New Fishing Family

[mrandmrs]

Hi everyone.Were about to purchase our first fishing boat just for pleasure fishing trips and general cruising about,Any idea's on the best boat to suit our budget of about 3k. Were looking at mayland fishing boats which looks like it would suit our demands,but any advice would be much appreciated. Oh were from maylandsea essex and wanted to know any good fishing hot spots around us.

[cuckoo]

Cant help you on the boat business , but i welcome you and your family to the forum :win: , look forward to your reports :rtfm: ,

lee.

[Pete B]

Welcome to the site,
What model 'Mayland' are you interested in? Mayland did make alot of river boats so be carefull that your not buying one of these if you intend to use it on the open sea.
Have a look here - www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/php/welcome.php3
The 'Warrior 150 & 165' aswell as the 'Seahog Samurai', the 'explorer elite' & the 'predator 165' are all perfect styles with lots of deck space aswell as a short cuddy for a bit of protection from the elements, all would make a great family fishing boat but unfortunately none will come within your buget. Have a look at what they offer & then try to find something of similar style but older (therefore cheaper).
Have a look at some 'Orkneys' The 'Strikeliner' & 'Fastliner' were well made good safe boats, the design's a little dated when compared to the above boats but now that they're a few years old you may well be able to pick one up within your budget price.
Good luck with your search, lets us know how you get on.

[snowy]

Similarly have a look at the 'sea hog' range of boats. the 'hunter' has been around many years and is a good solid sea boat. Stable but a slams a bit in any sort of sea. Some owners complain about it but the answer is to slow down.

[Rich]

have a look at the wilson flyer boats all sorts of sizes plenty of deck space,a bit slammy in rough weather but very stablejust need to ease off the throtle!ive had them for years and you can get a good 2nd hand one for a good price!
good luck
Rich

[mrandmrs]

Hi thanks for all the replies.The model Mayland we are looking at is a 17ft Mayland Mariner. Does anyone know if this is a sea worthy boat? As for other models weve also looked at the same size shetlands.Are these ok? We did really want a cabin rather than a cuddy so if we do take the children out they have somewhere safe to go. Also what size engine would people recommend and what to look out for with outboards? Thanks again

[Dave.S]

Hi Mr& Mrs

There should be a makers plate on the boat somewhere with all the boats details ie length, weight max number of persons CE rating and max power. This should tell you how big an engine you can fit.
I would have thought a 40 - 50hp would be suitable.

Good hunting

Dave

[trigger]

hi guys my son had a Mayland 17ft for a few years, they are an ideal boat to start of with, an outboard about 30hp is ideal.check out secondhand RNLI engines,Dave Crawford Marine at Lymington may help you.the Mayland is stable, tough, and easy to customise ,nice roomy cabin for the kids,and if they need some TLCwith just a coat of good quality marine paint they look like new.there is quite a lot of storage under the seats.hope this is of some help regards Trigger

[Canuck]

In the price range you have I would recommend the Wilson 17' with standard cabin, they have a short freeboard (distance from waterlevel to gunnel) so with a family, side rails are essential. Power about 60hp would be more than enough and plenty fast for a thrill! My first boat was a Pilot 17 which was the for runner of many of the present day dory's we had a lot of fun and some serious fishing as the kids grew up, thoroughly recommend these craft.

[wightsurf]

When getting a outboard, make sure you get the right shaft for the boat. Short or long shaft that is. Some people, umm like me and my first boat got it wrong.