Dave
10-02-2010, 19:52
Hi Pete,
Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion about your boat,
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC00003.jpg
1. You have had your boat for a few years now. Where did you buy it?
Hi all we purchased our 5.3 Cuddy Cab in June 2007 from Deegan Marine in Ulverstone Tasmania. I had spent a fair while reading about Polycraft Boats & spent quite a while with Hadley getting prices. First for a 4.1. Then Miss Jane said whatever we get we must be able to ski behind it. Then whilst standing in a 5.3 Cuddy Cab at Agfest our local rural show (market whatever you want to call it) she said why would we get a little boat like that when we can get a big one like this. So I started pricing a 5.3 Centre Console. We were not really ready to buy the proposed boat but Lindsay Deegan sold the business to his son Hadley & they had a sale before the business changed hands.
They had a 5.3 Cuddy Cab in the yard with a 115 Johnson 2St on the back about $7000 cheaper than the price I had for a Centre Console with a 115 E tec. So we jumped right in & became the proud owners of a 5.3 Cuddy Cab.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Sideon.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Sideon.jpg)
2. Were you happy with the service of the dealer and would you recommend others to buy from them?
We have had great service from the crew at Deegan Marine & even almost 3 years later when we walk in the door we get greeted by name & wouldn’t hesitate to buy another boat from them (but Miss Jane tells me that this one is it)
3. What is your experience with boating in the past, previous boats or is this your first boat?
I have been about boats one way or another most of my life from Dads Lightburn fibre glass dingy to Jane’s Fathers Bounty Craft White Pointer when Miss Jane & were diving, plus heaps of others from ply glass & ally again whilst we were diving but this is our first boat.
4. What made you decide on the cuddy cab layout? ( answered above )
5. Do you find the Cuddy Cab layout family friendly for your family and the things you want to do with the boat?
Even though I wanted a Centre Console & at times still think it would be a “better fishing platform” the Cuddy suits our family the best. When I was looking to buy the boat I spent most of my time fishing on a mates Stessle 5.5m Blue Water Cuddy Cab & was looking for a boat different to his so he & I could fish different water depending on the conditions but as we got the Cuddy Miss Jane & the Orphan come out with me about 90% of the time so it suits our family so much better than what I was thinking. The big centre bin is also large enough to take a porta poty.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01881.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01891.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01891.jpg)
1. What is the main activity using your boat, do you utilise the cabin for sleeping or camping over night?
So far we have only used the boat for day use of up to about 5 hours at a time. We mainly fish out of Port Sorell fishing for Aust Salmon, Squid & Flathead mainly. I have tried for Mako & Gummy Shark. We also have spent some time at St Helens & Strahan on the East & West Coast respectively. We still need to get the clears fitted around the front of the screen & I would love to get a full set of covers made up so we could sleep onboard if we wanted to, mainly to do a trip up the Gordon River for a few days. We also do a bit of tubing with some of Cates friends as well.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/ShiBiscuit16.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/ShiBiscuit16.jpg)
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Fishing001.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Fishing001.jpg)
2. The Polycraft range is known for their ‘industrial’ finish in comparison with other boats. You boat is now a few years old, is there any change in finish, deterioration or warping?
Polycraft are not the prettiest boats but I somehow love this “Ugly Duck”. Where we usually put in there is this floating pontoon with a black strip right round it to “protect the boats” but most of the ally & fibreglass boats use fenders so they don’t get damaged. With the poly I just let the wind & current push the boat against the pontoon so we have some black scuff marks on the hull but if I was worried about them they come off with my fingernail so maybe a rub down with some jiff would make her look good as new. I have a couple of gouges in the port side of the cab where I had to bunt a yacht back into some deeper water before I could get a rope onto it when it came adrift one day, but as the poly is the same colour all the way through it they don’t show up unless you look for them.
3. What motor and hp did you decide on?
I always was looking for a 115Hp motor & was set on an E tec but as the boat was in the yard with a motor on it at a price we could not refuse we ended up with one of the last Jonson 2 Strokes. 115Hp seems to suit what we do & at about 3700 to 4000 rpm she seems the sweetest but at WOT we have seen 34Kt on the GPS. As for economy, where we usually run it’s only a 5 to 10 min ride so $50 every couple of trips keeps us going. We did do a run to Sarah Island when were at Strahan last year as a precursor to doing a run up the Gordon River & it looks like we could do that trip on 1 tank but would need extra as a safety reserve.
4. Do you think the motor and boat are a good combination for performance and economy? (answered above)
5. Where do you use the boat, open waters, sheltered waters, and mix of both?
We mainly try to fish in “Sheltered Waters” out of Port Sorell. This is within 5Km of the mouth of the Rubicon River but having said that it is in Bass Strait & that is some of the roughest water in the country so the 5.3 is great for this as its takes the rough stuff on better than my crew so quite often we end up in the estuary. So far we haven’t been outside of Georges Bay on the East Coast or Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.
6. What are your overall impressions of the boats performance on the water?
The 5.3 sits very well in the water & even with 3 of us on the one side the boat stays fairly level & Miss Jane feels safe with it (heaps more stable than any other boat I have been in). It handles the rougher stuff (without Miss Jane onboard) without any hassles & is heaps better than the last ally boat I was in.
Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion about your boat,
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC00003.jpg
1. You have had your boat for a few years now. Where did you buy it?
Hi all we purchased our 5.3 Cuddy Cab in June 2007 from Deegan Marine in Ulverstone Tasmania. I had spent a fair while reading about Polycraft Boats & spent quite a while with Hadley getting prices. First for a 4.1. Then Miss Jane said whatever we get we must be able to ski behind it. Then whilst standing in a 5.3 Cuddy Cab at Agfest our local rural show (market whatever you want to call it) she said why would we get a little boat like that when we can get a big one like this. So I started pricing a 5.3 Centre Console. We were not really ready to buy the proposed boat but Lindsay Deegan sold the business to his son Hadley & they had a sale before the business changed hands.
They had a 5.3 Cuddy Cab in the yard with a 115 Johnson 2St on the back about $7000 cheaper than the price I had for a Centre Console with a 115 E tec. So we jumped right in & became the proud owners of a 5.3 Cuddy Cab.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Sideon.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Sideon.jpg)
2. Were you happy with the service of the dealer and would you recommend others to buy from them?
We have had great service from the crew at Deegan Marine & even almost 3 years later when we walk in the door we get greeted by name & wouldn’t hesitate to buy another boat from them (but Miss Jane tells me that this one is it)
3. What is your experience with boating in the past, previous boats or is this your first boat?
I have been about boats one way or another most of my life from Dads Lightburn fibre glass dingy to Jane’s Fathers Bounty Craft White Pointer when Miss Jane & were diving, plus heaps of others from ply glass & ally again whilst we were diving but this is our first boat.
4. What made you decide on the cuddy cab layout? ( answered above )
5. Do you find the Cuddy Cab layout family friendly for your family and the things you want to do with the boat?
Even though I wanted a Centre Console & at times still think it would be a “better fishing platform” the Cuddy suits our family the best. When I was looking to buy the boat I spent most of my time fishing on a mates Stessle 5.5m Blue Water Cuddy Cab & was looking for a boat different to his so he & I could fish different water depending on the conditions but as we got the Cuddy Miss Jane & the Orphan come out with me about 90% of the time so it suits our family so much better than what I was thinking. The big centre bin is also large enough to take a porta poty.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01881.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01891.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/DSC01891.jpg)
1. What is the main activity using your boat, do you utilise the cabin for sleeping or camping over night?
So far we have only used the boat for day use of up to about 5 hours at a time. We mainly fish out of Port Sorell fishing for Aust Salmon, Squid & Flathead mainly. I have tried for Mako & Gummy Shark. We also have spent some time at St Helens & Strahan on the East & West Coast respectively. We still need to get the clears fitted around the front of the screen & I would love to get a full set of covers made up so we could sleep onboard if we wanted to, mainly to do a trip up the Gordon River for a few days. We also do a bit of tubing with some of Cates friends as well.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/ShiBiscuit16.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/ShiBiscuit16.jpg)
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Fishing001.jpg (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/Polyboatowner/Fishing001.jpg)
2. The Polycraft range is known for their ‘industrial’ finish in comparison with other boats. You boat is now a few years old, is there any change in finish, deterioration or warping?
Polycraft are not the prettiest boats but I somehow love this “Ugly Duck”. Where we usually put in there is this floating pontoon with a black strip right round it to “protect the boats” but most of the ally & fibreglass boats use fenders so they don’t get damaged. With the poly I just let the wind & current push the boat against the pontoon so we have some black scuff marks on the hull but if I was worried about them they come off with my fingernail so maybe a rub down with some jiff would make her look good as new. I have a couple of gouges in the port side of the cab where I had to bunt a yacht back into some deeper water before I could get a rope onto it when it came adrift one day, but as the poly is the same colour all the way through it they don’t show up unless you look for them.
3. What motor and hp did you decide on?
I always was looking for a 115Hp motor & was set on an E tec but as the boat was in the yard with a motor on it at a price we could not refuse we ended up with one of the last Jonson 2 Strokes. 115Hp seems to suit what we do & at about 3700 to 4000 rpm she seems the sweetest but at WOT we have seen 34Kt on the GPS. As for economy, where we usually run it’s only a 5 to 10 min ride so $50 every couple of trips keeps us going. We did do a run to Sarah Island when were at Strahan last year as a precursor to doing a run up the Gordon River & it looks like we could do that trip on 1 tank but would need extra as a safety reserve.
4. Do you think the motor and boat are a good combination for performance and economy? (answered above)
5. Where do you use the boat, open waters, sheltered waters, and mix of both?
We mainly try to fish in “Sheltered Waters” out of Port Sorell. This is within 5Km of the mouth of the Rubicon River but having said that it is in Bass Strait & that is some of the roughest water in the country so the 5.3 is great for this as its takes the rough stuff on better than my crew so quite often we end up in the estuary. So far we haven’t been outside of Georges Bay on the East Coast or Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.
6. What are your overall impressions of the boats performance on the water?
The 5.3 sits very well in the water & even with 3 of us on the one side the boat stays fairly level & Miss Jane feels safe with it (heaps more stable than any other boat I have been in). It handles the rougher stuff (without Miss Jane onboard) without any hassles & is heaps better than the last ally boat I was in.