The Perfect Fishing Boat ?? Colvic Vs Plymouth Pilot

[fishingboat101]

Those Hardy 20's that come in various guises spring to mind, they certainly look (to me anyway) like a "proper" wee boat, possibly too heavy. Often see them with a largeish o/b (50hp or something) on the back...

Few of them for sale in Ireland, been to see one, wasnt a massive lover. Theres a little bit too much cabin on them, perfect if you're main use of the boat is a cabin cruiser and the fishing versions I've seen are way over my budget.

 

[fishingboat101]

I have spent time on just such a search and have given up for now. Many of these are quite old. Most of these boats have well made hulls though the fit out could be self-build and can be of questionable quality.

The Plymouth Pilot is a 'name' and hence more expensive. They are very nice though wheelhouse quite exposed with no rear wall. No standing height at the wheel either but you can helm from the stern. Even with 20hp you are unlikely to break 5/6 knots. It is worth noting that a number of them, owned by fishermen, have significant additional ballast.

The Seaworker is a hefty thing and really not something one would like to tow. The older full displacement Seaworker often has 80hp of marinised Ford transit/taxi engine in it. With this lot it will do 6/7 maybe even 8 knots through thick and thin. The later semi displacement hull fitted with 130 hp and trim tabs will apparently plane and has been said to achieve 20 knots though...I have no experience of this(?!)

Not many Seaworkers have an enclosed wheelhouse. The boat feels quite big and reassuring. It is not really a relaxing boat. Standing at the helm your nearest neighbour is a big old clattery transit engine in a box. Even though I am half deaf this makes it a very noisy boat.

The Maritime 21 can be a very nice boat indeed, enclosed helm, 20 or 30hp full displacement. Feels much smaller than a Seaworker and bigger than a Pilot. Version with longer foredeck has two bunks.

The Trusty 21 is worth looking at.

The Mitchell 23 which I fear is becoming something of a classic and hence noticeably more expensive.

You have to decide about boat speed before you go much further. If you want to go faster than 6-8knots then all these displacement boats are not really for you. If you want a safe 'plugger' then they may well suit.

The maths is easy. The simplest equation is:

Hull speed = 1.34 x the square root of the waterline length. Emphasise waterline length not overall length.

My favourite at the moment? The Maritime. It is quieter under way, well made, sheltered wheelhouse, not too big...but not a speed machine by any measure.

Hi Wombat, you have seem to have hit the nail in the head there. The maritime 21 is a smashing boat however what is it like weight wise? seems very heavy. I have seen a few for sale around, beautiful lines on them.
The Mitchell is a bit too big for me but i must have a look at the Trust, I have heard of the brand but didnt take much notice until now.
Thanks for the advice! best of luck in your search!

 

[fishingboat101]

The Galician fisherman has all but a few replaced the fleet of inshore fishing boats under 20 foot with fast stable boats getting rid of their old heavy displacement traditional coastal boats

I do love a classic plodder, they look spectacular! any ideas of a fast stable boat?

 

[Wansworth]

There fast inshore boats are very simple vee bottom with a sharp bow and quite a bit of flare,big outboard some have a small shelter up right in the bows maninly used for crabbing but are general workhorse

 

[wombat88]

If you want to get serious the Fastworker is a great industrial device of the fast variety, absolutely not classic and I haven't seen one under £15k so irrelevant really!

 

[wombat88]

I've had a Hardy 20, excellent boat but yes, more a cabin cruiser. The Fishing versions are very £££s.

Chris Humphrey in Teignmouth built the Maritimes. If still trading he would know the weight. More info here.

Maritime 21 For Sale, 6.54m, 1990

 

[Tammany]

Must admit I do love the lock of the Colvic seaworkers but their are some horrid ones out their that had had bits converted or added. Once I'd too old to pull ropes I suspect I'll get something similar. Good for fishing but still god for weekending up a creek somewhere.

 

[scottie]

Does it exist? maybe so, however not having much look finding the 'one'. I have a few makes I like, however some of the essential things I would need on the boat some have one essential and the others another.

two of the boats i had in mind are the Colvic Seaworker 22 and the Plymouth Pilot 18. here are my thoughts..

A displacement boat, which is essential with me as where I live we get rain and chop 350 days of the year (Ireland) , therefore she would need to be comfortable and sturdy in a chop as well as not prone to heavy rolling. Both boats score well here as they have nice hull shapes that in my experience of other displacement boats should be sturdy. I have never been in either on the water so maybe if anybody has they could share some thoughts here?

The enclosed wheelhouse is a must for me, just a pure want more than a need. both the Pilot and the Sea worker fit the bill here.

Ideally id like to have a small V-Berth in her up forward, headroom in the berth area is not essential. here the Sea-worker hits the mark. she has a lovely set up with the accommodation, everything you would ever want with her toilet, space for a cooker and berth. I am aware you loose a bit of deck space but it doesn't bother me much as 3 would be the max I would have onboard fishing. the V berth is for myself and the missus as we might take a trip to some islands near us in the summer and stay on board.

Speed - The big one, now I know that with displacement hulls you sacrifice speed for stability. I am not looking for Warrior or Alaska speeds. 12 knots would be ideal. From what I read on the other sites and the videos I have seen the Colvic Seaworker is plenty fast for what I want. however the Pilot is just a tad on the slow side at 7 knots. I am not a big engine buff, I know that theres only so fast a hull will go, so putting a bigger engine on a pilot probably wont work, but I am curious has anyone done it and if so how did it turn out? did you get much extra speed?

Trailer - This is extremely important and where the Seaworker falls big time. The boat needs to be relativity easy to transport by myself. The pilot comes in at a respectable 750kg (approx.) therefore just on the limit for braked trailer as opposed to the Seaworker in at around 1.2 ton (so I have been reading). This alone would make the Plymouth Pilot more attractive to me as they often come with good road trailers and even to buy a road trailer for one would be relatively easy to come across and not uncommon to get a bargain for a second hand one. This is also an important factor because I will most likely be buying the boat from the UK as the selection here in Ireland is not great. I am not sure about the law in the UK but with us in Ireland we need a license to tow a trailer when the combined weight of the boat and the car towing is greater than 3.5 ton and I drive a transit which comes in at 2.6 ton so I have not much room to play with and the Seaworker would put me way over that limit. Now having said that to get a license is not a problem its more of an inconvenience..

Another point on the trailer is that I would like to be able to tow the boat with me if I go to my childhood home which is 300km from where I live now, again the Pilot triumphs the Seaworker here.

Engines - I would preferably like a yanmar or beta engine as they are reliable and easy to get parts for. so boats that usually come with those engines as standard would be ideal. no SAABS - had terrible experiences with them.

Now I know I am very picky and precise about what I am looking for but I am sure there has to be a boat out there for me, I have owned a few boats before and now I am looking for the fore mentioned 'perfect boat'. There is so many brands and boats out there and I am aware of the main points of the displacement boat being naturally heavy and have a maximum speed regardless of the engine, however if anyone, anywhere has any thoughts, suggestions, comments, conundrums I would be very grateful and it would go somewhat towards solving this dilemma of mine.

Budget is 10 thousand so if anyone can suggest boats that are generally under that price tag.

Cheers,

D.

The difference in length does not reflect the increase in displacement as the extra length is effectually increasing the bit in the middle
Brunel calculated that increasing the length of the great eastern allowed him to cross the Atlantic despite the amount of coal required

 

[wombat88]

Must admit I do love the lock of the Colvic seaworkers but their are some horrid ones out their that had had bits converted or added.

I'm struggling to find one I'm happy with on the South Coast. They either look awful (think student bedsit) or they have a clattery 80hp lump on its last legs. They are at the end of the market where engine replacement is unlikely to be worthwhile.

And another thing. Why are motor boats like this so damn expensive? It seems to me that you could buy two 20-25ft sailing yachts that are a going concern for the price of one displacement motor boat...and the yachts have an awful lot more stuff on 'em.

 

[Tammany]

You always get a lot more sailboat for your money than you do with motorboats. Higher demand so much higher prices

 

[Solent Sailor]

The Cuddy on the 520tt is quite big and in my opinion there is plenty of space inside to have the steering and throttle inside. Its a shame really, I just have to have the wheelhouse, maybe it stems from a career at sea! cheers for the comment!

They ride quite bow-up. I had a 520 and have also used a 590TT. You really do need to stand up to helm on in any form of seaway especially. Hence why most were fitted with the option spray screen above the standard cuddy. If the helm were further forward, you'd see nothing. I have seen some with a dodger/spray hood arrangement but can't say that I think it would be practical.