If you are buying new, most dealers will take your for a sea trial if you are serious. Some will even take you fishing in the model of your choice. You have to decide what you want to spend as that narrows the playing field. No boat will be 100% what you want. Just bear that in mind.

Mate, go and have a chat with Paul at Northshore, he's got a 7.6 in the yard at the moment which may be in your price range.

iv got a hainse patriot 680, great boat does everything i want it to, might be a bit out of your budget coming in i think around 110 000, the trophys are a really nice and seem to be finshed off great, i doubt if you are spending 80k on a brand new fiberlgass boat thats its going to quite simply fall apart on you if thats what your worried about, your other opion is ally you get alot of boat for your money but in my opinion if your after a nice riding boat then you just wont get it out of an ally once you have been down the fiberglass road

Thanks Luke... Your boat would be magic, I got on board one at the boat show very nice indeed but you are right it is a bit over my budget..I'm getting to old for ally the back and knee's would not be happy. Do you know any trophy owners? .. Never know lotto has to be one by some one ? cheers Darryl

I am not current with boat prices, but I dont think there are any 6m plus Trophys for that kind of money. Having said that, you do get alot of boat for what you pay, with the Trophys. If you do a sea trial, pick a crap day to go out, then you will get a good feel for the boat and you will get to experience first hand what to expect when you go offshore.

I believe Jersey has a used center consul Grady White on the market. Might be worth checking out.

Alot of boat manufactures claim that their products have flotation and some even say they have level flotation. You have to take that with a pinch of salt. Level flotation is often bare boat. Once you have a t top or hard top, gear, outboard with the weight up high (power head location), the CG changes and with the sail effect of anything above the water line it will be quite hard to maintain level flotation in most open waters, unless it's near glass off conditions, which happens, but is rare here in WA.

Most boats will sink if they take on lots of water, the amount of flotation is usually calculated at the weight of an empty boat -generally the more available space you have, the more you carry. Most boats with "level" flotation will keep some part of the boat out of the water, but not necessarily upright. If you can accept that, then the choices get easier.

Of the local boats, I like the Northshores and Haines Patriots. You probably will be able to get more custom work done with the Northshores as they are locally made.

You still haven't mentioned what your intended use is.

Fishing, Fishing and Nothing but Fishing.. The best use I know of... The Northshore guy's are really nice to deal with.. They do any and all custom work... trophy's at Avante starting price for 20ft was $62k for the basics, Avante want top dollar even for their second hand boats. After hearing some of the horror stories I don't think I could buy a Trophy unless purchased a relatively new one then spend a fortune strengthening the hull and correcting their other supposed problems. It would make much more sense to get Northshore to build another Walkaround if they still have the mold for Walkaround deck I saw 3 years ago. I will let you know what happens because I will be phoning them on Monday to make some inquiries. Cheers Darryl

A 670 Allrounder should slip into your budget....

An older American workmate of mine whos a keen fisherman based from Florida has told me all about the trophys.

Reckons in the states they were built as a budget package to get your average family on the water. They were mass produced as a one stop shop type boat to buy and turn the key and go - obviously compared to alot of boats in Aus they are still a really nice boat.

I was giving the guy a bit of a questioning on them as I was also interested in one of them about a year ago...

He says the newer ones are good due to a change of ownership, he reccommended to me to not buy anything older than about the 1998, before this he said they did have a tendency to break up and as you say lie on the bottom of the ocean.

I agree HuggyB that Commodore Marine will be worth a look as well. Have not been on one on the water, but have heard good things about them.

Do you plan to overnite or is it just day trips? If you plan on weekends away, a cab is nice to have. If not a center consul will do.

Who makes 670 all rounder.. is that a commodore boat ? Have not had a close look at any commodore's as yet..YES,to overnight's...I like a cab even a half cab like my Baron.. Realy taken a liking to most walkaround style boats like Cobia,Mustang,Trophy... and the best one [for me] so far, The walkaround i saw at NORTHSHORE about 2 or 3 years ago... Stunning boat.The owner was a top guy, He made time to go thru a'lot of question's with me and nothing seemed to hard for him.. thanks for the input guy's....Cheer's Darryl

But if you are keen on a walkaround, maybe the Danny Green 685 walkaround by Commodore Marine might be a better option? I think the Rat project would be well beyond your budget.

Not sure if anyone has them here (or if they still make them?), but a friend in Sydney had a Haines Hunter Prowler 650 that was a walkaround and you could sleep in the cabin as an overnighter (I wouldn't want to spend anymore than a night in it though). That wasn't a bad boat fishing wise either.

Not sure if it particularly has to be a glass boat, but in the ali boats there are plenty to choose from such as Genesis, Chivers, Coraline and any number of custom boat builders around Perth to name but a few.

But give him a call and have a chat.

and more than happy to take you out for a spin or take you through the factory to see the build process.

Thank's we will give you a call in the week and make a time to come down and have a look... Cheer's Darryl
TOO True Adam !

G’day Darryl

I bought my 2052 Trophy with turbo Diesel 3.5 years ago…looked at the Commodore at the show but they were ‘just’ being made. I’d be seriously looking at them now as an option though.

In terms of the Trophy, as said, they are a mid range boat from the States and hence the finish of them is not up there like the Haines…but that’s what an extra 40K gets you.

The diesel is awesome for range (320NM) – my first trip (25hrs on the clock) was for 7 nights to the Montes – up the West side of Barrow and back down the east side. The Trophy is very capable in any conditions thrown at it. I have not seen a better Walkaround setup on another similar sized boat then the Trophy in particular the cabin layout – but this is my opinion based on the fact that ours is a family overnighter (5 nights max so far) as well.

If the boat is to be purely used for fishing, then better might be out there, like the Commodore (I’d go the Rat if my numbers come up!).

If you do go down the Trophy path, contact me for the nitty and gritty.

Cheers Pete

Nice to hear Pete.. At last a bit more of a positive story for the Trophy.. With all i have heard, Even when buying NEW it is still money well spent to have it fully checked over by a pro.......

 Cheer's  Darryl

Pete, how big is the tank for that sort of range?

320 litres shammy, so about 1nm per litre depending on load.

You can fill it up for me if you want to check

Cheers Pete

i have a haines hunter 600 classic

and i'd def recommend having a look at seafarer

i looked at northshore but their more a compromise leasure fisher

go a recent used boat in bigger size over new smaller boat

you'll still need to change loads in a new boat

I just picked up my Tournament 2250 bluewater and whilst I was there another fellow was picking up his 2250 walkaround.I had a good look at his boat and its a real quality walkaround ,the price was just over $90000 with a 200 etec but he had a fair few extras put on as well.The dealer will bend over backwards for you and is a straight shooter.(Waterworld)I can testfiy that the hull is a excellent ride as its the same as mine it also has a large cabin for the overnight stay and a 300litre fuel tank.

Cheers

Solly

When last at Mandurah boat show the best stand was commodore. They let me drool and answered all my questions....

Lived in America and one has to understand capatilism to understand quality.

If I ever have enough $$ I would not hesitate to purchase a commodore for there fraser's  

but good luck and enjoy the moment

Have a look at a Seaswirl.  They make a very nice boat which come pretty well spec'd.  We imported a 2101WA with a 200hp Yamaha on an ali trailer and saved heaps.  I'd agree with Grayzeee.........get a near newie and pocket the difference.

John

Yeh, i reckon thats the way to go aswell. You can pick up a great boat a few yrs old with under 100hrs on the engine.

a mate of mine has a trophy with a 175 outboard ive taken it out a few times not impresssed at all

My mate has a 2005 Trophy 1903 CC with a Yamaha 150hp and she handles beautifully.  Soft ride, enough power, economical and easy to fish.  I have also been on a Trophy 1952WA with a 4.3ltr mercruiser (190hp) and that was excellent as well.

Was your mates an older boat?

PS Bloke who called yesterday about the Seaswirl import call again.  Your number was blocked!

 I had a Trophy 2352 Walkaround with a mate. No probs and a better ride than most on the Aussie market. Fitted out well with things where you need them.

The 2352WA is a great sized boat. Our 1952WA was great for us with two little tackers to hold on to. She used to get up and fly easily. I find the 2352Wa a great model and like you say has everything you want. Plenty of power?

Yep