Mate, I’d say it really comes down to what you actually need from a bait boat.

Take the Rippton Max and Mini Ultra, for example. If you want sonar and don’t fancy messing about connecting and setting things up every time, the Max is a cracking option. The sonar is built into the boat, so there’s no faffing around with extra connections, and you can see a pretty clear picture of what’s going on under the water through the app.

The hopper will take around 3kg of bait as well, so all in all it’s a pretty well-rounded boat. If you’re reasonably comfortable with electronics, it’s also quite straightforward to use.

The Mini Ultra is a bit different. You can run it without the sonar if you don’t need it, just using the bait release to drop your bait on the spot. It’s smaller and lighter, and you don’t even need to connect it to the app to use it. The downside is that it only carries about 1.5kg of bait, so depending on the water you’re fishing, you might have to make a couple of trips.

If your main priority is a massive hopper, then have a look at the new Boatman Actor Plus Max. That thing carries a whopping 8kg in a single hopper.

Personally, I’d just work out what matters most for the way you fish and go from there.