hi all , need some advise please, not sure if this

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chris-lee

New member
hi all , need some advise please, not sure if this post is in the correct section

looking at buying n explorer 540 or seacat 510 , still not made my mind yet , will be using it 60% at langebaan and the rest offshore

found this explorer 540 with two 50 hp yamahas 4 stroke made 60"s by changing the icu"s , des 2008 model , 40 hours done , hydrolic steering , t top , garmin 400 fishfinder , vhf radio, that"s it

no safety equipment

as i will be buying from the owner what will n fair price be to pay
 
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chris-lee

New member
mainly fishing, want to go cathing yellowtail , some snoek and keep the children happy in the lagoon
just been on gumtree and looked ad the z-crafts 16/17ft , see none with 4 strokes?what is it like
 
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RiaanJ

New member
Hi Chris-lee, welcome to Sealine!

No doubt that the Explorer is a nice hull, but maybe you should consider a FC hull. Much more wind protection at Langebaan, and also a "drier" ride in choppy water.

Just a thought,

RiaanJ
 
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barryfish

Senior Member
Chris, you had a 540, only you will know if it's good for you, I would say if you sold it then it was not right, I know only had 1 motor, but the boat layout etc you know. Get a ride somehow on a 510 seacat and then judge for yourself, for going off shore either will work, for skiing the cat wont work as well.
 
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chris-lee

New member
going to do that, never went out of the lagoon with the 540, but its perfect for the lagoon

but still, i need n idea what you guys think this 540 as in first post is worth
 
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barryfish

Senior Member
difficult to say, not that many 540 about, only seen a few and not many used. 40 hrs is not even run in, my question is why were the motors upgraded when so new? too little power for hull? then a better powered rig may be be better option.

do you guys ski in the lagoon. if not it opens up your cat options, if you do, more limited options, most fast boats for ski are not so great on the sea.

so firstly need to do the mono / cat decision, then length (for storage / tow vehicle) then f/c or centre console, then go ride all the possible options in the sea and then decide on price / motors required and handling.
 
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chris-lee

New member
hi barry
the reason for asking what you think its worth, owner of the 540 wants R230 000 , witout safety equipment and gps ,i sold mine same 2008year model with 150 4 stroke yamaha 100 hours for R155 000 , only difs, mine was without n t top

i found n ad of n 510 seacat same set up n month or two back on this forum that went for R200 000 but that is with safety equipment and gps/fishfinder combo ,done 63 hours

which one the 540 or the seacat will have the nicest ride say to dassen in light windy conditions

is it also true that someone told me the seacat will also use less fuel?
 
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QuQ

New member
I was going to say that the boat you are looking at is worth no more than R200k all-in in my opinion. Safety equipment will cost you about R5k if you don't need to buy VHF. You can get a decent fishfinder new for about R6k (something like the Garmin 550). So a price of R190k is about fair.

I went down this dual purpose boat route not too long ago but could not live with the compromise at sea of such boats. So now getting a Seacat that I will also use on dams to tow tubes and a wakeboard.

My 2c ... if you want a combo boat get a Gemini 550 - but no storage space. Otherwise get a cat, unless you are the reigning Langebaan slalom champ!
 
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chris-lee

New member
that's what i am thinking aswell, asking price is to much,

reason for asking these question, i want to use the boat say 80% for fishing and rather play it safe on the sea and compromise on the ski thing

the gemini 550 is n boat i cant find secondhand, got n quote on new, will have to sell both cars
 
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QuQ

New member
chris-lee wrote:
that's what i am thinking aswell, asking price is to much,

reason for asking these question, i want to use the boat say 80% for fishing and rather play it safe on the sea and compromise on the ski thing

the gemini 550 is n boat i cant find secondhand, got n quote on new, will have to sell both cars
Click to expand...

That's exactly what happened to me. I bought a Benguela 17 with 2 x 60hp four strokes to be used 50/50 for fishing and watersports. Not long after I got the boat I realised I was fishing 80% and skiing 20%. The boat was decent at sea, but not the best and I was therefore not confident to go deep for tuna. Which is why I have gone the cat route. Perfect for fishing and good enough to pull a tube and wakeboard.
 
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barryfish

Senior Member
Chris Lee, you do find used gemini 550's, you have to be quick and patient tho.

Problem is once you comfortable at dassen, ytail etc and you go deeper for Tuna you find you want to go deep more often, hence boats evolve as your fishing does.

I would even look at buying an older skicraft 16.6 f/c perhaps an ace craft 16ft, african skiff etc, must be original and pristine, then you have both options fish and ski. I would immediately sell the old motors re power with new 4 strokes, should get done under 200K.

230K for the 540 with modified motors, I would pass on, just cause not sure if motors can handle the size rig. and when you sell, you have to explain the motor mod etc. take your time and get the right rig.

Plus 40 - 65 hours is new new new, I've done 109 hours in under 6 months on my rig and I work, so done mostly only on weekends, really do not know how some guys sell/get 2008 models with so few hours on?

Then do you only go out at langebaan? what about cape point etc, or do you stay that side, you not mentioned tow vehicle and storage etc, go big as you can tow/store comfortably
 
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chris-lee

New member
thanks barry,
i have n holiday house at langebaan and will store the boat there most of the time, but want to use it at gordons bay and as you say , next will be the point

i have just miss n skicraft 16.6 walk thru in vredenburg
 
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barryfish

Senior Member
Once you launching Gordons & Point etc, think you will be towing boat with to langebaan when you go there. and will store it cape side, what Tow Vehicle?

If you mainly want to fish not ski, take a short cut and find a used 520 super cat, and repower it if needed. out of all the boats, I have never heard any negatives on the 520 and the guys rate them well, not that ive been on one, per say but the guys run to the deep on them no problems and they are mostly f/c and a cat tho so skiing will take a back seat.
 
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boatmatix

New member
Another thing is that in the fuel injected motors the hours are stored in the ECU's so if they are showing 30 hours thats 40 hours on that ECU you dont know what the others did.
 
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chris-lee

New member
i went to n dealer yesterday to have n look at n 510 seacat fc  with hydrolic steering , garmin 521c  190hours but 2x70hp yamaha 2 stoke ,

what is the main dif between the510 and 520

by the way, i will be towing with a hilux 4.0 auto
 
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chris-lee

New member
qnq , see you bought n 565 with 2x70's , 2stroke or 4 stroke , if two stroke how is the fuel bill ? plus minus nm/l
 
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barryfish

Senior Member
Hilux - pre 2012 (upgrade) will give you 1.5 ton, after 2012 1.9 ton tow capacity.

Good point boatmatix, they would have exchanged the ECU so the actual motor hours are unknown on those motors.

Nothing wrong with 2 stokes, just you looking _+ 200K area and for that you should get 4's on a used rig.

The 510 and the 520 think the hull is the same, 520 has a new top section with deeper gunwales but open to correction on this.

Many, many guys very happy with the seacat 510 has good resale and is a "yamaha" product so has good name. 190 hours on those 70's is nothing if real hours. not so good for skiiing....

If you do not do many hours, may not be worth changing to 4 stroke as the fuel you will save is then not so big. if you do many hours, different story.
 
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