A couple of quick rookie questions

[ngt]

I am looking for a smaller aluminum boat, preferably 13 feet. I have a couple of questions.


My buddies boat is 12 feet with a max capacity of 540. Other buddy has a 14 foot aluminum at about 740 or something. Is it safe to say a 13 foot boat would land in the middle? 640?

I am about 185 and want to take a friend out that's about 340. Would that be possible in a 13 foot boat? (small outboard, 2 poles, fish finder, 6 pack, and us??)


I talked with the guy who installed the hitch and he said the tongue weight ( think that's what it was called) on the hitch was 200 pounds. How would I know that weight on a setup?


I am looking at an Aluminum boat. What's better to get...welded or rivited?


that's it for right now, thanks.

(sorry if these are stupid questions..just things I want to know)

 

[reelfishin]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

I am looking for a smaller aluminum boat, preferably 13 feet. I have a couple of questions.

My buddies boat is 12 feet with a max capacity of 540. Other buddy has a 14 foot aluminum at about 740 or something. Is it safe to say a 13 foot boat would land in the middle? 640?

The weight rating has as much to do with the width as the length, it's all about displacement and depth of the hull.

I am about 185 and want to take a friend out that's about 340. Would that be possible in a 13 foot boat? (small outboard, 2 poles, fish finder, 6 pack, and us??)

It's doable but it probably won't be fun, it will depend on the boat and the width. I have a 'big' 14' boat that had no problem with three big guys, and a smaller 14' boat which is only 36" wide that is maxed out in my opinion with just me, (300lbs), and the trolling motor and battery. Why are your looking for a 13' boat? I'd be after at least a 14' boat.
My 14' Grumman SS is rated at 940 lbs cap. or 25 hp, my Starcraft Sea Scamp 14 is only rated at 700 lbs. The Starcraft is a good freshwater boat but it almost requires that I balance the load with some weight up front, if not my weight and the motor weight put the stern nearly at the water line. With a light second person in the bow, it levels out nicely.

I talked with the guy who installed the hitch and he said the tongue weight ( think that's what it was called) on the hitch was 200 pounds. How would I know that weight on a setup?

My 14' aluminum boat weighs in at 340lbs, the trailer is about the same. I've never weighed my tongue weight, but I'd venture to guess it's under 50lbs. It's hard to get a lot of tongue weight on most aluminum boats, even if you move the axle all the way back.

I am looking at an Aluminum boat. What's better to get...welded or rivited?

You'll hear arguments both ways on this, I've had both, and never had a problem with either one. Rivets can loosen and leak, it happens, but it's an easy fix, welded boats can crack but it's rare. If used properly and not abused, either will give you years of service. A loose rivet is far easier to fix than a cracked weld or seam. I've owned far more riveted boats than welded boats, I've only had one leaking or loose rivet, and that was a factory defect that didn't require attention for 14 years, it took me all of 5 minutes to fix, and never a crack or problem with the few welded hulls I've had.

that's it for right now, thanks.

(sorry if these are stupid questions..just things I want to know)

 

[5150abf]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

Not stupid questions at all, that is alot to ask of a small boat, as stated, you could probably do it but it wouldn't be fun.

Small boats are very sensitive to weight placement and movement, you reach for a hook or a soda and the boat moves, and asking that little boat to hold 540lbs of people and gear is alot to ask.

Look for one with the widest beam(width) possible, that will go along way to adding weight capacity and stability and a flat bottom jon will be better than a v hull.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

i would think a 340 man would be limited to the middle seat of the boat, that is just too much weight for either the bow, or stern. any sudden movement could get all aboard wet. i think a wide flat bottom sled would be best suited for the big guy. some thing like this

http://www.loweboats.com/showroom/rivited-jon/lowe-jon/l1652mt.php

 

[ngt]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

Are there any draw backs to owning a flat bottom boat? They seem to be a lot cheaper than the v-hulls when I am browsing craigslist.

Is the ride rougher?

I'm hoping to take this out into the Napa River, Tomalas Bay, and Lake Sonoma. None of which get very rough, but I don't want to be taking motion sickness pills all day long. (exaggerating for sure, but you get the point)

While on the topic, besides the basic shape, what are all of the benefits and drawbacks of having either a v-hull or flat bottom boat?

Another question...I was talking to the guy who installed my hitch and he said that I wouldn't want to get too long of a boat/trailer because of the wheel base of my car. He said if a semi went by, and I had a 16 foot aluminum boat, I would be fishtailing all over the place. I asked about a 14 foot one and he said that would be pushing it, but if the trailer was a smaller one, I "might" be ok. I like to feel safe, so "might" doesn't exactly cut it for me.

What do you guys think? Will the wind be too much of an issue driving with a 14 foot boat for my car? (small 4 door sedan about the size of an accord or civic)

I'd have to hit the freeway for about 40 minutes to get up to Lake Sonoma and about 30 minutes on 101 to get down to the live bait shop on hwy 37. Everything else I can reach with back roads.

Thanks again for all of the help everyone. I've learned more about boats in a couple of threads in this forum and in my short talk with that hitch guy than in the past year and a half of fishing.

 

[bowman316]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

You need to figure out the tow rating of your car, I would not feel safe towing with out a truck.
But i don't think fishtailing would be an issue, just don't go too fast, and watch for trailer sway.

guys,
Isn't a V-hull boat more sturdy, less likely to capsize? I would think that it has more of a keel, to help right to boat when it leans to one side.

 

[ngt]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

You need to figure out the tow rating of your car, I would not feel safe towing with out a truck.
But i don't think fishtailing would be an issue, just don't go too fast, and watch for trailer sway.

guys,
Isn't a V-hull boat more sturdy, less likely to capsize? I would think that it has more of a keel, to help right to boat when it leans to one side.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what's the "tow rating"? I can pull max 1000 pounds, but don't know length limits. As of now, I was told 13-14 feet MAX with a small trailer making the whole things only around 16-17 feet TOPS. But, that's just what I was told and the guy said that was still pushing it.

Looking to buy a boat in the next few days...gotta figure out the flat or v-hull things. Is there a "best of both worlds" type of setup?

 

[bowman316]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

I don't think trailer length is really a factor, just as long as you watch trailer sway. It will want to go side to side if you go too fast. But if the trailer is under 1,000 lbs or near that, then you should be ok. Idk how much a trailer and boat like that would weigh though.

What size motor are you thinking about putting on there?

 

[ngt]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

I don't think trailer length is really a factor, just as long as you watch trailer sway. It will want to go side to side if you go too fast. But if the trailer is under 1,000 lbs or near that, then you should be ok. Idk how much a trailer and boat like that would weigh though.

What size motor are you thinking about putting on there?

something small and cheap that will simply get me where I want to go. I don't need anything fancy and have no real need to go fast. I'm more worried about how rough it will be sitting in the water on a flat bottom, if I can tow this comfortably, if my larger buddy can go out with me, and that's about it.

 

[SNye45]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

I used to have a 16ft Smokercraft Lodge Aluminum welded Boat with a 25hp 4 stroke. It was a great starter boat. It was quite wide, thus very stable and quite easy to plane with 2 people on board.

The dead rise was 8 degrees which also made the ride/turns very stable, however because of the low dead rise, in choppy water it made the ride somewhat harsh. It is a compromise - you have to decide safety or speed
For a starter boat and to make my many mistakes learning the ropes I chose safety, and aluminum.

Its total weight was 540, I'm not sure what the EZ Loader trailer weighed, but the whole outfit could easily be towed behind my V6 Toyota Pickup.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

actually sitting still deep V's rock more. the wide flat bottom is more stable still, the reason i suggested it for your buddy. yes it will ride rougher in a chop. length is not a real factor in towing. actually long trailers tow better than short.

 

[marquette]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

lund used to make a wide deep 12ft v hull but they were the only ones i knew of and i don't think they make it any more. but with a typical car witha 1000lb tow rating you shouldn't have any problem towing a basic wide deep 14 ft with a 9.9 or 15hp. since our requirments here seem to be weight capacity, towability and cheap your only choices would seem to be an aluminum jon boat or a basic v hull. i think width will be more important than length. a wide deep 14ft will probably be more stable than a shallow narrow 16ft. boat weight will probably be the same so towing would be the same. a wide deep 16ft will need more hp and will start to press your towing capacity. look in your car's owners manual about towing. i have a ford tauris wagon that the manual gives very good information about towing capacity based on the engine size, number and weight of passengers, cargo and how it relates to how much you can tow. since you probably don't want to change cars right now to own a boat let's determine what you can tow and then figure out how much of a boat you can look for. usually you want to go for the most boat you can because in most cases more boat is safer than less boat.

 

[bowman316]

Re: A couple of quick rookie questions

That is true, bigger boats are more stable,
But i think it is good to start out on smaller boats first, say less than 16 ft.

and gradually keep buying bigger and bigger boats.

If your first boat is a 21 footer, that is going to be hard to control for a rookie driver. smaller boats are just easier to dock and navigate in tight spaces.