in my younger days my mates dad took me every where in his 15 ft Clark corvette and i loved being out on the water in the metro area when there was fish around , i saved up $ 4,350 for my first brand new boat  Stacer C/C  4.5 mt with a 35 johno , i took that everyhwere around the metro area and learning all the basics for 6 years, family and kids came along and i sold it for $ 3000,  land lubbered for 3years and picked up a 2nd hand 5mt alli c/c and put a new 70 yamy , kept that for 2 years but was a bit of a dog, then purchased a 5.3 mt glass boat 90 johno which i was told was a streaker copy it wasnt bad for my first glass boat but i didnt like the chips and scratches so i sold it and fell in love with a 5.8 mt westerberg with 115 johno all new this was great for an alli we took that much further a feild and covered lots of ground and travelled away kalbarri, jurien and several trips to Exy then the back stared to hurt and i was offered a 6.4 mt seafarer Vagabond  glass twin 115 evinrudes, very fast and very capable offshore , down fall was the two motors loved to drink, swapped 2 motors and installed 1 x 200 ficht great economy but financial issues changed so i got out of boats again, later purchased 4.2 mt dinghy 60 yamy got the boat bug again then changed to 5.7 mt trail craft c/c and last year went to a 6.10 mt isl cab , originally merc motors but to many problems so now 150 yammy , i prefer the fishing style boat C/C and alli , but you have to accept the rougher ride and i still look at adverts for another glass boat forward control 6 + mts so i can take it away

First boat was my old mans tinny. I grew up on this 12ft tinny with a 9.9 on the bac of it.

Spent many many fiashing trips down at hamelin bay with this tinny, out around the island, and to this date the only tinny Ive been in / on to catch a dhu from. Spent atleadt 10 years driving this boat while i was a kid.

next was a 18ft Pacemaker with a 75hp Merc 2 stk on the back, my Dad bought

Didnt get alot os use this boat, maybe his the water a dozen times before the engine packed it in. Not long after that i moved to Melbourne to study.

Returned 6 years later and had 2 family boats to choose from. My old man had got another tinny with forward controls, 14ft with a 20hp Johno on the back. Got some mods done to it, put a ladder and step off the back for water access, put a small wind shield on the front to stop the spray. This boat to this day still gets used down south at hamelin bay and still gets plenty of good fish.

Other family boat is a 22ft Razorline hardtop with a 130hp Honda on the back. Used this one quite a few times, and have taken it to mackerel islands. Done a good job this boat, done many trips out, but towards the end of me using this boat i had access to a couple of fibre boats friends and people i worked with had. IE: a 25ft Blackwatch with twin 200hp opti's.

4 months ago i bought a 26ft Fury Centre console with twin 140hp Johnson 4stks.
Stoked with this boat, nothing it cant do regardless of the conditions. Had it down at hamelin bay for 2 weeks earlier this year and performed a treat. Plenty of room, and a very very confortable ride. Only thing i could think of doing to it is putting bigger screws on the back. possibly twin 175 Suzi's....and this is on the cards.
Like Blank cheque, dont get wet feet when retreiving it either.

in 2002 i bought a brand new stacer 4.2 and in 18 months no less than 8 warranty claims and ended up with only 15hrs on the water. The last warranty claim was a split keel. It was definately a lemon........telwater pty who make stacer and quintrex finally came to the party and replaced the hull. added a 40 yammy to the new hull and didn't have a problem for 3 years.

Traded the 4.2 seaway for a 5m quinnie coastrunner with a 6o 4 stroke...great boat, heaps of room and a comfortable ride...... missus has said........no bigger boat.......one power ball!

I started out with a Carrabean Sea rover,14' 1967/8 stickily river type of use but I used to go to Rotto when weather allowed,sold it for a Quintrex Fishabout 16' al lot better sea boat for Rotto but I was for ever taking it back to Arnolds in Maylands to get welding fixed,then a Pacemaker 20' Vagabond,runabout,with a merc 150 hp blue ban,great boat,and we caught lots of good fish from her in Perth,Leeman,Coral Bay and down South,but I went to the dark side and got engaged so I bought a Carrabean Reef Runner, a lovely boat solid a a brick dunny but under powered with a 165 inboard Merc,I thought of overnight at Rotto,also took her up tp Coral bay,I lost my crew for one reason or another and found that it was not giving me the enjoyment I wanted so I sold her for a 14'6" Stacer C/C,a great boat,my kids and I had some great fun up Coral Bay,but then I thought they kids,both Females would come over too Rotto,I bought a Swift Craft 7.mtr sports fisherman,a lovely boat although a bit under powered with the 170 hp Volvo,I spent a lot on her but did use it the way I thought.  ,my wife is not a boating type and the kids did there own thing.I then got a C/C Marline this was a great boat 5.6 mtrs,and should have stayed with it,then I got a Swiftcraft dominator that was converted to a C/c I rely was rapped with it and was going to keep it but I got tied in with a mate who was bringing in Boston Whalers,I got what was going to be the best,last boat of my life A GradyWhite,this is and was a fantastic sea boat but Im no longer able to afford to run it on my own and I find I cannot rely on mates so I am selling it to down size,then I can do my own thing again I dive alone and will fish alone.jersey

First one was a 19 foot Hustler,fibreglass much the same as the Pacemaker hulls,with a 115 Evinrude on the back.
Next came a 10foot ali dinghy car topper,was used to pull pots off Two Rocks then came 18 foot Chivers Thunderbird with the near standard for them 120hp Mercruiser.
Traded that on a 21 foot Guardian with a 140hp Volve sterndrive,later upgraded to a 307 Chevvy on a Mercruiser leg.
Again traded on a 24 foot Star with a 170 Mercruiser,which was in my opinion too small for the size boat so out it went and in came a 400ci Chevvy.Instead of doing 22 knots at 4nm tp the gallon it went to a top speed of 35 knots and fuel consumption of 6.5nm per gallon at 25 knots.Fitted it with a winch and tipper for pulling pots it worked a dream especially late in the cray seaon and working 4 x 4 roster so used to drop the pots out near direction bank get our bag limit of big crays and drop a line in while out there.

Change of lifestyle to go from shift work to sharkfishing meant the boat had to go but after 10years of fishing the body packed it in resulting in premature retirement so the boat I have now came about.Just over 5 metre 4mm plate centre console and designed for a 40hp Lombardini diesel and a Castoldi jet[was displayed at Hillarys boat show some 3-4 yaers back].unfortunatly it was unsuited to the weed up here so the jet unit was replaced with a 60hp Etec.Small enough to go up some creeks yet just big enough weather permitting to go offshore to the islands

1st boat : 4.2 m savage kestral 18hp merc
sold : sold due to owning with a second party

2nd boat: stessco 445 hurricane pro centreconsile 40hp yammy hummin bird electronics all new so much fruit it was annoying
sold : didnt like the centre consile

3rd boat : new stessco hurricane pro 30hp new jonno all furuno electronics
sold: got into breaming and creek fishing up north so needed a flat bottom punt to drag over shallow creeks and get right up into the systems.

4th boat the mighty 20ft star 115 yammy furuno electronics
sold due to owning with mate and couldnt store it

5th boat: bit squit lah stessco bass tracker new 15 yammy kota humminbird electronics and all the extras you could ever want rip squitlah the best boat i have owned
sold : F%^&#ng gear box needed cash asap to pay for it

6th/7th/current boats:
stacer 315 proline outboard undecided humminbird electronics kota nice little barra/ bream punt
and a 3.5 dehavland that stays up at wedge as my inshore reef boat.

1st....When i lived in broome i had a 3.8m savage with 15hp mariner..great boat up there could go out wide. Sold it due to moving to Perth

2nd  4.2m Stacer seahawk runabout 30hp suzuki... great boat for your bread and butter fishing..but too small for going out past 3 mile when the weather is dodgy.

3rd  5.3m Trailcraft runabout 4stroke 75hp Merc. Great boat, can now fish out wide, easy to handle , is good on fuel.....and two people can stand on one side with out shitting yourself !

Had a 2002 4.75 trailcraft runabout, was a good first boat of my own, used to go out in the old mans before that but i cant claim them as mine, had a 75Hp black anchor, sorry merc on it, cough...... got rid of the lot becauase i could finally afford something more suited to my barra and GT and diving adventures

Now got a custom Velosity 5.2 centercab had a 90hp e-tech on it now i got the 115 HO e-tech
very happy to say the least

First boat was a tinny Dad bought for us kids- 12' with 6.6hp Johnson which we sold once I got "other" interests. I then bought myself a 16' Mustang half cab with a 90hp Mariner and sold it after 4 yrs with the plan of upgrading to something bigger but never did as my mates had boats which I could borrow.

Once I moved to Perth I bought a 4.3m Surf Rider with a 60hp Yammy 4 stroke which I've still got and is going great guns. It has oll the good bits of a tinny,easy to use solo but has a good enough ride if the wind comes up. Probably upgrade in a year or so.

Personally, I've had two boats.

The first when I was 24 (nearly 30 years ago now). It was a Douglas Sabre Runnabout. Great hull, strong as an ox and very dry and brilliant sea boat. Made the mistake of swapping the Chrysler OB for another to do water skiing. The other motor was a lemon - would start every time - except when we had stopped and restarted after a fishing session.  I was member of CPBA in those days and we called out Cockburn Sea Rescue so many times that they used to put the rescue craft in the water if they saw me launching! TRUE! How embarrising ! I eventually sold it to go on a 3 month holiday with my second ex wife (and no I don't collect them! LOL).

Second is Dreamweaver, which we bought 4 years ago after inheriting some money. Fortunately, it's MUCH more reliable!

The old man had a string of boats - but he had a perchant for 'classic' hulls ( a polite term for pieces of cr*p! LOL). Ten ton clinkers and seagul outboards!

first boat if you could call it that was a 10ft , one man power , towed it down to canning bridge behind my pushy, 2nd was a 10fter with a 3.5 tohatsu , wasnt much but it got me out fishing in Onslow up the creeks, 3rd was a 12ft with a 15hp on the back but never actually hit the water with that as Sandy then bought our first real boat as a chrissy present was a 18ft fraser runabout70hp johnson upgraded to a 90 yammy, but found it was just too small for four of us but was a great learning boat, we then upgraded to a 23ft fraser running a 350 chev, yeah it costs a bit to maintain as previous owners let it go a bit, fixing probs as we come to them but wouldnt get rid of her as she is a verry stable boat , we have done in excess of 400 hours in her in just over 3 years so she gets plenty of use 

13ft Derbin Kingfisher ...... Was originally a river & Cockburn Sound boat but wanted more room!

15ft Quintrex CC ....... had more room and caught a shit load of fish. Wanted bigger again for snapper seasons ruff conditions and further offshore!

18'6 Voyager LTD....  More comfortable now for snapper fishing & offshore. Got Free boat whilst being FWA TV presenter so sold it as not usin it!

20ft Fraser FWA Boat ...... Because it was Free

18'6 Voyager LTD ...... I like these boats so bought another. Didnt like publicity of FWA boat ie pingers, was happy to buy my own boat again!

21.5ft Whiltley (Current boat), Wanted more deck space & bigger boat so upgraded to this vessel. A great offshore boat, fully decked out and gets plenty of fish so i keep

17ft Haines Hunter CC (Also current boat) Got sick of towing my big boat up to Exmouth (perodicaly) which is one of my favorite spots so i now keep this boat up there for fly in-fly out fishing. Good boat for flats fishing, flyfishing and the rest where my bigger one wasnt suitable for all types of fishing up there! 

Next 55-65ft...Westcoaster......just dreaming atm  

Was always on my grandparents 18 foot savage fibreglass as a kid, cant claim it as being my own though.

Then saved up for my own 13 foot savage tinny with 15hp yamaha. Good fun in the bay chasing tuna and launching out from farm beach.

Then in WA bought my current boat... a custom made centre console 4.8m positive bouyancy boat. 90 hp yamaha 2 stroke - gets you to where you want to be pretty dam quick. Great little dive boat, tuff as shit, just a little small and uncomfortable for going out too wiiiide.

Trying to buy a 7.5 metre ali cat ATM for sale over in eastern states but cant get the seller to respond to an email...devistating. TBC....

EDIT> half considering selling my current boat (in the pictures) to go bigger... anyone keen send us a PM might be able to work something out.

Would be a sad sale but unfortunately im not rich enough to own 2 boats at once, its an awesome little boat for quick diving trips around perth and rotto :-(

 5m Trailcraft with 75hp Mercury. At the same time had a small 3m tinny with old 6hp evinrude. Unfortunately had to sell both because there is no water 6 hours east of perth :(

Then we bought a Mark 3 voyager with a yamaha when we returned back to Perth some years later. Excellent boat which we kept for many years.

Downgraded to get a mad 3.8m tinny with 15hp merc tiller steer which was a great muck around dinghy.  

I'm still on my first boat.

I have a whitley 2100 walkaround with a 4 stroke suzuki 175 on the back.

Been a great first boat so far. A good size to get to the back of rotto, but not so big that it is a pain. A couple small electrical problems, but been a great experience so far.

Next boat will be something with beds and a kitchen in it ;) 

First boat was a 5.2 Fraser with a 115 evinrude. I took that everywhere and out in seas I never should of. Very good first boat that taught me a lot about what a boat was capable of and how to read the water and drive the boat accordingly. Small enough to put on and off trailer alone

Bought a Haines signature 650F just to upgrade to a bigger more comfortable boat. Didnt sell the fraser for maybe another 5 years.

Took that haines everywhere and out in seas I should been arrested for going out in. Heaps of deck space, big cabin and high gunnels. Tracked straight as an arrow and never broached. All ways felt safe in this boat and I had taken it out in open ocean 30kt+ winds and huge swells. Drive on/off trailer so could still fish alone

Bought a kevlacat. Great soft ride heaps better than the monos so my back is thanking me. 7 meters and over 3 tonne she takes a big of towing and beach launching is not a preferred option. Need too much depth to get it on the trailer. Only just sold the Haines after having the kevlacat for three years.

1st - 4m Savage Kestrel dinghy

2nd - 4.8m Savage Osprey runabout

3rd - 5.5m Swiftcraft Viking

4th - 5.5m Savage Mako cuddy

5th - Haines Hunter 7m cabin cruiser (unknown model)

6th - 5.9m Seafarer Victory

7th - 21ft Seaswirl 2101 Dual Console (bow rider)

8th - 5.75m Cruisecraft Outsider

Why do I sell my boats...to try something new generally, or because I have changed my direction.

Currently selling the Cruisecraft, even thought it is by the far the best quality boat I have owned. Probably going to get a 6.5m or bigger boat.

And guess what...I still get sea sick on a regular basis. How much of a glutton for punishment am I???

first boat officially that i paid for was my 4.1m polycraft side console with 50hp 4 stroke yammy. was set up as a tournament boat for down south so it had the leccy motor, dual sounders, live bait tank, holding tank etc. Sold it due to wanting a bigger boat with shade for the family

second boat a 5.3m Polycraft Warrior Centre Console, brought this from new and optioned it up wit everything i needed. had a 115hp Etec H.O motor which was a pig of a thing, chewed fuel and oil like a old school 2 banger, blew smoke on idle and slow troll and was so sesitive with it alarms i had it go into limp mode because the oil pickup line had a slight kink in it out the back of the ships off damps. It would chew through 100L putting around the islands throwing poppers or trolling for billies for half a day. got it finally fixed and sold it, wasn't a great family boat either.

Current boat Cruisecraft 625 Outsider, wow what a hull! handles like a dream, dry ride and just eats the chop up, always feel safe and with the 200hp yammy on the rear and a 4 blade prop i'm pulling 4200rpm and hitting 28 knots all while using 32L per hour of fuel. instead of 100L getting me a days billfishing i'm now 45Nm out to sea getting into the big reds no probs. has all the fruit and i have optioned it up a little with 585 sounder, outriggers, HDS 5 GPS and a few other bits and bobs, best bit is the mrs loves it!

My first boat was an old 15' glass runabout that I bought off my neighbour. Used it mainly in the Mandurah estuary because my kids were only little. Did take it to Port Gregory for a holiday with the inlaws and my father-in-law outfished me to the tune of 4 dhuies to my donuts....in one day!

Moved out to Whitehills about 20 years ago and sold the boat as it wasn't getting used very often.

Went without a boat for quite a few years, then bought an old 12' ali dinghy and fitted a brand new 15hp Mercury to it. Wanted to go offshore a couple of miles and this one wasn't really big enough so I sold it for what it owed me.

Then I bought a 14' ali runabout with a 30hp Mercury on it. Was a good estuary boat for crabbing and inshore fishing and diving. Dragged it up to Coral Bay a few years ago and had a great holiday with it. Sold it to my son and it's still going strong. We've just rebuilt the trailer and the boys have dragged it up to Jurien for the weekend. This boat has also seen duty up off Leeman....and will be heading back there over Easter. It aint pretty but it's practical.

Bought myself a new 590 Trailblazer that I have now (purchased Nov '10). Added a FCV620 sounder, HDS8m GPS, second underfloor fuel tank (total capacity now 295L), full length canopy, dual batteries, stereo...the usual stuff.

Now looking for something around 7m (aluminium) hard top that would be more suitable to overnight/extended trips like the Abrolhos, Kimberleys, etc. Seen a few but still sorting out the finances so I'm still in the early stages of upgrading. I'm half thinking about buying a new bare hull on a trailer and fitting it out myself. The other option is to look for a late model, low hours rig, hopefully with most/all the features I'm looking for.....or something that has most of the features and add the rest myself.

Will sell the Trailblazer to part fund the next boat, but that's all part of the ongoing process of boat ownership!

rusty... 

Dad had a 14 ft savage runabout when I was a little tacker with a 20 or 25 hp motor caught plenty of tommies and gar from this.

Later stepfather Ian had a 18 ft Stejcraft with 140 johnson.  did plenty of fishing out of this and wish I bought it when he eventually sold it as it was solid and handled the rough stuff well

When I was around 20 I bought a 16ft boat with no motor with plans on fixing it up - don't know what it was but it never saw the water and was later sold.

Few years later bought a 15ft centre console with a 40hp johno.  Did a bit of fishing and plenty of diving.  Throttle cable started to crap itself and had to come in pulling the cable where it goes into the motor on two trips.  Then a dropped a dive tank on the floor and found out the floor was getting soft so sold it for a cheap sum and a carton of beer.

last 12 years or so have since been fishing out of Dads 4.75m Sea skipper 1/4 cab with a 70 johnson on the back.  Dad passed away two years ago and its now mine.  Would like to upgrade but I'm still in that "don't want to sell dads boat" frame of mind and it does the job.  Might upgrade the motor to a newie which gets better economy to extend my range a bit (i reckon the upgrade would give me another 30% range).

Step father has just about to complete building and launch his 68ft steel hull yacht which has taken the best part of 15 years.  will have to see how quick he can stop it when I hook up!!!

few interesting reads on upgrades people have had over time.

12ft tinny ( still got it, will never sell it worth nothing but everything to me )

4.8m savage osprey, too old, too small had many great times!

Trophy 2152, still too small? not selling just yet!

EDIT Trophy is gone, still looking to buy or build a new boat !

11ft tinny with a 9.9 seahorse on the back that was given to me for some electrcal work i done for a mate ,then 2 years ago went halves with my bro in a 6.2 kevlacat tournement awsome  boat , still have the tinny but it hasnt seen the water since i got the cat

None of my own yet, old man used to have a 40ft carribean and a tender which was amazing.. but that sold a few years ago to fund other things unfortunately.
Looking at picking up either a little tinny for myself or going halves in a nice centre console with a mate for my first boat soonish though.

Sarted out with a 4.25 Estuary Angler with 40hp Yamaha
then traded up to Southwind SFD17 Fibreglass with 140 Yamaha, great bloody boat.
Then went big time and brought a new Trailcraft Trailblazer 6.9 with a stonking Optimax 200, was scarey at full noise. Unfortunately, my employer Forge Group went into liquidation Februray last year and took 1800 employees to the wall, so the boat & land cruiser had to go.
Currently I have a Commodore 22 alrounder, just upgraded the motor from a Honda 4 stroke 130hp, about a 2000 model, and she now flies along with a new 200 ETech, which is just sheer joy

Majority of the above just seem to be getting bigger, not too many have downgraded in size over the years. I'd always dived and fished off other peoples' boats, until I bought a 10 ft tender for the first crayboat I skippered, in 1979. Converted it to the kid's sandpit and bought a 12 footer with a 15hp.Took that up to Coral bay one year, didn't like that thriving metropolis (in 1987, too bloody crowded), went looking up the coast and found Winderabandi Point. returned the next year with a (very) secondhand 16ft Clark Cc with a 50 Johnson, shared ownership, caught first sail on mulie, as you do. Three years of that, bought a 16ft Omega plate hull dinghy, fitted it out myself with CC and a 50hp mariner. Did a few years with that, then spotted the new UB Yamahas at the boat show. Bought a new 19 footer with a 70hp yamaha . In the meantime, a 14ft cartopper,did the Port Warrender trip with it, mate donated his 30hp Tohatsu. When finances got tight, I had to sell the UB--after all, I had bought a 50ft Image crayboat --see, I WIN, right there.:-) End of 10 successive years at Winderabandi Point.
After I got out of crayfishing in 2005, didn't go near a boat for a few years. Just didn't want to know. But, eventually , pressure came on to do it again--I bought a Quintrex 600 navigator CC with 90Hp Yamaha, s/h, did a lot to it, caught a lot of fish. Now that is for sale , as I have picked up a Swiftcraft Dominator--big departure for me , first glass, first non-CC. We'll see how that goes, I'll be cursed the first time something goes for a burn around the front of the anchored boat.

I'm a hoarder..Still got all of em..:)

12 ft Clark dingy ( on me off road camper trailer ) 25 horse mariner... Goes like the clappers, great for creeks and chasing bream in the river?

Penguin Phantom... Current Ride. Rebuilt her from the ground up.New ribs,stringers,transom,floor, underfloor floatation 120 l fuel tank, pod on the back with 90 horse yammie. Got her set up as a centre console . Awesome boat...

Penguin Huntress.. ( love them glass boats ) Current project boat.Looking at new floor,transom ,pod, yammie 150/200 hp fourstroke..Shes going to be a centre console too

* Wishlist..... 25 foot Bertram twin Yamaha 225 four strokes ....Biiig island cab...:)

Dad had a Pride 13ft runabout that we used to ski behind, then he upgrade to a Glasscraft 18 ft with a mercruiser stern drive, it was a strange layout, bow rider then a cabin with a seat on either side then the stearing position was standing up behind the cabin. My first boat was a 24ft aluminium ex cray boat, came complete with a hydraulic pot winch and tipper as well as a 351 Cleveland driving a Hamilton jet, it could burn 60 litres an hour at cruise, I never ran it flat out for long enough to see what it would consume at full revs! I then bought a secondhand 18 ft Koolyn with a 110 Evinrude on it in 1997 which over the years I've made the half height pod into a full depth one ( the best thing ever, turned it into a different boat) added a pot winch and tipper and upgrades to the electronics then when the Evinrude died in 2008 replaced it with a 115 Mercury Optimax now I only fuel up when the gauge tells me it is getting low not after every trip like I used to have to.

Grown up in kalbarri for best part of life as a kid on and off a range of boats.

After moving to Gero and buying a jetski, soon discovered they were boring so traded that on a quintrex 650 SPIRIT. A year later i found a nice little 3.8meter savage with a 9.8 something on the back that i replaced with a 15hp. Now fitted out with new floors, elite5 sounder and few lights, its one of those boats you will never part with. The quintrex on the otherhand has recently been traded in (With less than 75 hrs on the hour meter, ill never buy a quintrex bigger than 12 foot again, nor a Merc outboard) on a 7.3m barcrusher/250 sukuki. 

With getting to that ripe age of 30 this year, apparently its time to settle down a bit and start thinking about a family, so there goes any chance of upgrading the toys in the next 20 years, but i think ill be fine :)

11ft savage gull 7.5hp merc
some old shitty 14ft glass boat 25hp Johnno
14'6 dehavilland centre console with 25 mariner
560 quintrex spirit with 90 Honda
620 quintrex offshore with 140 Suzuki (my first new one!)
660 trailcraft sportscab 175 verado (new)
257 seafox centre console with twin 115 merc 4 strokes
now have a 8.2 mtr custome ali with 250 Yamaha 4 stroke

looking at trading up to a 33-36 flybridge Riviera/Blackwatch soonish for more family time away.

 Started off late in life getting into the boating thing.

Ist boat Penguin 32 Flybridge Cruiser with twin 350 Vortec Engines. Made my eyes water with the fuel consumption but boy did it sound fantastic. That one blew up and is now somehwere in the East 

2nd boat Bertram Caribbean 35 with twin Volvo Diesels - I love this boat and everything it can do and handle. 

Cheers

I've always loved fishing but didn't get a boat until a few years ago. My friends brother in law bought a boat, used it once and then wanted to get rid of it cheap. So me and my mate decided to go halfs and buy it off him. It was a 1979 17ft Carribean Cougar with a 90hp evinrude on the back.

It was a great boat, really stable at rest and a good ride although it thumped a bit going into chop. We did lots of trips out to 3 mile and caught lots of fish off this boat. We took it to Rottnest and Direction bank a few times, but decided that it was just a bit too small to head out deep safely.

So we sold it and got our current boat.

It's an old 6m Star Boat hull with a newish 130 hp Etec on it. We spent about 6 months looking at boats, and this one was the only one in our price range that had everything we wanted. The previous owner had spent a bit of money doing it up.

It has heaps of deck space for fishing, it's economical on fuel and can be launched and retreived solo. However it's not a speed machine and the ride can be pretty back breaking if you try to go too fast.

We've taken it to Jurien Bay a couple of times, across to the Abrolhos islands, plus lots of trips around Perth. It's been a great boat, we'll probably be keeping it for a while.

 20ft berttam bahia mar- great boat, needed re power. 

25ft Caribbean Corsair - fantastic sea boat, needed re power

26ft Regent fly bridge - broached badly in a following sea.

23ft Penguin ultimate island cab - great boat for its size. 

23ft Trophy pro- 5 liter inboard ,   under powered. 

26ft Seaswirl pilot house - 5.7 liter volvo duoprop , should have kept it.

25ft Boston Whaler conquest - 300 Suzuki, cockpit too small, should have kept it..

34ft Black Watch fly bridge , awsum game boat - bank account insufficient funds

10ft ali dingy with a victor outboard safety jet

13ft ali centre console

4.2 quintrex dory

46ft bertram flybridge

 It's good knowing that I am not the only one who has been through a few tubs! 

Started in a 14 ft riveted dehavilland tempest, came with the original big twin evinrude anchor, swapped it for an old 35 seahorse which ended up having some serious issues, replaced with ex commercial 1600hr etec 50.

Second was custom built 5.2 plate cc with jetted 40 old zuke. Swapped that for the etec, rebuilt the old 35 to sell on the dehavilland. Sold cc for a couple reasons, motor was getting up to the 2000 hours mark, but the design had scuppers, but no flow back valves, and because it wasn't the most stable tub we just got wet feet all the time, and the water would filter down into the bilge through the underdeck storage drain hole. 

Sold that one for the trailblazer 5800 with 115 Saltwater series, high hours at 900, but ran like a dream, and I discovered rotto with that boat, but due to lack of use with unreliable mates not keen on going out at a few days notice, she sat around too much, so sold her and even turned a profit! (I did put a lot of hours into her) 

Just bought a little tinny, similar to a stabi craft, 25 Yamaha, bought it with next to no hours, but thinking of putting a 40 on to pull a wake boarder better and go better with 4 on board. Most stable and easy to use boat yet! Towed it on a couple big trips already down south, Hamelin/Augusta, Walpole, Albany. And so easy with just one bloke. Also gets 32 knots with just the 25 on it! Planning on keeping this one for a while. 

Been in boats since I could walk. Old man had a 19 foot Star boat, then went upto a 23 foot Star with a 200 black anchor. Which I duly took over   Also had access to six 14 foot tinnies as the olds owned a boat hire business over east for nearly six years, only problem was they only had 5 hp motors on them due to the rules over there. When we came back to the West, I bought a 4.45 m Stessco with a 40hp Merc. Which gave me 10 years of outstanding service. Until she unfortunately broke her mooring whilst camping up at Shark Bay and got thrown up on rocks for the rest of the night Anyway I now have a 21 foot Trophy pro with a diesel pushing her along. Will never break any speed records but is a great boat. Also replaced the tinny with a 4.1 m Bermuda and 30hp Merc. For yearly trips upto Ningaloo Station & Shark Bay. 

Chris

3.7M STACER WITH 15HP JOHNO

525 STACER WITH 70HP

6.1M WESTERBERG WITH 150 OCEANRUNNER THEN 150HPDI YAMAHA

4.2M QUINTREX W.B with 25hp yammy

2700 Noosa Cat with twin 200hp yammys

460 topender with 60hp 4stroke tiller - still got

660 Assassin  H.T with 225 yammy - still got

385 explorer with 25hp yammy and electric - still got

Think there was a couple mor tinnies in there as well

First boat was a 16 foot Glasscraft Runabout with a 55HP Outboard - this was my first experience with "BOAT" (break out another thousand), But I loved it aNd fished all up and down the coast with it.

Second boat was un upgrade, a 16ft Penguin Phantom with 85 HP Merc, my experiences with "BOAT" continued but what a great little hull, although the black anchor was a cause for concern. Again, we went everywhere in this.

Third boat was another upgrade a 18'6" Penguin Huntress CC with a 125HP Volvo inboard. Great hull, safe but bloody wet ! Volvo was fresh water cooled, reliable, economical but gutless

Fourth boat was a New Seeker 23 with a 350 Chev. This was definitely an upgrade and a quantum leap in comfort. Hard Top, power steering, sliding glass windows. I loved this boat and took it everywhere. Kept it for 14 years. My mates still talk about the quality of the ride. It was an absolute gem in the water, no vices, as safe as a house and went like a scalded cat (if you could swallow the fuel bill). Quit this one as it was too big for me, family didn't want to go fishing so it had to go.

Fifth boat was a 600 Haines Signature, Crano has this boat now, although I didn't sell it to him. This was a downgrade on the Seeker in size, power and comfort. Trailed it up and down the coast and tried everything to make it something it couldn't be. It was solid, looked good and went well with a 150 yammie 4 stroke but it rode too firmly for my back,so it had to go.

Sixth (and not necessarily last) is a 685 Cruise Craft Outsider with twin 115 Yammie 4 strokes. Returned to a bigger boat with a better ride. Unbeatable presence on the water, solid, safe and predictable and bloody well built. Happy as Larry at this moment in time. By the way, still suffering with "BOAT" syndrome though.

and all i seem to be doing is swapping 1 set of problems for another .looking back prob. the best was 6.1m. genesis but had 150 etec. 

Started with my father's 18ft Bertram Carribean with a tower of power red band 125 Merc.

Twenty years later bought a Guardian 16 with a 65hp Mariner great little boat

Next was a Supreme Craft with a Volvo Penta AQ115. Great boat shi... motor.

First mod was a 19ft Douglass Craft runabout with a 150hp Johnno Silver Star. Getting better.

Second mod was a 20ft Bahai Mar we changed over to a pod with a 225 EFI Merc. Beautiful hull, thirsty motor.

Presently on our epitome being a 1983? Savage customised to a CC with a 250 Etec. Fantastic hull, great reliable motor and go anywhere.