Boats for Sale Australia at Boats Online

BOAT REVIEWS

The name of this boat is its least memorable feature; it deserves something more gripping than AMF 610. But just about everything else about it stays in the mind without any ... read more

AMF 660 Hardtop Cabin Boat Review

AMF must be the only boats whose options list does not include a choice of colour. In fact they are not even painted: their naked aluminium is finished with a coat of ... read more

Aristocraft Searover 2.9 Boat Review

One of the current best selling categories of boat is the small rigid inflatable, and not just for the traditional tender role. People with no space to park a trailer boat can ... read more

Arvor 215AS Boat Review

The Arvor is not a run of the mill boat, and given its French origins that is not surprising. It is the kind of boat that people either dismiss out of hand or become fascinated with. The ... read more

Azimut 62S Magellano Boat Review

Azimut is an almost unknown brand in WA, but this Italian company claims to be the world’s biggest builder of luxury motor yachts. There is no hard and fast line at which a ... read more

Bar Crusher 760HT Boat Review

The Bar Crusher 760HT was the first boat I have driven powered by the completely new Yamaha V6. Offered in 225, 250 and 300hp forms (we had the 250), this is an impressive motor. It has a capacity of 4.2L compared with ... read more

Bavaria Cruiser 32 Boat Review

If I had not been told, I would not have known I was boarding a Bavaria: this one looked like something off the Farr drawing board. And it had more presence on the water than you expect a boat called a 32 to have. I was wrong about the ... read more

Bavaria Sport 28 Boat Review

There are plenty of 28 footers that are considered trailable, but they do not have 2.99m beams, or weigh four tonnes even without the trailer. The Bavaria 28 is more suited to hardstand or rack storage, or to an owner ... read more

Bayliner 175 Bow Rider Boat Review

Value for money is the key feature of the 175 Bayliner bow rider; $33,890 gets a turn the key and go package that ticks most of the boxes for the family buyer. And that is the typical buyer, particularly the first ... read more

Blue Fin 4.2 Discovery Boat Review

It is no surprise to anyone that boats currently selling in any numbers are at the smaller – and of course cheaper – end of the scale. Finance is not easy to ... read more

Brig Eagle 780 Boat Review

Large rigid inflatables (RIBs) generally cost a lot more than conventional boats of the same size. Even RIBs with vinyl tubes - that sound like they should be cheap - are expensive. Which ... read more

Brig Eagle 780H Boat Review

Brigs were square-rigged sailing workhorses, nothing like the current batch of vessels using the word as a brand name. The member of the new generation I reviewed, a Brig Eagle 780H is a 45-knot rigid inflatable – ... read more

Campion 545 Allante Bow Rider Boat Review

Campions are built in Canada and, indirectly, that’s why their hulls have a 10-year warranty: the likelihood of meeting floating logs is so high in Canadian waters that large quantities of Kevlar ... read more

Campion 825 Allante Boat Review

Air conditioning and an inverter to drive it were about the only conceivable items missing from the reviewed Campion 825 Allante, and they are both options ... read more

Caribbean 27 Boat Review

At one time if you bought a Bertram in Australia, International Marine would have built it in Victoria. They are the builders of Caribbean, and for a long time the names Caribbean and Bertram were interchangeable, as were the designs. ... read more

Caribbean C40 Mk2 Boat Review

The Mk2 Caribbean 40 has the same hull the Mk 1 has had for many years, and that will make a lot of people happy: this hull has long been regarded as a bench mark in sea keeping. On ... read more

Catalina 355 Boat Review

Catalina has a practice of making the cockpit side benches long enough to sleep on and the 355 seems to have added a few more inches. A great space for a twilight racing crowd, with a ... read more

Catalina 445 Boat Review

Perhaps it is because Catalina yachts are designed in California, with such a similar climate to WA, that they work so well here. All models have an extra-big cockpit and an airy interior to cope with the warm to hot ... read more

Chaparral 270 Boat Review

The Americans are strong on trailable boats with genuine cruising ability. They are often not pretty, and almost as often balance day and night use poorly; but they use every available centimetre to the utmost.

Chaparral Wake Boarders Boat Review

I recently trialled Chaparral’s new wake board-ski boats on Victoria’s Lake Eildon, which incidentally gave me a taste of what Wellington Dam might be like if it was ever opened to recreation.

Chivers 170 CC Boat Review

On Wednesday the Dockers will hold their annual auction at the Burswood Ballroom, and Chivers Marine will donate the star lot - as it has for many years. A very special donation: this boat missed winning ... read more

Chivers 1900 Thresher Boat Review

The Chivers 1900 hull scored very well in the 2010 Boat of the year competition, performing brilliantly in the atrocious weather conditions nature laid on for the judging days. I was more than happy to revisit the hull ... read more

Chivers 220WA Custom Boat Review

In Chivers Marine’s new Shark range of aluminium boats, the 6.6m or 220 models rejoice in the name of White Pointer. The review boat is a walk around version that was specially built for a customer who specified ... read more

Chivers 232 Tiger Shark HT Boat Review

As the Chivers range of water-ballasted aluminium boats expands, the builder must be searching the reference books for more names of reputedly fierce sharks to name them after. The 232 Tiger Shark hull has been around ... read more

Chivers 250 Great White Walk Around Boat Review

The latest in the Chivers Shark Series is the 250 Great White, and the first example of the model is probably the most thoroughly fitted out 25-footer I ... read more

Chivers Rinker Captiva Boat Review

Wake boarding is definitely a growth sport, and wake board towboats are one of the hotter items in marine dealerships. It is possible to spend well over $100,000 buying one, and there is no question it would be a ripper, but more modest ... read more

Chivers Thresher 190 Fore Cab Boat Review

The aluminium Chivers 190 Thresher hull has been around for some time in centre console and runabout form, which has suited the majority of buyers who want a fishing machine. But for those who take ... read more

Commodore Abrolhos Walk Around Boat Review

Commodore Marine are constantly coming up with new versions of their established boats – and no wonder: when you have a competent hull, you make the most of it. They already had centre console and cabin versions ... read more

Coraline 460 Centre Console Boat Review

Coraline finish their boats in two distinct styles. One has the bells and whistles, linings, upholstery and paint, and the other very much does not. It’s all about making boating affordable to a wider range of ... read more

Coraline 460 Runabout Boat Review

If Coraline has a motto it must be along the lines of ‘Leave no niche unfilled’. Their vast range runs from 8m down to 4.6, with constant redesigns and refinements ensuring that few are the same. The range ... read more

Coraline 475 Explorer Boat Review

With a range apparently as large as Quintrex’s, the relatively tiny builder Coraline has expanded it again to include a 4.75m runabout. There seems to be a small resurgence in the runabout’s popularity and, ... read more

Coraline 480 Wahoo Boat Review

Wherever Coraline catch a glimpse of an unfilled market niche it seems they immediately fill it. The latest of their products I tried has to be the only self-draining plate aluminium dinghy on the market: the 480 Wahoo. ... read more

Coraline 520 Bow Rider Boat Review

There are not a lot of plate aluminium bow riders around. This is possibly a result of a bow rider’s need to be a bit flash; it is the boat style that lends itself to elbow on the doorsill driving, one ... read more

Coraline 520 Side Console Boat Review

The side console layout is normally chosen for a hull that’s a bit squeezy for a centre console and, perhaps because standing to drive in a smaller boat is less of a good idea, it is normally set up ... read more

Coraline 525 Explorer Boat Review

Runabouts are not the most fashionable of boats, but they still account for a large share of boats under about 5.5m. And the reason of course is because they account pretty ... read more

Coraline 550 Stealth Tournament Boat Review

Coraline has logic for most of the name of their new bream boat. The 550 is logical because it is 5.5 metres long; similarly the Tournament – this is a competition boat – but the Stealth inserted between ... read more

Coraline 580 Ocean Runner Boat Review

The hull of the Coraline 580 Ocean Runner has the re-design common to many of the brand’s newer models: more deadrise, and reverse chines to balance the low down buoyancy ... read more

Coraline 600 Long Runner Boat Review

Paintwork on an aluminium boat probably encourages you to be more careful when parking alongside jetties, and perhaps it gives you a finer feeling of ownership. But a graunch in the two-pack would give you an infinitely worse sensation ... read more

Coraline 670 Ocean Runner Walkaround Boat Review

Coraline’s 670 Walkaround’s aluminium hull features an item from the builder’s seemingly endless list of options and continual improvements: a deep knuckle. The presence of this has allowed the ... read more

Coraline Long Runner 700 Boat Review

The ‘long’ in the name of Coraline’s Long Runner 700 does not mean a stretched seven metres; seven metres hull length is what you get, but an unusually narrow beam gives it a long boat’s ... read more

Epic Captiva Boat Review

The Epic Captiva is a rarity among plate aluminium boats: it has barely a straight line in it. It seems it is a foible of builder Todd Lubbock, who gives his glazing contractor nightmares with double curves ... read more

Explorer 465 Centre console Boat Review

The Explorer 465 fits several unusual features into its 4.65m. Fibreglass yet, possibly unique for its length, it has a self-draining deck. With a hull weight of only 350kg, it has closed-cell foam buoyancy of 923kg. ... read more

Explorer Sea Cat 565CC Boat Review

The Explorer Sea Cat 565 Centre Console is an off the beach power cat from South Africa’s east coast. Which means it is tough because they literally launch off the ocean beach ... read more

Fairline 58 Gran Turismo Boat Review

It’s curious that Fairline, building boats up to 85ft long, should choose to build them in the geographic centre of England. Perhaps the cost of oceanfront land outweighs the ... read more

Fairline Squadron 42 Boat Review

The first impression of the Fairline Squadron 42 is of the space it contains. Compared with the Fairline 48 of a few years ago there is little or no visible difference in elbow room in the public areas. Admittedly it ... read more

Fairline Squadron 65 Boat Review

Who would have picked earlier this year that an English boat costing $3.7m would drop to $2.85m in time for Christmas 2009? For most people it’s entirely academic, and the price is still going to ... read more

Fairline Squadron 65 Series II Boat Review

The Squadron 65 has been one of Fairline’s most successful boats in WA, and to sell any $2.7 million boats at all in the current economy suggests the builder must have got it ... read more

Fairline Targa 50 GT Boat Review

In their Targa 50, Fairline are reversing the trend of recent years. The model this boat replaces, the 48, had the master cabin amidships; the 50 has it forward – to the benefit ... read more

Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41 Boat Review

When you plan to build 250 boats a year it pays to make sure the design is right – scrapping and rebuilding moulds is expensive. Fountaine Pajot, the French power and sailing cat specialist, spent a year getting ... read more

Fury 280HT Boat Review

The owner of the Fury 280 Hardtop had just taken delivery of it, and was towing it to Shark Bay soon after he had got rid of me. Buyers of Furys seem ... read more

Fury 282CC Charter Boat Boat Review

Due to complex survey rules it is difficult to make a centre console legally acceptable for commercial work. When On Strike Charters of Exmouth wanted such a boat for their big-game tag and ... read more

Fury 282SC Boat Review

Vessels from Fury Custom Boats have typically been thought of as the epitome of the centre console style, and with good reason: centre consoles were all they built. Until now, with the ... read more

Fusion 40 Boat Review

Catamarans generally need plenty of breeze to give stimulating sailing, conditions we did not have on the review day, but probably the majority of people who buy them are more interested in their other qualities than in ... read more

Gemini Elite 675 Boat Review

South Africa’s population of leisure boats has one of the world’s highest percentages of rigid inflatables; the South Africans appreciate ... read more

Haines Hunter 650 Classic Offshore Boat Review

Nature laid on the right weather for our boat, bearing one of the revered offshore names, to show us its mettle. The boat was a Haines Hunter 650 Classic Offshore, and the weather a 20-plus knot breeze ... read more

Horizon 65 Motor Yacht Boat Review

$2.975m is a lot of money in outright terms, but compared with what you get in the Horizon 65 it looks more like a bargain. The builders call it a motor yacht and it is hard to argue with them: the ambience is more small ship than ... read more

IMG 400 Boat Review

On the face of it the IMG 400 is the boat for a buyer who does not much like boating – at 60 knots the experience is over pretty quickly. On the other hand it could also be the boat for someone who wants to spend ... read more

Jackson 47 Boat Review

The Rottnest Boat Par Excellence. The best way to test a big boat designed for how West Australians most use their boats is to take it to Rottnest. And since the Jackson 47 emphasises space, you ... read more

Jeanneau 44i Performance Boat Review

Jeanneau yachts have traditionally been seen as cruising boats that get raced rather than racing boats that get cruised. Enthusiastic racers would buy something else. The 44i Performance Jeanneau changes things, and the ... read more

Kirby 10m Naiad Boat Review

The Kirby 10m Naiad is the fastest boat I have driven: 58 knots. That’s what a pair of 350hp Yamahas can do for you, but only on the right hull. This hull has a 27deg deadrise, a pair of steps in the bottom, and ... read more

Kirby 8.5 Naiad Boat Review

8.5m might not seem small to a leisure boat owner who had to pay for it, but to a rescue boat crew that has to take it to sea in all weathers it can feel tiny. That 8.5m needs to be ... read more

LeisureCat 8000 Boat Review

LeisureCats come near the top of any offshore angler’s wish list. That not all end up buying one is more the shallow-pocket syndrome than the wish drying up. Like all power cats, LeisureCats are more expensive to build than the ... read more

Leisurecat Islander 6000 Boat Review

Probably every Leisurecat ever built had a fisherman for an owner, but the Islander 6000 is the purist’s fishing boat. This is the boat that can head offshore in almost any ... read more

LeisureCraft 240 Lagoon Boat Review

The 240 Lagoon is called a LeisureCraft, even though renowned boat builder LeisureCat produces it: because it is not a cat. It is actually about as far as it could get from a cat, being a Pacific-style ... read more

MacGregor 26 Boat Review

Here is one trailable sailing boat whose most distinctive attraction is not its ability to sail. Instead it is its great ability as a fast power cruiser. That it sails well ... read more

Mako 470 Runabout Boat Review

Occasionally I get the chance to review a boat with its owners already in place. Lots to be said for this: you find out about reasons for buying; about views on how well it does its job; their opinions on ... read more

Maritimo A50 Aegean Enclosed Boat Review

The Maritimo A50 Agean Enclosed is an impressive boat in its own right, but the really special feature of the review boat was its manoeuvring system: the new Twin Disc ... read more

Maritimo C50 Sports Cabriolet Boat Review

A 50-footer is a lot of boat but, just the same, Maritimo seem to have created disproportionate space in their C50 Sports Cabriolet - an achievement considering the saloon also has to ... read more

Meridian 441 Sedan Bridge Boat Review

The Meridian 441 Sedan Bridge is fairly unusual among American fly bridge boats: it has just a single, outside driving station. The builders have clearly woken up to Australian ... read more

Millennium 760 Boat Review

People who buy an Air Rider hull are looking for very special performance. Abalone divers, sea rescue groups, and discerning private owners seek out these designs by naval architect Gavin Mair; they are looking for ... read more

Montebello 12.5 Power Cat Boat Review

40ft catamarans, power and sail, seem to have suddenly become fashionable. There are excellent reasons why it should be so, ranging from the ability to use shallow water moorings to a lot of useable space within the ... read more

Mustang 430 Sports Coupe Boat Review

At a time when other Australian builders’ sales were faltering Mustang actually increased sales. The model that led the way for them was the Flybridge 43, and its very successful hull underpins ... read more

Plaka 4.6 Centre Console Boat Review

Sometimes simplicity can be more impressive than ingenuity, and Plaka boats fit into that category. Half a dozen or so roto-moulded pieces of polyethylene, variously welded and bolted together, some ... read more

Princess Yachts V85S Boat Review

Princess Yachts is one of Britain’s big three luxury boat builders. It is in the same corporate group as Louis Vuitton, Moet and Chandon, and De Beers Diamonds, so it should ... read more

Quintrex 490 Escape Boat Review

The vast Quintrex catalogue includes boats of over 7m-hull length, but illustrating the current tight financial times they are currently building hardly anything over 5m. Not only that, but the big ... read more

Quintrex 510 Freedom Sport Boat Review

Freedom Sport is the name Quintrex gives to bow riders, perhaps their most popular type. The review 510 Freedom Sport is modestly named, as its hull length is 5.33m.

If you want a boat offering decent shelter combined with maximum room then runabout is the style for you. It is not terribly chic – currently walk arounds seem to have cornered the market in chic ... read more

Reef Hunter 5700 Boat Review

WA-built plate aluminium boats seem to be unstoppable, or more accurately the people who build and sell them are. At a time of a less than vibrant marine industry, a new brand has appeared: Reef ... read more