Kids' 1st OB boat advice

[jdlough]

I finally bought 'my' boat', '97 SeaSwirl 2100 DC w/175HP Johnson.
(pics at the end of page 2 of http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=297736)

Now I need an OUTBOARD-POWERED boat for the 13 and 15 year old boys, for the 3 mile-wide SHALLOW Nanticoke River, MD, just before it dumps into the Chesapeake Bay. Something RELIABLE, under about $4K. 'My' boat is too big for them alone, and 'their' boat would be a rescue for 'my' boat when it won't start out in the briny deep.

The kid's main need is that it must be beachable, re-entry for swimmers, planes, but not too dang fast. Basically a fair-weather 1st kids boat. So I was thinking a maybe '70-80's tri-hull, that someone fixed-up and repowered with a maybe late '90's 50-70HP Johnson OUTBOARD. Power tilt would help lots with beaching. No luck finding that.

Then thinking a maybe 15' CC, shallow 'V' or flattish-bottom boat. Not too much luck there, either.

So, any ideas? Any skif-type boats I'm not considering? I'd rather they had a 'steering wheel boat' instead of a tiller, but I don't think that they care much. I'd feel better with more freeboard than a jon boat.


Jim

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

As always craigslist is the answer! A quick search of B-more's "boats" page yielded this:

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/1211018143.html

Looks like a good boat and real nice trailer, and hey, your kids will love the color! Look around and get an older OMC 35-50hp (very reliable), hook it up and they're good to go for a couple grand!

Good luck & have fun - BOB

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Hey jdlough, anything someone lists on Baltimore's Craigslist as "great for crabbing"....I'm sure you know what I mean

 

[JB]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

A 70s or 80s Boston Whaler Sport 13 or SuperSport 13 with 25-30 JohnnyRude. The ultimate salt water kids boat.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Perhaps I am mean spirited but IMO get them a pull start motor. It will teach them more having to pull start.

 

[Nico2112]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

A 70s or 80s Boston Whaler Sport 13 or SuperSport 13 with 25-30 JohnnyRude. The ultimate salt water kids boat.

+1

 

[haskindm]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

A 70s or 80s Boston Whaler Sport 13 or SuperSport 13 with 25-30 JohnnyRude. The ultimate salt water kids boat.

+2.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

+2.

Heck, that was the hot ticket when I was a teen in the mid-1960's. The rich kids in town had 'em (I wasn't one of them)

I agree- it's a great way to get started.

 

[KurtG]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

I saw a 13' whaler recently on the local craigslist with a 25 Yamaha. Now and then you'll see a 14-16' McKee, HenryO (McKee), or Wahoo in the same range. It is becoming more difficult now that crab season is swinging into gear. fwiw, the boat in my avatar is a 15' HenryO.

Many of the above models are often powered near their max and can really move if done so (probably faster than you want for kids). For instance, I also saw a 13' whaler powered by a newer 40 HP merc priced pretty good. I have also noticed a 16 wahoo powered by a 85 or 90 and a 16' McKee powered by the same (can't recall which had which outboard).

 

[dontask]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Ditto on the Boston Whaler. When I was a teenager we used to run a 13.9 Whaler with a 25 hp and it ran great. Later we installed a 33hp and seemed like a sports car at the time. Beat the hell out of this boat and it never let us down. Should have busted the transom the way we used it but it didn't. We found other ways to have fun with this boat----we would pull the plug and see how high we could tolerate the water (in the boat) and then just throttle up and dump the water out the back. I was so confident in this boat I used it for shark fishing in the Gulf one day. It worked fine until we took a wave over the side of the boat, too much bait and tackle for the water inside the boat this time. When we would hit the beach we HIT THE BEACH. It was like a big slab of unsinkable fiberglass. This was way before I understood the gel coat and fiberglass damage we were doing.
The only draw backs are; hard ride in rough water due to hull design and the foam injected hull can be a problem if you want to access the inside for fiberglass repairs. The 13.9, 15 or the 17 would be great choices depending on number of passengers, skiing/tubing and budget.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

I'll probably go and look at this 1976 15' Whaler this weekend:
http://easternshore.craigslist.org/boa/1210710830.html

This 1988 15ft O'Day may be a possiblity: http://delaware.craigslist.org/boa/1209196653.html

I don't know anything about O'Days...

I know the Whaler was heavily copied. Are any of the Whaler copies any good? If so, which brands?

Thanks
Jim

 

[JB]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

The 15 is my favorite small Whaler. Best hull Bob Dougherty ever designed.

The ad is a little confusing, but if it includes a rigged 50 in good shape the price is in the right ballpark.

That is a lot more boat than the 13 and might not be as good a starter for inexperienced young boaters.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

My advice?

They don't get to boat until they pass a safe boaters course of some kind.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

This is NOT meant as a troll of any sort, but...

Boston Whalers seem pretty pricey for what you seem to get at first glance.

Are they really worth the extra money? Are they really THAT much better than the Whaler Clones?

I don't mind too much paying for a bullet proof boat for the kids, I just don't want to pay extra for a boat that's high-priced mostly because of it's name (and clever 'cutting the boat in half' adds)

Are they all self-bailing hulls? I mean can I leave it tied at the dock without a bilge pump?

Thanks again,
Jim

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Oh Yeah, they're worth it! There's a reason why all those other manufacturers copy their design. Here's a nice 13'er near you:

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/1213449312.html

You should hop on it before I do....

BOB

 

[jdlough]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Ok, I'm mostly sold on the Whalers. They maybe don't look like much for the money, but when you check them out, you see that they are bullet-proof, idiot-proof, high resale value, and exactly what I need for the punks.

So, that 15' boat just got more interesting. Here's the link:

http://easternshore.craigslist.org/boa/1210710830.html

I called the guy. He's a local boat mechanic. Whaler purists may not like this, but he took out the original teak side console, and put in a NEW Duracraft center console off another boat from the boatyard. (I should have mentioned it, but the 15 year old is a big boy - maybe 240lbs - so center is better than side if he goes out alone.) There is no pilot seat. He's not sure if he still has the teak planks, so I may have to get a big cooler for the pilot seat, or devise my own planks layed in the Whaler's gunnel notches.

The boat now has an '87 Evinrude 40HP OB, which he says starts, but isn't all that reliable, and has no power tilt/trim. He will install a 2002 Yamaha 50HP with power tilt/trim and Yammi controls, and give me the Evinrude too. He bought the Yammi a few years back from another boat mech friend of his, and says it has extremely low hours, perfect compression, etc.

What do you guys think an iffy '87 40HP Rude w/controls is worth for a quick sale?

The trailer he says I can take or leave, but he has no title for. Of course, I'd take it anyway. I don't really want a non-titled trailer, but I guess I could get a couple hundred off Craigslist.


Meanwhile, that 13' Whaler that Landscaping Wiz found:

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/1213449312.html

looks great if the motor checks out. EDIT: sold. It looked like a restored classic, but I think the interior deck was just painted white, which will peel.

BUT, Landscaping Wiz (Bob) maybe tossed another fly in the ointment. He found this old tri-hull w/o motor, for $600.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/1211018143.html

Suppose I nabbed the tri-hull, and I got the 1st Whaler-guy to install his '02 Yammi 50HP w/tilt/trim in it, for maybe $2K more.

All things being equal, if you were a kid, which would you rather have:

A nice shape 70's 15' Whaler w/50HP OB? or
A nice shape 70's 16' Tri-hull with the same motor?

Any thoughts or ramblings are most welcome.

Jim

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

If the "extra" Evinrude runs you should be able to get $500+ for it. The Whaler will perform well with the 50 and will be a worthwhile "investment" because if you maintain it, it will probably always be worth at least what you paid for it. (try that with most any other boat). The tri-hull will be a slug with only a 50 and it's value will only ever be whatever the motor on it is worth....

 

[KurtG]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

At $3500 price you mentioned, the 15' whaler is a no lose proposition. You can immediately re-sell for at least that much if you don't like it.

fwiw, my 15' HenryO w/a 40 HP was $2500, Mckee tend to be a little bit cheaper; especially the 16's, but are fewer to find than whalers.

At $3500, I bet it goes before the weekend; especially since you posted the details here.

One concern I have is how he attached the center console as you don't want to puncture a whalers skin and leave it unsealed since there is no hollow bilge, the foam can get water logged.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

Well,

That 13' is gone. I dithered after finding out that they painted the interior and deck, and wanted more info on their prep work, so someone else nabbed it.

The 15' is still here. No surprise. Just from a quick night-time look with a flashlight I could see barnacles and enough mussels attached to serve two for dinner, extensive interior gel-cracks, multi-spliced wiring, control cable trip hazards, chunks of rub-rail missing, open screw hole H2O entry points from missing equipment, lumpy faded bottom paint, no teak - just a bare, jury-rigged hull. Here's some pics, but for some reason, boat pics ALWAYS look better than the actual boat. I doubt it, but I'm considering offering him $2K for the boat with the 2002 motor, and having a winter project with the kids.

I've got some lines on some Whaler-clone boats that may be ok, but KurtG wisely noted that if I find something Really good, some iboat's lurker may beat me to it, so mum's the word. Mum.

I don't want to waste the kids' summer waiting for the perfect Whaler (see, http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=300510 )so what other Whaler clones should I be looking for?

I already am searching for:
Boston Whaler
McKee
Wahoo
HenryO

If I find some decent 15-16' Trihull bowrider with a decent motor, that may be this summer's boat. I know all the trihull's faults, but it IS stable, and lots of us old folks (who couldn't afford BW's), have fond memories of our love/hate relationships with them. (At least they LOOK like a grown-ups bowrider.) When the BWs come out for sale in the fall, the kids may really appreciate them, and the old trihull can move on to the next owner.

Jim

 

[KurtG]

Re: Kids' 1st OB boat advice

I'd keep looking too, that whaler has seen better days. I'd be concerned that there was some water in the foam given the shape of the hull.

I'm looking every day for a small sailboat too so will keep an eye open.