plated boats

[zeppelin]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can help me out....my partner and i just bought a 5.2m plated boat, however I didnt ask the question when we bought it....is a plated boat an aluminium boat with fibreglass over the top of it...or is it just something to do with the builders plate which is uniform for certain boats? any help appreciated. zeppelin.

[Tiny Tin]

plate boats are aluminium..no glass in the at all. unless you've had a glass cabin put on for some reason (maybe as an after thought). plate boats are a lot heavier than your average tinny. the weight of the hull is what helps to give a more comfortable ride. they have become a lot more popular in recent years. their robust nature and smoother ride makes them comparable to fibreglass boats. normally the thickness of the plate is used as a 'selling' feature. i just bought a formosa boat with 4mm bottoms and 3 mm sides rather than buy a seajay with 3mm bottoms and 2mm sides. now seajay have brought out a boat with 5mm bottoms and 4mm sides! but instead of using an outboard of under 100hp (which is what i was after for economy)they power this boat (predaking i think) with a 140hp. there's a lot of things to consider when buying plate boats. internal structure..fully welded joins..external pod etc. what boat did you buy

[zeppelin]

hi tiny tin, thanks for the info, i have no idea it was an aluminium boat. We bought a 2006 5.2m Nustar Seadragon, half cabin and its got a yamaha 70- 2 stroke..it cruises well and its a smooth ride and once you get the trim right then it slices through the waves. We just took it out past the Mooloolaba Bar and it cut through the waves well and it had that power when needed to get out a jam. Have looked around and not many Nustar boats like ours are around...only really houseboats?

[shortie]

How can you of taken it for a spin and not realised it was aluminium.

How can you of bought it and not known it was alloy.

Giddey up boys i reckon this is a gee up.

[zeppelin]

the boat was advertised as being 'plated'..and we bought it from springwood marine, so the chances of 'taking her for a spin' was pretty hard. First boat i have ever owned and well im pretty happy with it..regardless if its plated or not. :-) thanks for your input.

[Tiny Tin]

zeppelin, i've not heard of them boats..not that means anything. like you say if it does what you want it to do that's all you need. i had a nova as my first boat. jumped in it at cleveland shot off all over the place. nearly crashed into the bottom end of green island as the water got shallow? asked a bloke at the boat ramp for some advice he said.."GET A BLOODY LICENCE"! :ohmy: sometimes you just go with your gut..it was still a great day out :woohoo:

[zeppelin]

well lucky for us all the fish dont descriminate hey. thanks tiny tin.

[noname]

the difference between a conventional alloy boat and a plate boat is, the conventional alloy boat's material comes off a roll, as a plate boat's materials are on a pallet lying flat. an ikea boat!

[big al]

a 5.2 half cab plated alumn boat with a 70 hp seems a bit under powered to me:(

[noname]

yep sure is. will be a 2 hr trip to the banks.i'd be upping it to 115.

[zeppelin]

thats what i thght at first too, however she runs like a dream and has the bite to get you out of a tight spot if need be...spoken to many experienced boaties and they all are on the same wave length..70hp is enough, she runs at speeds up to 60kms per hour and we get from Scarborough to Moreton is in under 30mins. I guess it all depends on where you wanna go and how fast you want to get there...? different courses for different horses as they say. thanks.

[shortie]

My 5.2 with a 90 is underpowered.

Having been in your boat then you must of realised that there was no fibreglass covering the ally.

[zeppelin]

I just had a look at rhe paperwork and it is definately a plated hull boat and weighs 600kilos. The builders plate recommends an outboard no larger than a 90hp The motor is more than enough for this size boat and many an experienced boatie has advised me that the outboard is suffice. cheers.

[dhess]

I think you mean 'plate hull' not plated hull. At first I thought the thread was about some one blinging their boat out by gold plating it or something.

I agree 70hp is heaps unless you are into watersports. :silly: Oops double meaning. I have a 5.6m plate boat with a 90hp 2 stroke and its more than enough. It cruises at about 40kph and tops out 57kph loaded for offshore fishing. 99% of the time the ride comfort over chop is going to be your limiting factor not the HP of your motor.

[noname]

this is all good except when and if you cross bars. 70 on that size boat is just dangerous, south passage bar pressure waves will travel at nearly 50kph, and if you have a pressure wave building behind you, your gone, ever come through look behind you and there is a pressure wave 3.5 mtrs just about to crash down on ya, you need the power there and then to out run it, as it will suck the boat into the very front of it, this is where the power is needed, but moolloolaba has no bar to contend with, so lucky there.

[chocolope]

I have a 4.5 blue fin plate with 50hp etec, i wish the motor is a bit bigger. It helps when crossing the bar and rough waters. Maybe I'll get a 90 in 12 months time, but the recommended hp is only 50hp. Has anyone gone over their recommended hp rating? (sorry to go off topic ...)

[noname]

mine is 10 hp over, and glad it is. manufacturer ok'd this for insurance purposes for the prev owner, as prev owner had it built heavier than off the floor jobbie.

[AZZA]

I would have thought that one or two of these experienced boaties that you sought advice on motors would have been able to advise on the construction material used in your boat and going for a spin in boat from springwood marine is never a problem for a serious buyer. Now I know that Scarbough to moreton is about 27klm for memorey that means that means that you would need to be traverling at over 54ks per hour to get there in under 30mins, now I have had a tin boat with 115hp and without a glassed out bay that would be hard to do. So Iam with shorty on this one

[noname]

think i got this 1?

the boat lenght is 5.2 mtrs overall

take off 200mm for the bowsprit = 5.00

take another 300 mm for the transom, being a pod, = 4.70

this sounds like the size for the max hp rating

this is where the sales people suck people in, a 5.60 mtr boat is really only 5.00.

[faulked]

fair bet the PLATED hull refers to the manufactures plate and it is a PRESSED alloy hull freeing up lots of weight a PLATE hull will have no pressed folds in the sides or bottom plates as the alloy is to hard to bend and cracks instead

also if it has a fiber glass cabin structure on a alloy hull this means its a COMPOSITE hull

hope this helps to clariffy things its so easy to get things arse about when learning the ropes

jason

[zeppelin]

thanks very much, and your exactly right, it does have a fibreglass cabin so obviously it is a composite hull. Thanks.

[zeppelin]

hi Azza,

in response to your answer, yes the bay was glassed out on our way to Tangalooma and it was one of the smoothest seas I have seen for a long time..16 May 09, and it took approximately 30-40mins to get to Curtain Reef and we were travelling at approx 55klms per hour. The profile picture I have was taken at Curtain Reef that day and I picked myself up a thumper of a GT. :-)

[tugger]

yeh zepplin yhat size motor sounds right to me as i have a 5.4 meter cuddy cab alloy with a 90hp and my top speed is 66kph and your boat was recomended size no more than 90hp so to me 70 to 90hp would be spot on

[tugger]

3.5 meter waves i wouldn't dream of going out in and ive crossed south passage bar for the last 30yrs and i haven't had waves catch me doing 50kph normally i sit on the back of one at average speeds of 20 to 30kph noname wrote:

this is all good except when and if you cross bars. 70 on that size boat is just dangerous, south passage bar pressure waves will travel at nearly 50kph, and if you have a pressure wave building behind you, your gone, ever come through look behind you and there is a pressure wave 3.5 mtrs just about to crash down on ya, you need the power there and then to out run it, as it will suck the boat into the very front of it, this is where the power is needed, but moolloolaba has no bar to contend with, so lucky there.

[noname]

faulked wrote:

fair bet the PLATED hull refers to the manufactures plate and it is a PRESSED alloy hull freeing up lots of weight a PLATE hull will have no pressed folds in the sides or bottom plates as the alloy is to hard to bend and cracks instead

also if it has a fiber glass cabin structure on a alloy hull this means its a COMPOSITE hull

hope this helps to clariffy things its so easy to get things arse about when learning the ropes

jason

some plate boats do have the clinker sides, trailcraft are plate boats! petty i know.

[noname]

tugger wrote:

3.5 meter waves i wouldn't dream of going out in and ive crossed south passage bar for the last 30yrs and i haven't had waves catch me doing 50kph normally i sit on the back of one at average speeds of 20 to 30kph noname wrote:

this is all good except when and if you cross bars. 70 on that size boat is just dangerous, south passage bar pressure waves will travel at nearly 50kph, and if you have a pressure wave building behind you, your gone, ever come through look behind you and there is a pressure wave 3.5 mtrs just about to crash down on ya, you need the power there and then to out run it, as it will suck the boat into the very front of it, this is where the power is needed, but moolloolaba has no bar to contend with, so lucky there.

rather than writing a book about it, as for 50kph, we came back through the bar at a good speed, and got caught twice, and twice we had to out run them, if they had caught us, swamped for sure!

[zeppelin]

Dont think it really matters what bar you cross and what size boat you have....bar crossings can be dangerous. One day you might cross the bar have no problems...and think you have conquered it,...the next day run into every problem known to a boatie.....dont know about anyone else here...but I would rather wait another day for the seas to be calm...the fish will still be there...and obviously i will be too...

[kriso]

anychance of a pic of the boat, sounds interesting?

[zeppelin]

hi kriso, i have been trying for a few days now how to work out to download pictures to an album on my profile, apparently i need to update my java program...not that computer savvy..ill work it out soon enough thgh.

[big al]

i dont think this boat can be a true plate aluminium boat going by the hp rating just had a look at my 4.8 fisher centre console which is 4mm plate aly all round and the hp rating on it is max 140hp so cant see how a 5.2 could be rated only to max 90hp

[Tiny Tin]

just bought a formosa plate boat..5.2 4mm bottom 3mm sides. these are rated from 75 to 90hp. wonder if max engine rating has anything to do with.. a)the newer outboards.. hull design. i picked a suzuki 90hp 4 stroke which should push it around at 60kph i guess if you want more you can have it but 60kph is plenty for me. in all the years fishing offshore i can count the times i could max the boat on one hand. not made of money either

[big al]

tiny tin it must be hull design and how they are put together ext mine has a 115 hp suzuki on it reves to 6200 and by the gps gets 63kph with 4 on as you say plenty fast i thing all depends on weight of boat as to how fast they go to what size motor you have on :laugh:

[Tiny Tin]

big al wrote:

tiny tin it must be hull design and how they are put together ext mine has a 115 hp suzuki on it reves to 6200 and by the gps gets 63kph with 4 on as you say plenty fast i thing all depends on weight of boat as to how fast they go to what size motor you have on :laugh:

cheers big al..hey mate how dya find the suzuki. i'm still running mine in got like 10 minutes on it :laugh: hopefully work will ease off and it'll stop raining so i can use it. think the hull on my rig weighs 500 kegs..motor 150 so with me and the young fella it'll be pushing two tonne :woohoo:

[big al]

ha tiny tin suzuki are bloody fantastic best thing is the fuel or lack of using any as you will soon find out :woohoo: :woohoo: no problem with it at all 2and half years old now dont know weight of my boat but i reckon bloody heavy al

[shortie]

zeppelin wrote:

thanks very much, and your exactly right, it does have a fibreglass cabin so obviously it is a composite hull. Thanks.

So your sure its a fibraglass cabin. But your not sure if the hull is fibreglass over aluminium.

I also dont think that having a fibreglass cabin in an aluminium boat would make it a composite hull.

[Tiny Tin]

hey big al..when i get this thing run in might have to catch up with ya on the water. they tell me 10hrs to run in..20 hrs for the first service. i usually take it easy til the first service is done..and after good chatting mate. zeppelin same to you mate be good to see you out on the water too..cheers guys

[hisnhers]

I get 32 knots on a good day on the Brisbane river, that's about 59km/h. That's in a 14' fiberglass runabout(4.3m for you metric boys) with a 1971 60hp Johnson(about 45kw?):-)

[shortie]

Is that the boat in your profile pic.

[zeppelin]

hello shortie, yes it is.

[big al]

ahar a fibreglass boat allround