Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

[BoatNoobie]

I'm not too familiar with all the different brands and models. But I've been looking at a few brands, but I'm sure there are more out there that should "fit the bill".

Now my wants.
14-18'
Needs to have a front casting deck with location for front trolling motor.
Needs room for the back of the boat for another person to fish out of.
Needs to be able to setup to be able to pull a tube at a "fun" speed when the fishing is slow, with 3 adults and gear.
Prefer a 4-stroke motor due to less maintenance and better efficency.
Rod storage/livewell would be a nice bonus.

Hoping for a budget of around 15K.


I've checked out Lowe's FishingMachine models at Cabelas, but I dont know if you can pull someone with a tube in that model. I know they got a FishN'SKi model, but that's getting a little expensive.... On the top end of the budget.

But i've read reports of bad quality control about Lowe.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Cabelas prices are very very high.

You could get many entry level boats with that budget. Many boat dealers have been left with leftover's on the lot. Deals are out there.

I would go for a dual console fishing boat and it will also server the family fine.

Be cautious with some of the fishing "packages" that are supplied with very inadequate power. Bass tracker is well known for doing that...... selling a nice boat with a 35 or 40 hp which is underpowered for the boat.

I would hit the local dealer's looking for leftover's...... if you have a credit union near you ....I would check there too.

 

[Philster]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Prefer a 4-stroke motor due to less maintenance and better efficency.
.

Better efficiency = likely

Less maintenance = well... it has more moving parts

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

You almost certainly want something over 16 feet for your stated needs. I would suggest that to pull a tube at reasonable speeds, you need something around 40 HP give or take 5.

I have rarely met a boat owner who regretted that they didn't buy a smaller boat. By contrast, look at how often you see adds that state must sell, moving up to bigger boat.

In your budget, I'd suggest looking at side console boats from Alumacraft and Lund. I'm not saying these are the only brands you should consider, but looking at these will give you ideas of what you like and don't like.

I have to say I don't agree with the assertion that a 4 stroke is lower maintenance. You add a 4 stroke and now you're doing oil and filter changes which are a non-issue with 2 strokes.

Whether or not a 4 stroke actually is worth it could be a matter of some debate. I'd consider carefully how much you plan to use the boat and under what conditions. On a similar boat, a 4 stroke can add thousands of dollars to the price. You need to save a lot of fuel to pay for that increase. I'm not saying it is or isn't worth it to you, I'm just saying think about it carefully and don't overestimate the "advantages" of the 4 stroke.

Grouse

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Dual console is a good middle ground boat. I have an old Key West DC 17' with a 70; that has a great bow and stern areas for casting while the bow is still good for seating. The key? NO PERMANENT UPHOSTELERY! Spent 20 years skiing and tubing behind it, although it's on the small side if you are pulling a lot of heavies.

Rod storage is difficult in the small boats.

I don't know your waters but consider a fairly flat bottom "bay boat" design (like I have). With the flats you get more speed for the motor. They give lots of room for sitting and standing to fish. But they can be wet and have a low freeboard.

 

[BoatNoobie]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

You almost certainly want something over 16 feet for your stated needs. I would suggest that to pull a tube at reasonable speeds, you need something around 40 HP give or take 5.

I have rarely met a boat owner who regretted that they didn't buy a smaller boat. By contrast, look at how often you see adds that state must sell, moving up to bigger boat.

In your budget, I'd suggest looking at side console boats from Alumacraft and Lund. I'm not saying these are the only brands you should consider, but looking at these will give you ideas of what you like and don't like.

I have to say I don't agree with the assertion that a 4 stroke is lower maintenance. You add a 4 stroke and now you're doing oil and filter changes which are a non-issue with 2 strokes.

Whether or not a 4 stroke actually is worth it could be a matter of some debate. I'd consider carefully how much you plan to use the boat and under what conditions. On a similar boat, a 4 stroke can add thousands of dollars to the price. You need to save a lot of fuel to pay for that increase. I'm not saying it is or isn't worth it to you, I'm just saying think about it carefully and don't overestimate the "advantages" of the 4 stroke.

Grouse

I forgot to mention, I do live around Seattle, WA.
The boat will be 99.99% in freshwater. I highly doubt I will ever take it into the sound.

I currently have a 14' Lund WC14 with a Merc 15 4-stroke.

I have been taking the boat out by myself lately. So I would like something that I can launch and put back without too much problems.

I can do that no problems right now with the current boat, unless it's windy.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I like tracker deep-v 16 or 17 SC http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3250

I used a 16 in the pacific for several years was good with chop and could handle 3 or 4 people

WT's are nice too they are on sale now

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

its hard to beat a 2 stroke for ease of maintenance. In fact, its impossible. Other than maybe changing the plugs and impeller occassionally, there is NOTHING that you would have to do. (impeller doesn't count anyway, no difference from a 4 stroke)

 

[convergent]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I think the boat I bought a few weeks ago would work well for what you are asking. I found a used boat that met my needs that was stored inside and well maintained and so far it is working out great. Its a 17.5' fish and ski... so the hull is similar to a bass boat, but it has extra seats and a full walk through windshield, ladder, etc.. I kept watching craigslist and looked at a few of them until I found what I wanted. There are a lot fewer of these for sale than bass boats in my search.

I had never owned an outboard before, but so far its working well and the more I'm reading, the more I'm thinking the maintenance will be easier on it. As someone else said... fewer moving parts and a lot easier to get to. The one I have has an oil tank so I just need to make sure I keep that full of 2 cycle oil. I've gone through a couple tanks of gas and I added a couple of courts of oil... the tank of oil holds a lot more than you need for a tank of gas.

For fishing, its been great. At 17.5', I have had no problem fishing with 2 of my teenage kids with me. With the outboard tilted all the way up, I can easily get into some VERY shallow water to the point yesterday that I had to actually lift the trolling motor up a bit to not hit the bottom. Two of the rear seats go on pedestals for fishing and the one on the front lets me use my foot control on the trolling motor. Not as much room as a real bass boat, but plenty for our needs. There are two live wells, but I haven't used them yet since we just catch and release.

For tubing, I've pulled 2 good sized teens with 3 people in the boat without any trouble. I can plane off pretty quickly and keep them moving. You definitely feel the tube back there when whipping them around, but that's pretty normal. I'm just using the stern hooks for towing, but some have a rear pilon that goes in the fishing seat mount. We will be trying her out for skiing later this week, but I don't expect any problems.

At 17.5', its not huge, but it is working for us. It trailers very easily and fits neatly in the garage I'm storing it in. If it were much bigger then it wouldn't fit.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I forgot to mention, I do live around Seattle, WA.
The boat will be 99.99% in freshwater. I highly doubt I will ever take it into the sound.

I currently have a 14' Lund WC14 with a Merc 15 4-stroke.

I have been taking the boat out by myself lately. So I would like something that I can launch and put back without too much problems.

I can do that no problems right now with the current boat, unless it's windy.

I'd say if you got a Lund, step up to a bigger model and you'll be satisfied with fishing and playing.

I live up here in Everett (1/2 hour north of Seattle) and have a WC16 that I use on the smallest of lakes and the Puget Sound. Although mine only has a 15hp and a trolling motor, it goes and does everything I need it to.

Also, don't limit yourself to freshwater only. With a boat like that, you could enjoy a day of crabbing on the sound as well. You live in a really cool area with rivers, saltwater, and lakes. Not everyone has the wide variety of boating.

As far as being able to fish and play, watch the local Craigslist ads. There are plenty of 16'-18' aluminums with a side console and about 60hp. That should be plenty to fit your needs and those boats are so lightweight that a 60 or so would do great.

What waters around here do you normally frequent?

 

[dave11]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Look at Starcraft and Smokercraft.

 

[Black Snow Slide]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I was at a local boat dealer a few days ago in Ma. He had a 2005 Wellcraft 180 sportsman with an E-Tec 115hp and Ventura aluminum trailer. Motor had 300 hours on it and it had a bunch of little goodies that make a boat enjoyable. He had it for 20K. Nice little boat and the price seemed more then fair. Your options are many in the price you are looking for.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I'm going to second Convergent's note about bass style fish & ski's. Casting platforms front and back, ski pylon for watersports, and you can easily get into a used one at your budget. I purchased a 2006 Procraft 200 Combo - 20.5' with 200 HP Merc in excellent condition for a little less than your budget. The downside is they aren't as prevelant - it took a while to find this one, but I'm picky (had to be right condition, size, motor, even color). Good luck.

 

[sierra 18]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

I have a 14' Lowe (no quality issues as of yet with my Lowe; quite the oppoosite in fact) and its funny how quickly a boat gets crowded with people and equipment. One of the posters here wrote that you never see people say that they should have got the smaller boat, they're always looking to trade up to a larger size.

If you have youngsters and adults and are fishing and tubing, test drive the boat if possible with some people in it, or if you can't, try drawing out the dimension of the boat in chalk on the driveway. Stand everyone you plan to take boating in that area, along with a cooler, fishing rods, etc, and after 2 minutes if all you hear is "excuse me", "look out!" and so forth, consider going up a notch to the larger boat.

I'm often on my own in my fishing boat, and its easy to launch and retrieve at 14', but put two other people in it, and there's just no room to move. Not to mention she gets a bit tippy with three or more (despite being rated to hold 5 adults).

Good luck on the choice,

Chris

 

[BoatNoobie]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

So I've been checking Craigslist lately. I see this very nice Lund for sale, but IMO, severely underpowered.


2001 Lund Explorer Adventure SS 17' aluminum boat 50 HP mercury 2 cycle w/oil injection Nissan 5HP 4 cycle kicker

It looks very clean though. Price is $10K. Seems to be a decent price?

 

[dave11]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Lund makes a good boat, but I agree that one is underpowered.

 

[bcons]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

You said tubing?

Really important to remember the amount of drag created trying to pull someone out of the water on a tube. Most boats under 17' and under 90hp will have trouble. It's not only the speed of the boat, but more importantly the ability of the boat to overcome that drag and get on plane.

Personally if I were you I'd consider used (to stay in your price range) and look at 17-20 fish & ski dual console models
Like
syracuse.craigslist.org/boa/1788502435.html

Plenty of power, boats like this will do 45-55 mph and pull anyone, while also serving as a fishing platform. Having a trolling motor also provides some comfort in knowing as long as you don't kill the batteries, even if you have a mechanical problem you can still get off the water with the other motor.

If $15k is what you plan on spending on a boat, buy used at $10-$12k, then if you have a problem that needs fixed, you can do it and still be under your desired amount to spend. Also a huge plus MUCH less depreciation with used.

 

[BoatNoobie]

Re: Boat Recommendation That Fits Our Needs And Bill?

Another boat popped up that I'm interested in.