What is the best style of small boat for fishing?

The best way to get out on the water cheaply and easily is via a small boat. That can start with a boat that’s small enough to lift up on top of a car, to one that you can tow behind even a small family hatchback.

So, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each type of small boat? Let’s have a look at the three classes of boat you’re likely to be shopping for: a car topper, an open dinghy, or a small runabout.

This class of boat pretty much describes itself; it’s a boat small enough to lift up onto the roof of a car or camper trailer, meaning you don’t need a separate trailer to tow it.

These boats are normally made from either fibreglass or pressed aluminium and built light so they’re easy for a single person to lift.

They are normally only suitable for carrying a small number of people, and you’ll also need a small outboard engine to power the craft.

Tinnies such as the Quintrex 310 Dart are well-suited to being used as car toppers. These small boats, measuring 3.2 metres long, weigh around 61.0 kilograms.

The boat uses a “clinker”-style pressed aluminium that adds strength via a number of folds in the sheets that make it look like an old clinker-style timber boat.

The 310 Dart has a pair of foam-filled bench seats built into the hull that also help should the worst happen and the boat sinks – the buoyant foam will help the boat stay on the surface of the water rather than sink below it.

These boats use small engines, with the Quintrex 310 Dart rated to a maximum 9.0hp. That won’t be blisteringly fast on the water, although it will be plenty of performance and range for you to get around protected waters such as a lake, river or estuary and find the fish.

The outboard engine you fit to the 310 Dart will have to weigh less than the maximum 28kg for which this boat is rated.

But these smaller boats also come with oarlocks, meaning if you want to ditch the outboard engine and go with human power, the option is there.

These boats are also suited to a new range of electric outboard motors that weigh much less than an outboard engine, although you will need to carry around a battery.

If you decide this is the way you want to go, you will need to keep a few things in mind.

First, you’ll need to work out how it will attach to your vehicle or camper trailer. You will also need to work out how you will get it up to where it will sit while being transported, and whether that requires a specialist rack that can lift the boat up and down for you.

You will also need to work out how you will get the tinny to and from the water; you may need to fit a pair of drop-down wheels that will allow you to more easily roll the boat into and out of the water.

Then you will need to decide between petrol or electric power. An electric outboard motor is a lot lighter and more compact than a traditional outboard, but then again it’s much easier to carry around a 5.0-litre jerry can of fuel than it is to lug around and recharge a 15kg battery.

In terms of price, expect to pay around $3000 for a lightweight tinnie and $2500 for an outboard engine.

Car toppers
Pros: Lower cost to get on the water; small and lighter weight; don’t need a trailer; oarlocks allow human power
Cons: Need to work out how to get it on top of the car; need a solution to get the boat in and out of the water; need to store the engine/motor while transporting

If you want to step up to the next level, think about upgrading to a dinghy sitting on a trailer.

The most obvious downside to picking a dinghy on a trailer over a car topper is that you can’t hook up a caravan or camper trailer to the back of the car. Overnight accommodations, then, become a factor.

However, the upside is that you get a package that is able to easily get in and out of the water. 

The jump to a trailer boat you can tow behind the car also means that you’re a lot less restricted in terms of the size of your tinnie.

That means you can easily jump up to something like a Quintrex F420 Explorer.

Generally speaking, a bigger boat will let you go further on the water in a wider mix of conditions, although you still will be largely restricted to lakes, rivers and protected waters such as estuaries.

But a bigger tinny brings other benefits.

The first is in terms of performance. A 4.5-metre tinny such as the Quintrex F420 Explorer can be fitted with a tiller-steer outboard engine of up to 40hp, meaning it will be both quick and able to travel larger distances than a car topper.

But there’s also a benefit in capacity, with boats this size able to carry around four people, or three people and a lot of gear.

Because the boat is on a trailer and you don’t need to carry it by hand or tip it upside down to store it, you can add permanent accessories to a trailerable tinny that make it a lot more comfortable and user-friendly.

This can range from a fishfinder, battery and bait board to make fishing all that better to a bimini that provides shade overhead, and maybe even an icebox for keeping drinks cool.

While travelling, you can also use the tinnie like an extension of the boot, although being careful not to put too much weight into it.

You also get a bit more scope in terms of the boat’s design. For instance, the Quintrex F420 Explorer features a pickle-fork Apex bow that provides a much more stable platform up front than compared with a traditional vee-shaped bow, adding more space onboard.

You can generally go out and buy a trailerable dinghy in what is called a “BMT” package consisting of the boat, outboard motor and trailer, meaning you pay one price for the entire package. Expect to spend between $18,000 to $20,000 on the package depending on how large an outboard engine you’d like to fit, as well as a bit more on the accessories you’d like to add.

Trailerable tinnies
Pros: Much easier to launch, retrieve and transport; can add permanent accessories; can go further and faster in a bigger mix of conditions; better design options
Cons: More expensive than a car topper; means you can’t tow a caravan or camper

One of the big advances over a tiller-steer boat, where you control the throttle and steering via an arm attached to the outboard engine, is to upgrade to a forward-steering boat known as a runabout.

This means you have a forward-facing seat, much easier-to-use steering wheel in front of you, and a separate throttle control and shift lever to one side that allows you to switch between forward, neutral and reverse gears.

This layout also allows you to distribute the weight more evenly in the boat, as you’re not necessarily sitting almost all the way down the back of it.

A  boat such as the Quintrex 450 Hornet features a whole lot more comfort than a tinnie.

The 450 Hornet measures 4.8 metres, meaning it is not much larger than a tinnie. However, because it is built like a boat rather than a tinnie, it is heavier, although it is still light enough to tow behind a small family car.

This style of boat is generally built from slightly thicker aluminium, too, giving it more strength to tap up to 90hp in outboard engine performance – way too much to steer by tiller.

The proper boat-like build means you get features such as a well for the outboard engine, proper top decks along each side of the boat that you can mount rod holders in, and comfy seats behind a proper console.

A boat of this size usually features a side console, meaning the console is hard up against one side of the boat. 

The console gives you space to really value-add to the boat, providing a space to mount a decent fishfinder and chartplotter, and maybe even a low windscreen to protect the skipper from the elements while sprinting across the water.

The step-up in design will also get you features such as side pockets that you can store fishing rods and gear in, a proper floor with underfloor storage spaces, and a swim ladder that allows you to climb back on board after diving or swimming.

These boats are also quite capable given their size, meaning they can run far and fast in a bigger mix of weather conditions than a tiller-steer tinnie.

Because they are heavier boats, they often can still only carry up to four people, making them very similar in carrying capacity to the lighter tiller-steer tinnies.

Again, you buy these boats as complete boat, outboard engine and trailer packages. Expect to pay up to almost $50,000 for a basic package, and that’s before you think about adding any accessories to make it more user-friendly.

Console runabouts
Pros: Built like a boat rather than a tinny; can go more places and faster; console layout is more comfortable than tiller-steer
Cons: More expensive; slightly heavier for towing