North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

I'm from Melbourne and seeing as the fishing is so lame down here a mate and myself are thinking of storing a boat at Darwin and flying in and out to get a piece of your NT fishing. Was wondering what the consensus was with a Stessl 4.8 metre tri hull with an 80 4 stroke Yammy We wnat to fish the rivers and bays and if good weather presents would that be an appropriate boat to get offshore, or do we need to go bigger?? Has anyone had a 4.8 tri - I don't know what they are like??

Not guilty, the old what boat question eh, theres heaps of blokes around here with under 5 m boats and they catch plenty of fish no doubt about that, but going bigger definatly expands your options along with a bit more safety and comfort.

All the rivers are pretty big and you can safely fish them in a smaller boat(as long as they're not smaller than the crocs) but a bigger boat definatly wont restrict you.

The bays as you call them get just as rough as offshore so bigger is definatly a better choice for any sea work.

The stessl you mention, I haven't been in one and cant say ive seen many around ,but would do the job within its limits.

If you are starting from scratch and have the luxury of choice I would say, go for a minimum of 5m,minimum 80hp preferably centre/centre rear console.forget about cuddys ,half cabs etc as you want casting space all round.and get a fold down canopy for a bit of sun relief and rain cover.

The other choice (probably cheaper) just fly up and get a charter.

Cheers Flicker

G'day mate

If you go into the classifieds on this forum and find the 4.8 stessl tri-hull that was for sale about 6 months ago, I now have this boat.

I am guessing that this is the exact hull that you are talking about, however you can't actually see the hull in these pics.

I took it off the water about 4 months ago as it was a bit of a 'renovators delight' and have pretty much transformed it into my perfect boat.

I am holidays at the moment but will be back home in about a 10 days so can email you countless photos of the hull and the fit out if you are interested. They are all on my home computer.

But about the hull itself, as it doesn't change the ride by the work I have done to it, I have found it to be excellent. I used it for about 5 trips before I took it off the water to see what I wanted to change. I used it on a combination of rivers, billabongs and off dundee which is area that is typical of inshore areas here. It was choppy one of the days off dundee and the ride was not too bad, reasonably dry but very stable due to the extra hulls 'sticking' it in the water.

On flat water it is again very stable with the only difference I have found that at top speed it is a bit harder to turn sharply because of the extra hulls.

Anymore you want to know, don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers, Rhet

Thanks Rhet, I will definitely get some more photos off you. The one I am looking at I think is a 2001 model (or the motor is 2001). I am not sure how to get into the classified area - I've tried but cant find it. What size motor pushes it along well?? How much did you pay??

This is the one.

http://www.fishingterritory.com/viewtopic.php?t=12801

It has a 2003 70 Suzuki 4 stroke. Pushes it along quite well. I sit comfortably on about 40kmh.

Will pm you about the other info.