RogB

Thanks Andy and Mick,
Having successfully completed our Powerboat2 course on Tuesday, Wednesday evening was our first time afloat. The roll over the gunnels worked for boarding and despite a bit of mis communication we managed to get car, trailer and boat off the slip undamaged, each in the desired direction. We only had a short run out as high tide was at dusk so we did about 2hrs just to see how she went. Tide was incoming hard as we made our way out of the estuary at a very genteel pace. Outside we opened up a bit and planed easy enough at 20knot+ with more to come. Not too wobbly when sat fishing which we managed about 40 mins fruitlessly searching for anything. Then all too soon time to get back in and a pub dinner. Looking forward to some more inshore trips and fishing when the weather allows....

I use a Vanford for my shore lure fishing for bass, very light and great line lay but the line roller bearing rusted up within a month. Shimano claims they are treated with a hydrophobic coating.....I swapped the bearing for a ceramic, which is noisier but works full time. If you are on a trip away pack a few spare line roller bearings (and screw for them as they are very light and made of cheese, the head came off first time I unscrewed it!).

I use a Vanford for my shore lure fishing for bass, very light and great line lay but the line roller bearing rusted up within a month. Shimano claims they are treated with a hydrophobic coating.....I swapped the bearing for a ceramic, which is noisier but works full time. If you are on a trip away pack a few spare line roller bearings (and screw for them as they are very light and made of cheese, the head came off first time I unscrewed it!).

I use a Vanford for my shore lure fishing for bass, very light and great line lay but the line roller bearing rusted up within a month. Shimano claims they are treated with a hydrophobic coating.....I swapped the bearing for a ceramic, which is noisier but works full time. If you are on a trip away pack a few spare line roller bearings (and screw for them as they are very light and made of cheese, the head came off first time I unscrewed it!).

Thanks, I had already contacted them and had a nice swift reply. Seems your mate must be very lucky as the charges must have gone up - £90+/per month for 5m. Which at first sight is a bit steep but if you launched once a week it would cost £40 per month for parking at Polly Steps. So, assuming you can park at Riverside while afloat, its not quite so bad for regular use. Unfortunately I recon we would be closer to launching once a month average.
We did go look at a Pilot 4 in Exeter and a quick measure up confirmed it would just fit lengthwise but the cuddy would need to come off for the height, which isn't a problem as its designed to pop on and off. That one was nearly new with a 30hp Tohatsu 4s and a small fishfinder (which is a bit surplus as we have fishfinders and portable VHF from kayaking). It looked roomy in the back for two fishing as although short (very short as we observed when driving off and comparing to the Warrior 165 parked next to it) its  also 6' wide which would be enough for our lure fishing (no bait tanks, chopping boards etc to worry about). We also found a private seller with a better spec nearly new, with a 40 hp, useful accessories and no extra electronics for similar money, which on paper seems a better option.
This, and the access problems and fact that the boat would hinder or block getting the kayaks out of the garage, is causing me some concerns. But I don't think we can justify a bigger boat (which would have to be older and more risky proposition for newbies) and a lot of ongoing non maintenance costs.
So still undecided.....

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Yes I do intend to keep the kayaks, I need the excersize!

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Yes I do intend to keep the kayaks, I need the excersize!

Hi All,
as i mentioned in my intro post I am considering a boat to fish from Teignmouth, but have no experience afloat apart from several years of kayak fishing. I'm trying to work out whether the outlay is going to open up some interesting opportunities or will be similarly in broad terms to the kayak. It will be joint effort with my kayak buddy and we only fish lures (occasional fly). Of course we will do some trips with the wags so 4 up max.
I would like to keep the boat at home in a garage (which is 5.5m long) rather than on a mooring as I can't be sure we would use it that regularly and the costs, extra security and maintenance are a concern. How long a boat and trailer would fit -I'm guessing about 4m with about 1m for the towing and 50cm for outboard? Most of what I have read says don't buy too small a boat as you soon outgrow it, but what is too small? I have been thinking Westport Pilot 4 might be a good option -is it?.
I know I should go watch some boat launches at Polly steps but is it greatly tide dependent? On the kayaks we launch from Ringmore and try and catch the tides right in and out which combined with weather really limits our options (and we can faff for England getting set up and ready!). Is Polly Steps doable at low, high and mid tides - or does it run out of water at low and the current runs too hard mid tides for novices?
Lastly, for now, our fishfinders (Garmin strikers) on the kayak show a featureless and pretty barren bottom (and never any fish other than shoals of sandeels occasionally) and i generally catch more and better fish from the beach. Would access further up and down the coast bring us more joy - I expect the islands off Hopes nose would be a bit more reliable? I think GPSGuru once suggested we kayak over to the Skerries on another forum  - from Torcross not Teignmouth! Would that sort of thing be doable if we trailered somewhere closer to launch?
Anyway apologies for the long post (without pictures!).
RogB
 

Hi All,
as i mentioned in my intro post I am considering a boat to fish from Teignmouth, but have no experience afloat apart from several years of kayak fishing. I'm trying to work out whether the outlay is going to open up some interesting opportunities or will be similarly in broad terms to the kayak. It will be joint effort with my kayak buddy and we only fish lures (occasional fly). Of course we will do some trips with the wags so 4 up max.
I would like to keep the boat at home in a garage (which is 5.5m long) rather than on a mooring as I can't be sure we would use it that regularly and the costs, extra security and maintenance are a concern. How long a boat and trailer would fit -I'm guessing about 4m with about 1m for the towing and 50cm for outboard? Most of what I have read says don't buy too small a boat as you soon outgrow it, but what is too small? I have been thinking Westport Pilot 4 might be a good option -is it?.
I know I should go watch some boat launches at Polly steps but is it greatly tide dependent? On the kayaks we launch from Ringmore and try and catch the tides right in and out which combined with weather really limits our options (and we can faff for England getting set up and ready!). Is Polly Steps doable at low, high and mid tides - or does it run out of water at low and the current runs too hard mid tides for novices?
Lastly, for now, our fishfinders (Garmin strikers) on the kayak show a featureless and pretty barren bottom (and never any fish other than shoals of sandeels occasionally) and i generally catch more and better fish from the beach. Would access further up and down the coast bring us more joy - I expect the islands off Hopes nose would be a bit more reliable? I think GPSGuru once suggested we kayak over to the Skerries on another forum  - from Torcross not Teignmouth! Would that sort of thing be doable if we trailered somewhere closer to launch?
Anyway apologies for the long post (without pictures!).
RogB
 

Hi all,
My name is Roger and I have just signed up. Currently I kayak fish out from Teignmouth or the local area but I am seriously considering my first boat. Having lurked a bit and read many of you threads on here I took the plunge as I could do with some advice as I know nothing about boats! I will start a new thread shortly with some questions which will be about craft suitability for the local area, practicalities of transport, storage and ownership etc. I hope to post up some catch reports as and when we get out.
Cheers,
Roger 

Hi all,
My name is Roger and I have just signed up. Currently I kayak fish out from Teignmouth or the local area but I am seriously considering my first boat. Having lurked a bit and read many of you threads on here I took the plunge as I could do with some advice as I know nothing about boats! I will start a new thread shortly with some questions which will be about craft suitability for the local area, practicalities of transport, storage and ownership etc. I hope to post up some catch reports as and when we get out.
Cheers,
Roger 

Hi all,
My name is Roger and I have just signed up. Currently I kayak fish out from Teignmouth or the local area but I am seriously considering my first boat. Having lurked a bit and read many of you threads on here I took the plunge as I could do with some advice as I know nothing about boats! I will start a new thread shortly with some questions which will be about craft suitability for the local area, practicalities of transport, storage and ownership etc. I hope to post up some catch reports as and when we get out.
Cheers,
Roger 

Hi all,
My name is Roger and I have just signed up. Currently I kayak fish out from Teignmouth or the local area but I am seriously considering my first boat. Having lurked a bit and read many of you threads on here I took the plunge as I could do with some advice as I know nothing about boats! I will start a new thread shortly with some questions which will be about craft suitability for the local area, practicalities of transport, storage and ownership etc. I hope to post up some catch reports as and when we get out.
Cheers,
Roger