Hey everyone, I posted this at The Hull Truth and was advised by a gentleman over there to post it here.
I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm also new to boating (sort of) and am looking for a bit of info.
Since this is my first post, a bit of background: I'm a middle-aged guy who wasn't been on a small boat for 35 years. When I was in college, my brother had a 16' boat on Lake George, NY, and my buddies and I used to have a lot of fun on it. But I've had no experience with boats since the 70s, except for riding on commercial boats.
I'm a private pilot. A year ago, I was trying to decide if I should buy an airplane or a boat and the airplane won. I bought a used Cessna and have had a blast with it. But now I'm once again thinking of buying a boat. When buying a plane, you really need to think about your "mission" because it's really easy to buy a good plane for the wrong mission. With that in mind, I've been thinking about what I'd like to do with a boat and I think I've got a handle on that. My family is mainly older and I'm not going to be pulling water skiers (although it might be nice to be able to pull a tube from time to time). Instead, we'd be much more into getting onto Lake George, cruising around, enjoying the sunshine, casually fishing, enjoying the sunset, etc. My parents are in their 90s and while they're doing great, I need a boat that's stable. I'd also like to be able to have four adults spend the weekend on the boat from time to time, possibly including putting it on the Hudson River and cruising down the river or out the canal or whatever. So we're looking for a casual, quiet kind of experience. I've investigated slip prices on Lake George, winter storage, insurance, etc. and that hasn't scared me off yet. I've also pretty much decided that I would probably not be interested in trailering a boat myself.
From my experience in the 70s, I remember that Lake George (32 miles long, 3 miles wide, 500' deep, mountains on both sides) can have bad weather show up in a real hurry. With that in mind, I knew that I wouldn't be looking for a 16' boat. Over the last week, three different people whose opinion I trust have all said that 23' was the smallest boat they'd be comfortable with on the Lake.
I've sunk about $70K into the plane in the last year (including an unexpected $12K top overhaul last summer). I'm not of the mind to put that kind of money into another toy right now, although I do understand that when you're talking about engines anything can happen. But there are a ton of boats for sale for what seem to me to be very low prices and this (finally) is my question. I've seen a lot of older 23' to 29' boats advertised from $10K up to about $25K. These are typically 1986 to 1993 models. Some of them (Carver 28' Mariner, Wellcraft 28' Monterey, Sea Ray 270 Sundancer) seem attractive older boats. I wouldn't buy any boat like this without getting a surveyor involved and maybe also a mechanic. But am I an idiot to even be thinking about boats like these? Is it possible to find a good older boat that would fit the kind of mission I have in mind? Or is this a pipe dream?
Thanks, everyone. I look forward to getting to know some of you and I greatly appreciate any and all advice.
I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm also new to boating (sort of) and am looking for a bit of info.
Since this is my first post, a bit of background: I'm a middle-aged guy who wasn't been on a small boat for 35 years. When I was in college, my brother had a 16' boat on Lake George, NY, and my buddies and I used to have a lot of fun on it. But I've had no experience with boats since the 70s, except for riding on commercial boats.
I'm a private pilot. A year ago, I was trying to decide if I should buy an airplane or a boat and the airplane won. I bought a used Cessna and have had a blast with it. But now I'm once again thinking of buying a boat. When buying a plane, you really need to think about your "mission" because it's really easy to buy a good plane for the wrong mission. With that in mind, I've been thinking about what I'd like to do with a boat and I think I've got a handle on that. My family is mainly older and I'm not going to be pulling water skiers (although it might be nice to be able to pull a tube from time to time). Instead, we'd be much more into getting onto Lake George, cruising around, enjoying the sunshine, casually fishing, enjoying the sunset, etc. My parents are in their 90s and while they're doing great, I need a boat that's stable. I'd also like to be able to have four adults spend the weekend on the boat from time to time, possibly including putting it on the Hudson River and cruising down the river or out the canal or whatever. So we're looking for a casual, quiet kind of experience. I've investigated slip prices on Lake George, winter storage, insurance, etc. and that hasn't scared me off yet. I've also pretty much decided that I would probably not be interested in trailering a boat myself.
From my experience in the 70s, I remember that Lake George (32 miles long, 3 miles wide, 500' deep, mountains on both sides) can have bad weather show up in a real hurry. With that in mind, I knew that I wouldn't be looking for a 16' boat. Over the last week, three different people whose opinion I trust have all said that 23' was the smallest boat they'd be comfortable with on the Lake.
I've sunk about $70K into the plane in the last year (including an unexpected $12K top overhaul last summer). I'm not of the mind to put that kind of money into another toy right now, although I do understand that when you're talking about engines anything can happen. But there are a ton of boats for sale for what seem to me to be very low prices and this (finally) is my question. I've seen a lot of older 23' to 29' boats advertised from $10K up to about $25K. These are typically 1986 to 1993 models. Some of them (Carver 28' Mariner, Wellcraft 28' Monterey, Sea Ray 270 Sundancer) seem attractive older boats. I wouldn't buy any boat like this without getting a surveyor involved and maybe also a mechanic. But am I an idiot to even be thinking about boats like these? Is it possible to find a good older boat that would fit the kind of mission I have in mind? Or is this a pipe dream?
Thanks, everyone. I look forward to getting to know some of you and I greatly appreciate any and all advice.
....A little detail like that can make all the difference.... It's quite annoying to stoop while cooking my breakfast for me in my 30's.... for someone in their 90's it could be a bigger concern
