wont appeal to all -but what about a Hydrofield? -re your dodgy back i doubt you will find a softer riding boat- the ride is amazing.
My dad bought the 1989 boatshow hydrofield in Perth- 23 years and 4 repowers later it is still going as good as day 1 -my parents live in Karratha and we have taken the boat anywar from the Montes to the Lacepede Islands off Broome -huge uncluttered deck space, small cabin and perfect for the northwest overnighters as when the tide drops it leaves you sitting flat on the sand (being a tri-hull)
I dont own one - and because i prefer CC would not buy one - just throwing it out there :-)

http://hydrofieldtrihulls.com/boats.php

cheers