Here at O'Sullivan's Marine, we like nothing better than working with you to find the right solution for your boating needs. Each customer has unique requirements, not only on the type of boat, whether it be hand laminated fibreglass boats, Linder aluminium boats, Whaly boats, or our ranges of RIBs and inflatables, but also down to the choice of engine and trailer and how the boat is fitted out; from VHF and marine electronics to seating, storage and essential safety equipment.
O’Sullivan’s Marine is one of the longest established marine businesses in Ireland and our dedicated staff have, not only a wealth of knowledge and experience, but we pride ourselves on our quality of craftmanship and attention to detail. We work with our customers to find the best solution, and once we receive your order, our dedicated team will fit out your boat to the highest standards - not only that, but we offer a back-up service second to none!
We love to hear feedback from our customers on their experience! This is what one of our customers had to say about their journey in search of their ideal boat:
OUR JOURNEY
Essentially, we were looking for a safe low maintenance family boat for under €25k. As a family, we have been using kayaks and small boats for years but with the kids a little older now we wanted something that could seat 4-6 people and was suitable for short day trips and fishing.
A key requirement was a boat weight/length that would not require a double axel trailer or any additional licences. Furthermore, we wanted to keep the marina berthing costs to a reasonable level and hence that put us in the 4-6 metre range of boats.
We also spend a lot of our free time in the west of Ireland (Clifden) and plan to make several trips to the various lakes around Ireland and hence having a boat in the 4-6 metre range makes this a more manageable task. In terms of priorities, safety and space were key for our needs and while speed was important, we were prepared to sacrifice some speed for more space and improved safety.
In terms of research, we looked at a number of boat types from traditional fibreglass centre console boats to RIB’s and lake boats. Given we wanted a boat that could be used on both lakes and on the sea that helped narrow the field. We really liked some of the fibreglass centre console boats we looked at and in particular, the space that was available even in a small boat. The one concern we had was the safety of the hull in particular for use on lakes and while there are double skinned and foam filled hulls available these tended to be quite expensive.
Weighing up the pros and cons, it really came down to a choice between a RIB or Rotomould type boat (Whaly). The RIB is a really good all-rounder and a very flexible boat, which we really liked. There is plenty of choice in RIB’s however the one thing that we did not like which all RIB’s have in common is there is not much internal space. Our primary use is short day trips and fishing trips and hence the RIB just felt a little cramped for our needs. This is where the Whaly really wins out as it has tons of internal space for a small 5-metre boat. The other feature we really liked was the professional version of the Whaly with its foam-filled hull. The Whaly 500R meet both of our key needs of space and safety and with the provision of a 60HP engine it was fast enough to suffice. For a family that wants a small safe boat with lots of space and relative low running costs really the Whaly 500R is hard to beat.
The next key decision for us was to buy new or second hand. There was plenty of choice in the second hand market however, we felt a lot the boats were in medium to poor condition and unless you were very knowledgeable on boats and in particular engines you could end paying significant sums of money to make the boat right. As we were leaning towards the Whaly that was a relatively new boat, there really was not much choice second hand so this really pushed us in the direction of a new boat.
Given we are relatively new to boating we wanted to find a well-established supplier who we could trust and who we felt would help guide us in our choice. We researched a number of suppliers and noticed an article in AFLOAT.ie where OSM had provided a number of Whaly 500R’s to the Inland Fisheries. This tweaked our interest and we contacted OSM with our initial inquiry. They were extremely helpful and professional and we immediately arranged a site visit to review the various packages they had available. The site visit was very beneficial and again Brian and his team were extremely helpful and by the end of the visit we had decided on the package we wanted, Whaly 500R with Tohatsu 60HP.
We would like to thank the Brady family for their great feedback and their permission to share this with our other customers!
If you are looking to put together a boat package that is tailored to your unique specifications, contact us and our team will be happy to work with you to make it happen!