Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

Huron Angler

Admiral
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
6,025
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

20' Seaswirl Striper Walkaround -1995 Seaswirl with 115 evinrude $7300

That would be my pick. I've had very good experiences with Seaswirl boats. My dad has a 24' that handles the chop very well. 115 may be on the low end for power though, and that boat wouldn't be the best for waterskiing but tubing would be ok.

Based on what you've said this boat should meet your needs. It's got a covered bow so no water will be taken on if a wave crashes up front.

Also even if water does get in the boat the Seaswirls are GREAT at self-bailing so that you won't even need to run the bilge pump in most cases. If the boat is underway then the water will run right off the sides and stern back into where it came from.

One more thing to consider would be adding a second outboard on the Seaswirl to add motor redundancy(in case one dies) and also just in case you need to run against some rollers/tide. Extra power will ease your mind when battling weather with others on the boat with you.

My second choice would be the Trophy center console. If you are going to be driving the boat solo then it's nice to be located amidships to balance the weight and for visibility. Trophy makes a nice solid boat that can handle some weather. In either case you will still need to be diligent about checking the weather.

Just my opinion. Good luck.:D
 

markfisher

Cadet
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Messages
18
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

hi guys ,i am going with
2000 Trophy 19' center console 125 Merc 2 stroke with oil injection 6700
what do you thing?any advices?
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
16,313
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

It will be a dog with only 125 hp on the back. OK when it's flat but the number days that it's flat on the Bay you can count on one hand.

You'll spend most of the time beating your way through waves @3000-3500 rpm which is outside your normal power curve. You could always prop down to gain usable HP but you'll sacrifice your top end

Had a 175HP on my 20' and always felt a 200 hp would have performed much better. 150 HP is the minimum I'd want on the Bay for day to day usage
 

drewmitch44

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
1,749
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

I think that you have to fish on the bay with your bayliner. If you want to fish in the lake you buy a "lakeliner","pondliner" or so on.
 

mlg1998

Recruit
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Messages
4
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

if you're in Harrisburg you're near me, I'm in Berks County.

i just went through it all and ended up with a dual console boat, part inshore fishing boat and part fun. like you, my wife wasn't warm to the idea of a center console but don't put CCs aside just yet. there are some that are pretty comfy with pads and all so i'd continue to look at them. if the bay will be your most frequent choice of water get something with good deadrise and weight. the last thing you want to do is get a boat that you can't use unless the conditions are perfect. one problem though, towing a boat like that will probably take something bigger than an older Pathfinder.

do your research and keep looking - buying a boat isn't an impulse purchase. don't buy anything a seller isn't willing to seatrial or allow survey. there are tons of boats out there and prices are very negotiable. if I had a $7k budget I'd be looking up to $9k at least. don't be afraid to drive a couple of states away either - I went to CT for mine.

post any question you have right here. it's amazing how helpful people here are and how much knowledge they have. they'll also set you straight when/if you need it! good luck.

His Pathfinder is an 08. I wouldn't consider that old.
 

markfisher

Cadet
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Messages
18
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

hi guys i need to ask you something, the boat i want to bay, is 2 stroke 125 mercury outboard is little shake when it runs on neutral, and else rpm tchometr show 4 or 5 on gage, and boat goes 30-35 mph when shifter at full forward, is it al right???
 

xxturbowesxx

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
491
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

Im assuming the 4 and 5 is 4000 and 5000rpm i would think that 5000-5500 for wide open would be ideal and the boat seems just barely adequate and i would look at something that is powered in the upper range of max hp allowed for a model.. I buy my boats according to the max hp allowed for that hull on the cap plate and run that horsepower.. An extra 50hp would help out alot and would probably get you better fuel mileage as you wouldn't have to push it as hard with the higher hp motor.. If it were a smaller bass style boat then a 19' with a 125 would be plenty but your talking about a boat that has alot more mass and i wouldn't want anything less than a 175 on it(unless that higher than max hp)..
 

markfisher

Cadet
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Messages
18
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

am sorry i was wrong, we start the motor, (it started after 3rd try) am bying this boat, and there is gage i assume its tachometer( i may speil it wrong) with numbers and arrow was on 4 while motor run on idle. else there is switches (acc 1 acc 2 something like that) dont know much about boats yet
 

ckone0814

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 2, 2008
Messages
255
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

Man, I really hate to be the wet blanket again but 6 months ago my co-owner partner and I were in the same position as you, boat owner wanna-bes. I know what you're going through :D. We read and read and read till we couldn't read anymore. We went to dealerships and marinas and picked people's brains. We sat at launch ramps, watched, and asked (dumb) questions. We also had spent a lot of time on the water with a friend who had an inshore boat. This guy was a VERY valuable resource for us as we looked for our own boat and even more so as we started to use it - which is much harder than buying it. Even with all that we still felt like we were "winging-it" and sometimes I think we found a pretty good boat just by dumb luck!

It's just my opinion but you have asked some pretty basic questions here, and that's perfectly OK, but it tells me that you are not ready to purchase anything yet. At a minumum, please don't buy any boat that has not had an independent survey.
 

markfisher

Cadet
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Messages
18
Re: Bayliner ,can i fish on bay?

i got the boat, 2000 trophy, 19f,center console, merc 125hp salt edition for 7000$ it might be expencive little or 125hp not mch enough but i thing its ok as 1st boat,thank you guys i appreciate, a live near hershey PA if anybody likes to go for fish onto MD bay near annnapolis as a copmany feel free let me know,again thank you all. mechanic did compression check on cold motor and did not take all spark plag at ones, he did 1 by 1 at time( took 1 plug checked comression put back the plug and moved to second one in this order) is it ok? 1st showed 85 , second was 94, 3rd was 125, 4th was 125, and then he moved back to 1st it showed 125, and same was with 2nd 125. i dont know reason,maybe he didnot tide comp check tool good enough
 
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