Budget Boating: Tinnies for $10k-$35k

A key component of my 2016 Sydney International Boat Show presentation was a segment devoted to dispelling the myth that boating is only for the rich.

Sure, the big end of town attracts the media attention at a luxury big-boat show like that rolled out in Sydney, but more than 90 per cent of the new boats sold and registered in Australia are trailerable. The lion’s share of those measure less than six metres in length and have a modest outboard engine.

Consider human power and you come across a whole stack of watercraft. OK, these are not boats, and you are likely to get some part of your body wet in the process of paddling places. But a stand-up paddleboard or SUP like this Aqua Marina Spk3 we reviewed — or a basic one-man kayak for the same kind of money — is affordable for just about everyone.

Across the board, the goods news is that the cost of going boating has actually retreated in recent years. Inflation, interest rates, fuel prices, boat prices and depreciation are all flat. At the same time, those with real estate have enjoyed an appreciating asset. Their borrowing power has increased.

For those without a mortgage and just starting out, well, a new 4.20m tinny rig costs about $45 a week over five years. That's the price of a case of tinnies or a round of drinks at a nightclub. Here are some more affordable ways to go boating...

FISHING SUPS & ‘YAKS
My paddling solutions centre around one hard and one inflatable SUPs. A few years back, I noticed the fish swimming nonchalantly off the bow. One thing led to another and before long I was flicking lures at bream and flathead and whiting and nailing some very solid fish.

If you delve into it, a whole community of paddle-powered fishers with purpose-built SUPs exists out there. Cheap thrills indeed. Check out these fish I caught while tackle testing from a SUP.

But it’s with a rotomoulded polyethylene or plastic kayak that you find even greater purpose. With a paddle you can strike out on the harbour, bay, river or creek and really get fishing.

Some huge catches are taken in ocean-going kayaks including, just the other week, this giant yellowfin tuna caught from a kayak in Hawaii. Or pack a tent and head upriver and camp somewhere quiet instead. You will find some great spots on the city outskirts.

TIP: Choose a wide and stable SUP or 'yak for fishing, as stability is what you want not necessarily speed.

A $10K TINNY
Next stop is the tinny. Nothing much has changed in the dory range, only the boats have got bigger and more capable over the years. For just under $10k you can get a 420 tinnie with flat floor, 30hp outboard and trailer. I grew up with a 380 with 9.9hp and trailer.

The aptly named Quintrex Busta says it all. Along with busting the myth that boating is expensive, you can nail a stack of fish from this 4.20m tinny on Sydney Harbour, the Broadwater, and around Melbourne or the Swan waterways. This is your $45-a-week boat that you can repay with a local paper run, a leaflet drop or a one less round of drinks at Hooters at 2am.

This $10k Savage 395 Raptor we recently reviewed is a great example of the new-breed more stable inshore fishing tinnie.

TIP: Don't pay a premium for options in your $10k tinnie. DIY instead. Rod holders, tackle storage, fish boxes and so on are easy to fit and you can buy the fittings aftermarket. Fish finders cost from $200 these days.

THE SEA-DOO SPARK
We spent a long weekend testing Sea-Doo's entry-level Spark watercraft when it first hit the market a few years ago. You can still get afloat with the base two-seater 60hp Spark on trailer for under $10k.

That’s affordable water crafting and you get oodles of zing from the light and nimble Spark that, for the very reason of accessibility, has been credited with boosting the jet-ski market worldwide.

Check out the fun we had testing the Sea-Doo Spark 90hp three seater model with mum and kids on Pittwater.

TIP: For about $4k you can buy fishing pods that turn your PWC or ski into a cool fishing machine. Take a look at our test of the WaveRunner FX HO with Shoreline Tubby fishing pods to see what we mean.

REPOWER YOUR BOAT
The other smart option is to repower. The old carburetted two-stroke outboard engines will eventually be phased out and there’s good buying right now in the sub-70hp range. You could repower a second-hand 4.20-4.50m preloved tinnie and get new-boat reliability.

Create a backyard project, do the handiwork yourself and save. All kinds of affordable boating bits can be picked up these days.

You can seek online advice about fitting up your rig in a forum or simply screw stuff in as you need it. Fitting out a boat for fishing isn’t difficult at all. I have done plenty of it, looking and copying people's fit-outs as seen at the ramp. Talk to other boaters. It's easy and we all love to chat.

Meantime, the project boat market has been running pretty hot, as backyard builders buy blue-ribbon boat brands and repair rotten timber transoms and decks to create cool retro relaunches better than the day they were built.

Add a respray, a new outboard engine and the latest electronics and your second-hand boat be the envy of everyone at the ramp.

TIP: Looking for a project boat to repower? We have 15k+ boats for sale on our sites including more than 4000 boats for sale in this $1-$15k search.

FISHING TINNIES
With a $15k-$20k budget, there are rich pickings in new inshore fishing tinnies with intelligent hull shapes and deck designs that boost stability, castability and fishability. While the traditional vee-hull is common, variations with flatter shapes for river fishing are on today.

In this market, your 4.0-4.3m tinny will now have a carpeted flat floor, sub-floor and side-pocket storage, pedestal seats that can be relocated for fishing, and electric-start 40-50hp outboard. Maintenance is minimal and you’ll be hard pressed to burn
$20 a day in fuel.

The Renegades have a great following. Stretch a bit more and you might get a side or centre console variant. Some deals include depth sounder and plumbed fish or live wells.

This $15k Stacer 429 Proline Angler rig impressed us with its exceptional stability — barra, bass, bream, flathead, mud crabs, cast netting, no probs at all.

TIP: With a canopy, you can take the family for a summer picnic and not turn
into a chip in the mid-day sun on your fishing tinny. A fold-down canopy that stores flat and doesn't intrude on casting room is the go.

FAMILY AND FISHING RIGS
In the $20k-$30k fishing tinny arena, you strike some very hot, loaded, and absolutely fishy rigs. And it wasn’t long ago that some of these 4.5-5.0m rigs were considered big boats for outside fishing.

I cut my teeth on a 4.74m Seafarer V-Sea, a Savage 4.80m Osprey tinny and the Haines Hunter 445F in this same class. Marlin, tuna, mackerel, snapper and jewfish all came across the decks from my wide ranging trailerboat trips.

OUR VERDICT
Let's put the final nail in the coffin and bury this whole silly idea that boating is expensive once and for all.

Consider this rig from the 2016 Sydney International Boat Show. We were on the Blakes Marine stand, where Alan Blake doubles as the President of the Boating Industry of Australia, when he introduced us to his bread-and-butter tinny — the Stacer 429 Seaway runabout — which can carry a family of four, fish offshore on a good day, and cruise, crab and drift for dinner on the inshore waterways all day long.

With a 50hp Evinrude ETEC outboard, single-axle trailer, bimini, Lowrance fishfinder, battery, stainless ladder, upgraded seats, folding lounge, rod holders, anchor well, safety hear and five year warranty, well, this rig was down from $24,948 to $21,450 at the 2016 boat show. Keen buying!

This is all you need, a 4.20-480m tinny. You don't need a large tow vehicle, you’ll get a lifetime of service from the aluminium hull, and typical outboard engine reliability is unbeatable today.

Time poor? This is what you need. Maintenance isn’t a drag, while the fishing in our backyard waterways has improved over the
years thanks to new tackle, techniques and improving water quality and less commercial activity.

What are expensive are medical bills accrued from leading an inactive and incomplete life. Buy a boat, pack the bait, tackle, ammo and ice aboard, hit the bay, and lure a flathead for dinner. At $55 a kilo for fillets from the fishmonger, you’ll soon be living the dream. See you out there...