Thread: Small boat advice and options

Originally Posted by Hiawatha

Thanks. I will be using it in good conditions off Wairarapa coast, Wellington and up east coast and further north on holidays. Am leaning towards Mac360 if I can get a system with wheels that means I can handle it. Do people think I will be able to? I like the idea of a robust pontoon. I have a 4WD ute but also want to launch in wee nice beaches without surfing ute in there. So hand launching would be good. The RIBs just make me a bit uncomfortable re shelf life and having to worry about punctures etc. Tell me if I am being silly and dreaming to launch a Mac360 easily.

Oversized jockey wheel and 30m of rope to drag the trailer out of the water cuts down on stuck vehicles and rusty chassis.

I had a 10ft Parkercraft for a number of years , easily launched by myself or a mate , had it on a car trailer or back of a ute, 6hp johnson ,great until said motor blew a headgasket codding and I had to row a fair way back to shore certainly put things in perspective, next purchase was a handheld radio and a beacon , upgraded to a pontoon dinghy similiar to a Fewza/stabicraft with a 30hp , I made an extension bar for the trailer which gave me more reach but dont use it where I launch from now . Certainly feel a lot safer but miss out on portability, still easy to launch by myself at boatramp and great for fishing and diving out of . wish I had gone this way earlier. my 2cents worth . good luck on your search

we have had a 13ft fryan dingy for .......years now...15 at a guess
for 12 of those we powered it with a 6hp 4stroke merc....lovely reliable motor .really reliable. I could get it up to 26kmph solo and towed in some rather large boats that had drifted off trying to get thier motors going.abused it with boat loaded to gunnals duck shooting gear galore.
it was always a bit slow with more than 2 people in it and we got wet if wind came up and we had to scoot home at whopping 15kmph

fast forward,kids have left home
bit the bullet and bought a 15hp 2 stroke merc

first time out,MUM Myself and both dogs,back out of ramp,turn around and start heading out across lake quietlygive it a little jandle and boat pops up onto plane straight away,Wifey looks at me and says "why did we fu&# around with small motor for so long?" I then twisted throttle right open and she nearly shat herself as it rocketed forwards .gps tells me it goes 38-39kmph with us four in it and 41 with just my fat arse....tiller extention is a must,the further forward my fat arse is the better it will handle...and when wind comes up we fang it home skipping over top of waves instead of bouncing through them getting wet.

slightly more $$$$ spent on larger HP is a good thing.I CAN launch it solo across soil or sand but it is hard work. we recently converted an old boat trailer to make it fit....all up it owes us maybe a couple of hundy and it makes life just so much easier having a little winch and rollers. definately worth the effort to launch where you can get to the water,If we lift motor right up its simple matter to winch boat back onto trailer even off the ground.

I have a stabicraft 389, low sides, cuddy cabin, 30hp Yamaha on the back. The closest I fish here is 8km off shore and feel safe every time I go out. A 24l tote will get me over 50km on the water... It is a hell of a lot lighter then a Mac 360 and I still wouldn't want to launch it on wheels by my self. Off a trailer, anyone can launch and retrieve my boat.... The mac won't break but it's hard to convey how robust they are if you haven't seen one in the flesh....

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Some neat looking boats. Have done a ton of research in past couple weeks and looking like an inflatable RIB might be the go for portability and weight. It will always be a compromise but this might mean I take it more places and use it more. Easy to cart around on holiday and launch. A 10 to 12 footer should be good for two people to fish out of. Sounds like the good ones are stable and punctures are not that common? Peoples thoughts appreciated. was also told a 2 stroke motor so it can be laid horizontal for transport as well unlike a four stroke. What do you think?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Hiawatha

Some neat looking boats. Have done a ton of research in past couple weeks and looking like an inflatable RIB might be the go for portability and weight. It will always be a compromise but this might mean I take it more places and use it more. Easy to cart around on holiday and launch. A 10 to 12 footer should be good for two people to fish out of. Sounds like the good ones are stable and punctures are not that common? Peoples thoughts appreciated. was also told a 2 stroke motor so it can be laid horizontal for transport as well unlike a four stroke. What do you think?

Thanks

I have a Honda 4 Cycle and it can be transported horizontally. Just make sure it is laid down on it's feet.

2 stroke for portability if planning on taking it on and off. Way lighter for the power. Go 10 or 15. 8 will plane my 3.1 with 2 up but 10 would be better, 15 better again. I'll probably swap to a Suzi 15 in the future for more safety margin. I reckon go 3.4 on the boat if you can too.

Just be careful and punctures can be avoided. Use circle hooks, spear gaff or net fish, keep them away from the pontoons. Punctures don't seem to be catastrophic anyway. Other people being spastic are the biggest puncture risk, train any passengers well