Boat or shore

As a shore angler, I have been thinking about buying a small boat. For a couple of hours on the shore, all I need is the car - I can fish when I want. With a boat, will I spend all my limited spare time getting organised for fishing?
Advice please - from those of you with a boat.
Alan.

A boat can take up a lot of your time. Depending on its size and ease of launching, a couple of hours is about the minimum to make it worthwhile. A bigger problem for me is that once I got a boat, I sort of let the shore angling slide - I probably do less fishing now. You spend a lot of time looking at weather forcasts and get frustrated when you can't get out. It's more of an expense, not only in terms of buying the boat, but fuel costs. Sound all bad?

The reason people want to get a boat is simple: bigger, better and more fish. One of the reasons for doing less shore fishing is that you get sick of catching more 2 inch dabs and 10 cm whiting. While people do catch tope from the shore, I never did. But I've had them up to 60lbs on the boat. Mackeral? motor over to where the sea birds are diving and load up. No birds? just steam further out until you get some. It also gets you away from the mackeral bashers swigging cans of lager and throwing the cans into the sea........

get one bought alan especially since ur from fermanagh it is more expensive and more time consuming and be prepared for always fixing little things i to have nearley stopped shore fishing just like neil cause im sick of catching tiddlers but with the boat will come bigger fish and more of plus it gives u an excuse to head to donegal for a week!!

have to agree with neil i bought a boat this summer and my shore fishing suffered big time esp my competitions fishing and casting but saying that got some really nice fish from the boat ,,,,some big cod,,,tope,,,bigger pollock,,,i could go on and on

i think as well you have to have an interest in tinkering with a boat
for example my boat is an old teal 17 but it has a better stereo and
com system than my car! also it is as expensive or as much trouble as you let it be most of the gadgets i put on my old tub are things
that i pick up over the year such as a bilge pump consisting of
an old windscreen washer motor or electric fuel pump i found in a scrap yard
and when it blows ill buy another one from another scrap yard crude but its cheap and it works

I couldn't be with out one now but be warned they are constantly hoovering up all your spare and not so spare cash

Sorry, bound to ruffle a few delicate feathers but there is only shore angling. I could buy a boat tomorrow and go boat catching but until i am to lazy or old to walk to my shore marks i wouldn't even consider it.

Well - the next decision (if I decide to be a boater - and I did like FMCNs reply) is "what boat"? I am considering a Tehri Sunny with a four-stroke outboard on the basis that it is light enough for one person to launch (112 lb) - this gives me flexibility. It is also US coastguard approved for safety.
So what is it? - little or large?

Well - the next decision (if I decide to be a boater - and I did like FMCNs reply) is "what boat"? I am considering a Tehri Sunny with a four-stroke outboard on the basis that it is light enough for one person to launch (112 lb) - this gives me flexibility. It is also US coastguard approved for safety.
So what is it? - little or large?

There are a lot of bigger boats that are easy to launch singlehandedly, it's just a question of how much do you want to pay? The Terhi Sunny is only good for calm inshore or estuary waters, if it's what I think it is....

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another option is to charter. That way you don't spend any time or money on maintenance.
Typical cost is between 350 and 450 euros split between 6 anglers for a day. I'm surprised so few people in the club are interested in this (see jds post) as I would expect to catch as much in one trip as twenty shore trips. Havng said that I keep a boat as I enjoy the maintenance etc, but not the bills...

One of the big problems with charter fishing would be getting a reliable group. Like orgainising any kind of trip everyones says they'll go but most will pull out before the moneys put down. For me theres something a miss in charter fishing in that your fishing someone elses marks, tactics and tides. I'm not saying there can't alot of skill involved but its not just about catching fish but the way you do it. I think shore fishing has a steeper learning curve with less rewards but the fish you've been after for years of bad days means much more to me than a day out with boxes full of fish. Luckily I live in an area that can still give good fish and I don't yet have to resort to boat fishing.

Donagh

I could never bring myself to do regular charter trips because I felt on many occasions I was not getting value for money, especially when I was with an inexperienced skipper or the weather was bad and we had no option to fish in an area that was sheltered but noted for crap fishing too. You regularly see charter boats fishing inshore in bad weather and I do feel sorry for the guy who has travelled and spent his 50-80 quid to sit over a doggy hole all day. That for me is the big drawback for charter boating, you must book in advance so if you get bad weather your fecked.

Being primarily a Shore Angler all my life I decided to go in on a boat about 3 years ago. Having had some boating experiences before it sounded like a good idea to try it on a more regular and controlled basis. It was and is! However here are what I perceive to be the big draw backs if you’re now Shore Angler and thinking of converting fully!

1) Cost - The cost of buying a boat is initially high and a lot of people may opt to borrow to get their pleasure craft. This you may think is a good idea but your 250 quid a month loan premium is quite insignificant in the whole scheme of things. A boat is a sponge when it comes to money, even buying new will still see you spend a colossal amount of money before you can get it user friendly, i.e. Fish finder, GPS, VHF, Rod holders, Life Jackets, Ropes, Anchors, Fenders, Safety Equipment, Insurance, and lots of other minor but costly essentials which all add up. Now if you buy second hand which I reluctantly did for our second boat you could be faced with many other expenses, such as trailer parts, engine servicing, and god knows what else. Buying second hand will always result in taking on someone else’s problems. And the main thing is running costs, if you spend 50 quid going shore fishing now, be prepared to spend 100 to go boat fishing, your now adding in additional fuel costs when you have a car and boat engine!

2) Time - you will not get the same time boat fishing as you will Shore fishing, pure and simple. Weather, as Neil mentioned, is the most frustrating thing when you own a boat. Every isobar that appears on the chart could take years off a boat angler’s life due to the anxiety that watching the weather brings. Also if you are spending a total of 8 hours to go shore fishing locally including travelling time etc, then add another 3 on if you plan to do the same for boat fishing. Towing, launching, retrieving and cleaning your vessel all eat into your fishing time. Be also prepared to give up the odd weeknight to do maintenance work on your boat.

However, all that cynically factual information put to one side, here is the realism of owning your own boat - you can fish wherever you want in the sea, seek out and hunt specifc fish that a shore angler will ever only dream about and have the freedom and versatility to fish marks that look great from the shore but you could never access by land.

For me the best is to do a bit or in my case a lot of both Shore and Boat fishing, you will always have to compromise when you have both options but at least you have the option, there will be days you want to shore fish that you should be out on the boat and vice versa, that's my feeling anyway - every man to their own at the end of the day :lol:

I take most of Roberts points onboard, however to say that boat anglers can fish close to shore marks that shore anglers can only dream of is clearly nonsense, it just takes a bit of agility and dedication. The thing that annoys me so much about boat anglers, at least up here, is that i have to cast over them at some of my marks. A long walk, but easy in a boat.

Would not be without my boat.
Definition of BOAT:
Bring On Another Thousand