Thread: 15ft fiberglass boats. Education required

Biggest pro/con for/against fiberglass is the weight. You'll need a bigger motor & more fuel, but if you're pulling the kids around they give a much better wake and handle the chop much smoother. I loved my little tinny & it was perfect for me but like others have said, it's best to try both your options

Haven't put mine up a bank yet trail and error

Originally Posted by Joe_90

It's a long weekend and I've run out of rocks to look at.

So, have been putting some more thought into a boat.
Will mostly get used for family outings on the lake for pulling a biscuit or waterskiing etc. Possibly a bit of fishing in the future. Personally, I've never done a lot of fishing.

With a jetboat I suspect the progression would be: Too scared to use it properly, then end up with it parked up a bank. In multiple pieces.

I think a 15ft fiberglass with outboard would do the trick. Small enough to be easy to launch but big enough for 3 kids.
Something like:
Attachment 216189


What do I need to look out for when purchasing an older second hand boat?

Do I want to know the hidden costs? Both maintenance and other things you don't need but you do.
(like reloading, you end up with a bench full of essential things)

ran boats on lake Waikaremoana for eight years - the light alloys can be a real handfull on the lake if it gets windy and require the driver to run correct lines against wind driven chop -the best were the heavy fiberglass for comfort and ride -Haines hunter were the stand out the older V198 or more modern SF700 but the bigger Buccaneers were good - the trickest boat we had was an alloy Ramco Fisherman 16 footer -not for inexperienced drivers thats for sure -the worst boat we had was a 17 foot pontoon alloy I believe made in Napier - I called it the pig boat -the bloody thing just would not lift its nose and plane properly but just wanted to run level of course meant it lifted water up and over the nose in a chop and yup ya got drenched - our main bigger boat was a 24 foot Elmarco alloy - really great big heavy alloy -ran the lake very well indeed - later we got a 30 foot jet boat custom made 300 HP Yanmar diesel - great handled the lake well but weed it just did not like it at all - so for that lake at least jet not recommended - one problem at the lake newbies get wrong is anchoring at night - the correct way is nose into shore and stern lines out either side - but really pick your spot - the wind can get up overnight and cause grief - if I was doing a lot on the lake maybe alloy as the constant moving on that shoreline is hard on keels - 2-3 trips a year maybe not such an issue - REC hunting for me a big old fiberglass just for the ride

If you get keen to buy one this is at Tapanui in a shed. Old but dosen't get used much.
3 of us own it. 60 johnstone and aux.

Hi Joe_90
Check out - https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....ur-boat-76811/ - in the Fishing section – a couple of pages back so needs a “bump”
I started with a Fleetline Sapphire with a 65 Mercury – it was a great little boat that we used round Taupo, Kapiti Island and probably a bit far off Foxton
We upgraded to a Fleetline Solitaire with a 110 Mercury – a very solid boat that we used further off the coast of Wanganui – we got a bit busy and left it in a shed for about six years or so – when we got it ready to use – I noticed all the side plates on the cooling circuit side were starting to rot – so we had that side rebuilt and it was fine – sold it to a family that used it for a ski boat for years
Both of those boats had trailer problems – welds stressed and broke – so be very careful of trailer fractures around welds
There are plenty of those boats on the second hand market – most of the lake boats will be in reasonable condition but motors will be risky
Good luck

And if your not sure just ask, unlike this dip stick

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/austra...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

@Joe_90 Some of the older fibreglass hull designs are still very good today. I had a Fi-Glass fireball ( 1976 vintage ) and it was an excellent and safe performer. I did a lot of spearfishing and salt water fishing out of it in a variety of conditions from dead flat to some horrible bar crossings etc. Very stable and consistent . One thing I would say is the older motors can tend to be unreliable .
I noticed you mention fishing in the canals around Twizel.... just a foot note, you can't swim or have any form of boat in those canals . It's not a public waterway , they are owned / leased by Hydro companies.

Originally Posted by viper

@Joe_90 Some of the older fibreglass hull designs are still very good today. I had a Fi-Glass fireball ( 1976 vintage ) and it was an excellent and safe performer. I did a lot of spearfishing and salt water fishing out of it in a variety of conditions from dead flat to some horrible bar crossings etc. Very stable and consistent . One thing I would say is the older motors can tend to be unreliable .
I noticed you mention fishing in the canals around Twizel.... just a foot note, you can't swim or have any form of boat in those canals . It's not a public waterway , they are owned / leased by Hydro companies.

I've also heard they get a bit funny if you drop a line inside the nets just by the bridge at Ohau B canal.

If it were me I would be reluctant to buy an older glass hull. Up until the 90's the transoms in most glass boats contained significant amounts of wood and the stringers in the hull were also wooden. people fit/modify fish finder transducers, boarding ladders, replace outboards etc and drill holes in the transom. Inadequate sealing leads to the transom wood rotting usually from the bottom up and often it can wick through and affect the ends of the stringers. People say you can tap the fibreglass on the transom with a small hammer or the handle of a large screw driver and hear the hollowness of rot. Really the only way to know is to drill some exploratory holes. There is a trend these days for people to buy the likes of older haines hunters, figlass viscounts etc and cut the transom and even stringers out if needed and glass in new ones and fit a outboard pod to get a cheap soft riding seaworthy hull. I'd stay away from older glass jet boats too. They are mostly powered by ancient V6 ford grenada and falcon engines etc that were good in their day but are now a maintenance liability.

Originally Posted by sore head stoat

Fibreglass hull. Get underneath the boat when it is on the trailer with a hammer. Start tapping the hull, if the hammer makes a clean bang and bounces back at you then the glass is ok. If however it makes a dull thud you possibly have delamination ..

Wrap the face of the hammer with a few layers of rag and insulation tape. Soften the edges of the steel so you don't damage the gel coat and glass. Even better is a plastic faced or rubber faced hammer...