flat bottom or V type aluminum hull?

[boatboss]

Maybe a canoe or sit on top kayak would be a better choice.

Its kind of tough to hang a 10hp motor on a canoe or kayak.

I looked at the tracker, but was warned about those hulls. Its also super heavy with all the 3/4" plywood they used for the new deck, a short shaft 9.9 won't work too well on that boat.

 

[slowleak]

Welcome to iboats.

The V hull is a better all around, better riding and good design for your needs. Tha link you provided is WAY over-priced. Aluminum "project" boats are fun and very common. Take a look at our restoration forum and you will see hundreds of great projects. Keep your eyes open and be willing to travel to get a boat but a "project" w/o a motor should be LESS then half that amount. Outboards are hard to find that are good quality used. That seller is dreaming!!!

Watch your wallet and get a boat, motor and trailer package. Your Escape should handle a sixteen footer fine.

In all the years I've been boating and fishing I've never found a complete package, boat, motor, and trailer, which was a perfect match for my use.
I gave up and bought a hull which I liked, then outfitted it to fit my needs. I bought a new trailer and a good used motor.
Around here a new trailer for a 16' aluminum boat will run around $800 new, a good used 9.9hp motor will run anywhere between $400 and $1200 depending on condition and time of year, and figure on about $1000 to $1500 for a good used hull, or figure around $2500 for a new hull.

I didn't think that $850 for any aluminum hull is out of line, if not on the low side. Considering that $850 is less than half the cost of a new hull, even if you have to do some customizing to make it work for you, its still a far cry from the cost of a new hull.

 

[bonz_d]

Its kind of tough to hang a 10hp motor on a canoe or kayak.

I looked at the tracker, but was warned about those hulls. Its also super heavy with all the 3/4" plywood they used for the new deck, a short shaft 9.9 won't work too well on that boat.

At this point I have no clue as to what you are looking for. But I don't think a hull like that exsists.

A 16' boat that is light enough to carry by 2 people. Can easily use a 9.9hp engine, be used in very shallow water conditions, 24" or less deep yet still be capable of handling bigger open water and on top of this be able to carry 2 large men, a 9.9hp outboard, fuel and full fishing gear.

Maybe an RIB boat?

 

[boatboss]

The 16' Starcraft like the one in the link I posted at the start of this thread, I believe its an SF 16, was what I had in mind but the general consensus was that $850 was way too much money for one. The problem is all I keep finding is 'larger' 16' boats that weigh far more than I care to be hauling around or other open 16' boats that are nearly double the price of that first one. My original question was whether or not a flat bottom or modified V hull bass boat style boat would work in place of a V hull but from what I've read, I'm better off staying with the V hull type boat for what may at times be rougher water.

I took a ride to another dealer today and priced some new boats, they had a few brands in stock, but very few 16' V hulls. For a basic V hull, similar to the Starcraft SF16, I'm looking at upwards of $2500 for the bare hull, then add another $3000 for a new motor, and another $900 for a new trailer, it goes up from there if I want anything like a floor in the boat or rod holders, oars, life jackets, etc. To step up to an all welded hull, the price of the hull doubles in most cases and in most cases the weight also increases since those models are a bit better equipped.

What the boat has to be is wide, light, and have a fairly flat bottom. I'll buy a new trailer, and my thought here is that if I can't reliably get the boat to the water in good condition, there's not much sense in having it in the first place, and from what I've seen, used trailers seem to sell for almost as much or more as a new one.

For the motor, I want a four stroke, and I'm limited to a 9.9hp here, so its a matter of either finding a deal on a used one or springing for a brand new motor.
(I've been looking at an older Mariner 9.9hp Four stroke, a 1996 model but I can't seem to find much info on those early four strokes. It runs perfect and is only $400). I can't buy the motor though till I find a hull and then I'll know whether I'll need a long or short shaft motor. Most of the hulls I've seen have short shaft transoms though, with the exception of a few welded hulls I looked at or boats with interiors or some sort other than just bench seats.

This area seems to have a lot of 'Tracker' brand boats for sale, but I keep hearing from others here that to stay away from that brand? I do know two people at work who had cracked transoms on Tracker boats but both were full on bass boats with larger engines. A few that I looked at, both V type and Mod V hull type also had lots of corrosion and missing rivets.

I've also seen a few Grumman and Lowe boats with real badly corroded transoms and missing rivets around the transom seam, all of those were closer to the shore though.

Is any one brand any better than the next? Are there any brands to steer clear of? Why?

 

[bonz_d]

Presonal choices for me in no particular order, Alumacraft, Lund, Starcraft, Mirrocraft. As of late I've been noticing more Sea Nymphs in the repair forum with rivet problems and stress fractured ribs.

Both Lund and Alumacraft have been building Fishing boats for many years and there are as many different models from those two. Here is a link to the vintage Lund catalogs. Take a look you might find something that fills your needs.

http://www.lundboats.com/owners/catalog-archive

 

[boatboss]

Lund and Alumacraft are few and far between here for some reason, most of the boats I've seen for sale have been Tracker, Lowe, G3, Smokercraft, a few Sea Nymphs, and a few older Starcraft, Grumman, and Mirrocraft boats. The only Lund I saw for sale was a 16SSV that must have had a thousand dents in the hull from banging into things. Another Lowe that I looked at had the entire bow nearly inverted, the seller claimed that it happened in rough water, it looked more like stump damage to me. (The ad and pics he sent carefully avoided showing or mentioning the huge dent in the bow for some reason). A day later the ad is gone, so someone thought it was worth trying to fix or use as it was. He was asking $1050 for the boat but said he would take less. It had a trailer but the tubing was badly rusted through all over.


There's always been a few local dealers pumping out low end Tracker boats, so those are all over the place all sorts of issues. I don't think I've looked at one yet for sale that didn't have some sort of serious issue or some jury rigged patch somewhere on the hull. They also seem more flexible or less rigid than the other brands.
The G3 boats look good but other than new boats, I've not seen a used one for sale, at least not as a plain boat. The few I've looked at were way out of my price range with big dollar motors on them and full interiors.

Another 16' Starcraft I looked at which was advertised in a local free paper turned out to have a title for a 14' boat and it was missing the wheels off the trailer. That one was only $600 but the boat had grass a few trees growing in the foot of rotten debris in the bottom. The guy swore he had just had it out on the water this year in the ad. It was missing two bench seats, the motor was frozen and missing the bottom fin, and parts from the motor were all over inside the boat, half buried in the dirt and leaves.
The fact that it was pouring rain when I was there, and the boat was sitting bow down and not collecting any water also concerned me.

I can't believe how many boats have no paperwork, either they lost the paperwork and don't care to bother getting it, or have no idea what I'm talking about when I ask for a title. According to the DMV here any boat over 12' needs a title here. They want real money for their boats but don't understand why you won't buy it without a title.

I've looked at and liked several Sea Nymph boats but most were full interior boats that were heavy. A talk with a local dealer who sold them told me to avoid 1995 through 1998 models which used pressure treated plywood transom panels which corroded the aluminum hull. The older boats were supposedly the same as Grumman boats from the same years built under OMC ownership.

After looking at a few boats at a local repair shop which were apart getting repairs done I definitely want to avoid anything with poured in foam flotation, especially if its seen saltwater. Every last one that I've seen has had major corrosion issues where the foam was stuck to the aluminum. This alone may limit my ideal choices to pre-1985 or so in most brands unless they flotation is strictly in the bench seats.

I especially like the older lapstrake style aluminum hulls, I think it makes for a stronger boat, I keep seeing so many newer boats that are either salt corroded or just plain dented up.

I'm sort of wishing I had grabbed that Starcraft off CL but at this point in the season I figure I'll just wait until I find one I really want even if it means not getting out on the water this fall.

I am going to look at another SF 16 Starcraft this week but I'm told its been coated inside with spray in bed liner that's peeling off in places. It will depend on what the hull looks like under the peeling bed liner and how much the seller is willing to negotiate on his $1500 asking price. Its got a painted trailer which the seller said he will include with the boat if I want it. It also needs new transom wood but that's not too big a deal on my part. I'm more concerned about having to remove 16' of Rhyno Liner that's peeling.