Is it easy to handle a 17 ft cathdreal hull boat?

Member Joined: Oct 31, 2009 Posts: 30

I am soon upgrading from a tiller steered 12ft boat to a 17ft cabin boat, will it be much different, handling wize?,
Would it be worth looking into a boat handling coarse?
Thanks John

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:56 pm

Yes it will be a lot different, as much as anything because it is a lot heavier and uses a lot more fuel. My mate and I had one for a bit and it was hard work launching and retrieving. Eventually we have got rid of it and had a hard think:
1. We don't really need a cabin - rarely used when fishing, just gets in the way and who goes fishing when it's pouring with rain?
2. What can we get which has plenty of room for two and possibly one other?
3. We are not interested in speed boats - as long as it can toddle along at up to 15 knots with a fairly low powered engine, that's good enough for fishing and uses a lot less juice.
Conclusion we will get a 16ft open boat with say a 12 or 15 horse engine which rides well so that it is fairly comfy if it does get a bit choppy. Looks like we will go for an Orkney Longliner 16 or something similar, like one of the old blokes round here uses.

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:53 pm

If you have practical experience of handling a 12' boat, the difference shouldn't cause too many problems. The cabin boats catch side winds more than their open alternatives. The weight is greater, and usually require a more powerful engine. Most of this style are wheel steered as opposed to tiller. Most find this system far easier. The launch and retieve is governed by the quality of the trailer. My own 16' 6" Orkney cuddy boat is an easy one man launch and recovery, mainly down to the quality and construction of the multi roller swing beam self centering trailer. A boat handling course is a wise investment for long term safety and confidence. I'm sure you'll enjoy the course as well.

Guest

hi john not to be offensive or rude but i would have thought that if you have a boat you would have already done a corase on the handleing of a boat and the radio side of things if for nout else other than your own safety having said this i have never owned a boat but would defo do this before takeing to the waterif i was to ever get one
steve

Member Joined: Dec 24, 2009 Posts: 8 Location: West Dorset

eccles wrote:

1. We don't really need a cabin - rarely used when fishing, just gets in the way and who goes fishing when it's pouring with rain?
Looks like we will go for an Orkney Longliner 16 or something similar, like one of the old blokes round here uses.

Interesting... I went the opposite way - although to a cuddy not a cabin... Not a large increase in weight, and ohhhhhh... so much more comfortable when under way out of the wind, and the same when at anchor. I was glad to see the back of the open boat, especially early in the year when the water was still fairly cold.

Just about any Longliner/520 or similar Orkney is a pretty good choice - I now have a 520 and it will takes the sea very well, launch and retrieve single handed, and plenty of deck space for gear and to move round.

I'd also second the point about training - its not just handling the boat and safety - its understanding the needs of other sea users, the weather, and its also surprising what information and good spots can be found with an in depth look at charts etc.

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:01 pm

[quote="Bayrunner"]

eccles wrote:

so much more comfortable when under way out of the wind, and the same when at anchor.

Who goes out in a small boat when it's windy? Not me, that's for sure, even my old pro skipper would not take us out if it was more than force 4. Well he did once (force 5) because we twisted his arm but he was right we had the most uncomfortable day's fishing ever and ached from head to toe the next day, no fun in my opinion.

Member Joined: Apr 12, 2009 Posts: 95

I had a small boat with a cuddy which I launch from Gosport, greeat fun but it started to get cramped, So I sold it and got a 17 ft Wilson Flyer and it was the best thing I ever done, it's very stable and when on the plane good on fuel too. I done the Boating course on my first boat with Boat Matters and it was the best 250 quid I have ever spent and I would recommand it to anyone. happy