Review on Bellcraft and Saavage Tasman
Submitted by clueless on Wed, 2015-10-28 14:21
Hi all, maybe this is the correct place to put this post...
I am after peoples views, all posative or negative as may be the case, on the following boats. Will they be good for a first timer boat, wanting to do Swan river, cockburn sound, carnac island....what about rotto on an excellent day?
Savage Tasman 4.8m 40hp
BellCraft 15ft???? 60hp
Bellcraft $3000 (he does have another Add up saying $2850)
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/baldivis/motorboats-powerboats/15ft-bellcraft-/1091148158
Savage Tasman $3900
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bassendean/motorboats-powerboats/tasman-savage-4-9-meter-/1093003891
Image Upload:
sea-kem
Posts: 14863
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Pics don't work mate.
Pics don't work mate.
Love the West!
Scotte
Posts: 1142
Date Joined: 07/12/06
The savage tasman are pretty
The savage tasman are pretty good mate!
clueless
Posts: 58
Date Joined: 03/09/15
Pictures should work now!
Pictures should work now! Added the gumtree links to the boats in question.
Bucko
Posts: 139
Date Joined: 08/05/10
Bloody hell, make sure the
Bloody hell, make sure the radios work...
bleicester
Posts: 219
Date Joined: 10/09/14
Savage Tasman
Savage Tasman was our first boat and as much as we loved her we out grew her in about 12 months. Plenty of crabbing, biscuiting, crusing around mandurah. Would be fine around the Swan and Cockburn Sound but I'd be hesitant taking her to rotto. If the motor checks out and the hull/transom is not rotting that would be a great buy at that price. The only negative I found, and this will apply to most small boats, was that you had to have a bit of weight up front to balance the load of the two jerry cans, battery, and motor all up the back. You can only really utilise those molded seats at the back when at rest.
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Fish not found
clueless
Posts: 58
Date Joined: 03/09/15
thanks for the reply! Some
thanks for the reply! Some good information - its good to hear you think its a decent boat. Was it stable enough? handled some Chop? Just wondering how it would handle the areas cockburn sound to carnac island.
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Finding a boat for about
Finding a boat for about $3000 to do everything you mentioned, will be impossible! For a budget of $3000, you can get a decent boat that will handle river & cockburn sound (inshore), but not Rottnest. Yes I'm aware that some people go to Rotto on dinghies etc but the reality is, you'll be a first time boat owner with I assume limited knowledge on boating. I'm sorry to sound harsh but I'd rather you to be safe than hear about you on the news...
A few years ago, I was in your shoes. Just got my skippers ticket and thought I could do buy a boat to do everything, with a budget of $4000. After speaking to a few mates and my boating instructor, they suggested that I find a nice runabout to practice my boating skills and allowed me to fish river and inshore waters. When I felt confident, then upgrade. After months of searching, I ended up with a Northshore 145 runabout. It had a 55hp johnson and full gear including epirb, fishdinder, bimini, flares etc. It costed me only $3200. The motor never failed me, nor did any of the equipment. So yes, theres good deals to be had if you have patience.
After about 8 months, I felt confident to head further out so I sold the Northshore and bought a Voyager LTD. Great boat which allowed me to fish past 3 mile reef and around Direction bank!
Last year, I felt that having a half cabin was a waste because we dont do sleepovers. The boat was mainly used for fishing. So I sold it and bought my current boat, a Penguin Huntress 18.6ft runabout. The deck space is awesome fot fishing, and the ride & handling is sensational!! Cost of the Penguin: only 5K !
I am extremely happy with the Penguin so will be keeping it for awhile. Hence why I will be upgrading the electronics etc in the near future. The boat might not be as flash as most FW members' boats but it's what I could afford at the time. More importantly, it has provided hours of fun for family & friends, and covers my boating/fishing needs perfectly!
Sorry for the looong story, but just wanted to share with you my experiences. In short, with your budget, buy a good runabout and go from there! All the best and happy boat hunting mate!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
clueless
Posts: 58
Date Joined: 03/09/15
I dont think your sounding
I dont think your sounding harsh mate, this is the stuff I wanted to hear. As you rightly guessed im new to boating with little access to boating knowledge through friends. I never really expected to make it to rotto. I think I will be doing exactly as you and Bleicester have done and getting something to entertain me and gain confidence and knowledge to begin with and then move up when I really get to know what I want/need.
I am unsure if I should get a cheap fiberglass like the two shown or try and get a 4.2m tinny forward control.
Its a hard choice when you dont have much experience in small boats and tinnys, choosing the right one that you will be happy with for at least 12months is difficult.
holth
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 09/10/06
From experience keep saving
From experience keep saving your money mate and buy right the first time.
From what you want to do a 4.5mtr ali runabout will do well. Started there myself. After time was taking it 20miles offshore.
clueless
Posts: 58
Date Joined: 03/09/15
Yeah I will continue to save
Yeah I will continue to save as i can. I would certainly go a tinny but any decent tinny, as in not the open boat tiller steer are all out of my budget at the moment. Hence looking at these cheaper options.
I'm not in any rush though, i will keep seeing if any decent bargains show up.
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Deckie
Clueless, Tailor and crabbing season is now here. During late spring and summer, I like to fish around Matilda Bay on Saturdays in the late arvos/evenings. I launch at Matilda Bay, which is a short drive from you/Freo. If you're keen, I will keep you in mind if I need a deckie to come along? I'll even let you run the boat so you can have a bit of experience for when you test drive a potential purchase. To me, its all about having fun, mate. Have a couple of beers and hopefully bring home a decent feed for the family. Im not a hardcore fisho! Lol
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!