First vessel!!!!! okay ... it's only a tinnie

[Muppet Arms]

Two of my mates and I took delivery of our first boat. Little tinnie. 3.7m Stessi. 15hp mercury on the back. brand new trailor. registered. $3000. One of the lads knew the guy we bought it off and we're pretty happy and think we got a great deal. The previous owner has a number of boats and wanted to get rid of at least one so we figured everyone was a winner. Although he did say after the deal was done that he probably let it a little cheap!

Anyways ... just got to get all the compulsory safety gear now .... signalling mat, bucket, flare, oars, nav lights as we may be interested in a few brissie river night missions .... came with anchor and rope ..... how essential is a sounder? We will mainly stick to brissie river and tributaries although I may be tempted by the bay on a glassed out breathless day to chase some pelagics or nobbies.

Advice welcomed.

Cheers guys ... we're stoked!

[kamarshark]

Well done on your first boat mate, look foward to you future fish post.

Regards,

Steve

[Guest]

Well Done on your first boat mate, im sure you will have alot of fun with your new toy

Stay safe bro

Cheers

Darren

[rayke1938]

A sounder is pretty much a necessity you can get a new basic one quite cheaply that will do for finding depths and drop offs.

Check out bri the poms one that he advertised a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.australianfishing.com.au/forum/13-for-sale/347062-for-sale-hummingbird-fishfinder-near-new-

They are a very good black and white one and its well priced or go the whole hog and get the humminbird that bi-polar is selling.

Depends how much you wish to spend.

2 good free catalogs to pick would be from Bias Boating and Whitworths marine . Yo can order them on line and they update them quarterly they are ideal for ideas and comparing prices.

Check the regs and ensure that your nav lights are legal nasty fine if they are not.

Cheers

Ray

[Dell]

Nice buy mate. Nothing wrong with a tinny. I catch just as much fish outa my mates tinny then i do outa my skeeter. Sounders aren't essential in my eyes but do help alot if you're looking for new grounds to fish.

cheers

[woody1]

Nothing wrong with a tinny, You can reach plenty of good spots around brizzy in a setup like that!

I recommend getting a sounder, it really helps your confidance knowing you are on some good structure and seeing fish move around under you. The sounder I hace (garmin 300C) is on sale at BCF for $169. It is a really easy to use unit and definately worth the money. I think colour is easier to read than B&W for a beginner http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/products/Garmin-300c-Fishfinder.aspx?pid=164957#Description

Just so you know, you dont legally need flares for where you are thinking of going. It cant hurt to have them, but Its another $60 you can put into the sounder and buy flares later when you are ready top head out in the northen end of the bay.

Anyway, look foreward to seeing some reports. Where are you thinking of heading for your maiden voyage?

[zan0_15]

cracka first boat mate! congrats on the purchase, few summer days out on the water will be nice!

[mick fillet]

sounds like a ripper mate. a 15 would make it boogy. and there nothing wrong with a tinnie that size its a good size great buy indeed

[Manni79]

Well done lads, your gonna have a heap of fun in that !!