New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

[86 century]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

If you want cheep try one of the american line from starcraft i found this one real cheep with a bad eng. And then found a junk trihull with a good eng cheep. This thing looks like hell but it is a good fishing rig.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

That one being a 74 vintage probably needs lots of work. Looks like a good hull to start with but other than that you are going to spend lots of $$ to fix her up.
Trailer looks like junk, new trailer 4-5,000., new engine outdrive is $5,000 ish.
Plus all new wood, and interior, even add more money
I bought a 1986 version of that same boat about 5 yrs ago. I had to replace almost all the wood in the whole boat, floor and transom. With marine plywood this ran me some money. Numerous engine/outdrive parts (bellows, drive coupler, alternator, other). Then 2 yrs ago the engine lost a timing gear then I junked the engine for a new 3.0l ($3200 bill), last year the outdrive went bad replaced with sei ( another $1400). The engine and outdrive was not a 1986, but a 1971 merc. 140 I found that out after I bought the boat.
All said and done I have spend around $10,000 and boat cost me $4800.
I had a 15hp kicker now a 25hp kicker, I would highly recommend a long shaft 15hp or larger kicker if you are going to fish the big lake.
I fish the Pacific Ocean amost 100% of time with my ss, ran the main motor 100 plus hours last year.
Boats are not cheap to maintain.

Ouch, that hurts. Maybe I should think about picking up a new pastime - fixing up old boats might be too rich or my blood.

Maybe power walking or something like that. Spandex pair of shorts and one pair of walking shoes and I'd be good to go eh!

Hopefully I can make some good choices along the way and minimize the budget pain. Hopefully!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Ok, I was a little too passive in my first post. Let me be more honest this time....I HATE I/O's!!!! I really hate them. And elkhunter's post is exactly why. If you buy an outboard boat and the motor turns out to be a complete and total POS, part it out and buy another one. $1500 can get you a very nice used motor.

As for his other points, I can't disagree that boating can be expensive but he clearly went the most expensive route with all his issues. A brand new trailer, a brand new motor, a brand new outdrive, marine plywood, etc. Boating certainly is not cheap but it can be done economically. You can't get more economical than an outboard powered aluminum Starcraft.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Ok, I was a little too passive in my first post. Let me be more honest this time....I HATE I/O's!!!! I really hate them. And elkhunter's post is exactly why. If you buy an outboard boat and the motor turns out to be a complete and total POS, part it out and buy another one. $1500 can get you a very nice used motor.

As for his other points, I can't disagree that boating can be expensive but he clearly went the most expensive route with all his issues. A brand new trailer, a brand new motor, a brand new outdrive, marine plywood, etc. Boating certainly is not cheap but it can be done economically. You can't get more economical than an outboard powered aluminum Starcraft.

Love the honesty EZ! Yah, I am a yankee at heart and can really make a dollar work hard.

OK, so what do you think of this one just for kicks:

http://toledo.craigslist.org/boa/1492457746.html

Cheers!

 

[BWR1953]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Boating is like any other hobby. It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. If you have tons of money that you can afford to just throw away, by all means, stroke a check and let the dollars fly. You'll be on the water in no time. I remember those days.

As for me... being on a fixed income nowadays, I tend to be a miser with my pennies and took 7 months of horse-trading, but ended up with my 14.5' Sea Nymph aluminum fishing boat. The little boat is a perfect platform for getting me to the fish. Hey, it's almost a Starcraft!

Total actual cash out of pocket for me thus far is $200 for the boat, motor and trailer. Add another $125 for a set of brand new starting & trolling motor batteries and I'm in it dirt cheap.

I could easily spend "a fortune" trying to make the boat look brand new, but that is foolhardy to me. The money spent would be lost. Boats are not investments and money spent on one is not going to come back. Just remember that a boat is a depreciating asset and you'll be fine.

I'd started out on this forum with 2 fiberglass project boats, with the intent of fixing them up cheap. One for big water, the other for skinny water. After spending time here on iboats, researching and then doing the math, I realized that I could buy a perfectly serviceable running boat for FAR LESS than it would cost to repair the two that I had. Plus, there was the matter of all the time required to make it happen. Time is the one commodity that CANNOT be recouped. Some folks are happy to give up their time, but I am not one of those.

So, I sold both of my fiberglass fixer-uppers and bought my Sea Nymph. It is completely usable as-is now for skinny water, plus it can take me out 5 -10 miles or so into the Gulf. Next year I'll fix it up a little more with paint, spit & polish. Even so, when all is said and done, I'll still have less than $800 spent on the boat once it's completely finished.

As time goes by, I'll be looking around for a larger boat as an addition. Something like a Starcraft Islander or Chieftain, with which to do the very same thing... getting a good reliable boat that can safely take me to and from where I want to go for as low an out of pocket expense as I can manage.

It's your choice on which way to go for you.

Here are links to my little Fishing Machine for reference:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=360261


http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=363756

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

I've got to agree with EZ as far as boating on a budget, can't beat aluminum outboards. For solid proof look at the 18' SS EZ bought and the 16' SS I bought. We were both on the water with ZERO dollars invested and we each paid $1000.

Of course we are putting $$ in to restore but that is a choice not a requirement. I have to agree that I prefer OB's, I posted the link for the I/O since you mentioned you might prefer one.

I can guarantee that you would not need to sink 10k into that Chieftain and also that a 8hp kicker would be plenty for an aluminum boat that size. We've used a 8hp on a 24' fiberglass rig for trolling Lake Huron and the boat weighs 5-8,000lbs.

I don't want you to get scared off by elkhunters prices. He may have spent that amount but like EZ says, not necessary.

Hey, it's almost a Starcraft!

This is more true than you think. Sea Nymph was started by the Schrock family after they sold Starcraft back in the day and the boats are identical in almost every way. They had to wait 5 years after selling the company for the patents on the hull to open up and they proceeded to compete against their old company The familiy has since bought Starcraft back again.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

That 22' Holiday looks like a pretty good deal. Now before anyone disagrees with me and says that $1600 is too high for a boat with a blown motor.....keep in mind how difficult it is to find an outboard powered version of the larger Starcrafts. That 22' Holiday (although not as cool as a Chieftain or Islander) would work great for your intended usage of fishing the big lakes.

Just some encouragement, I bought my current 18' SS project for $1000. I dragged it home, cleaned a mud bee nest out of the fuel line connection on the motor and we were able to do this:

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/?action=view&current=hole_shot.flv

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/?action=view&current=first_video.flv

 

[BWR1953]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

...Sea Nymph was started by the Schrock family after they sold Starcraft back in the day and the boats are identical in almost every way. They had to wait 5 years after selling the company for the patents on the hull to open up and they proceeded to compete against their old company The familiy has since bought Starcraft back again.

AWESOME! Maybe they'll let me go to tinstock!

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

That 22' Holiday looks like a pretty good deal. Now before anyone disagrees with me and says that $1600 is too high for a boat with a blown motor.....keep in mind how difficult it is to find an outboard powered version of the larger Starcrafts. That 22' Holiday (although not as cool as a Chieftain or Islander) would work great for your intended usage of fishing the big lakes.

Just some encouragement, I bought my current 18' SS project for $1000. I dragged it home, cleaned a mud bee nest out of the fuel line connection on the motor and we were able to do this:

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/?action=view&current=hole_shot.flv

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/?action=view&current=first_video.flv

EZ - Your videos are a great motivator!!!!! Sweet! Man summer seems a long way off now doesn't it...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Yeah it sure does, especially since I want to work on my trailer so I can get the boat back on it but I can't get to it cuz it's buried in 13" of snow!

 

[prestigegunleather]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

ezmobee,

as you know, i'm in northern VA about 6 months a years, due to job commitments & we have 23 inches of snow on the ground. - my '62 Jupiter looks like a "vaguely boat-shaped snowdrift", as i write these lines.

fwiw, i long for ROCKPORT, TX - my "quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem". ======> a "cold day" there is when the girls on the beach are wearing a "cover-up" over their bikinis.

yours, PG

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

That 22 Holiday is like mine. I have a 1975 with a 200 johnson O/B very fast and is used in Puget Sound ( salt water.) West coast of Washington State ,on the Pacific Ocean and off the Canadian Coast. Lots of room and takes rough water fine The hull looks good and if every thing else is as stated you could be looking at a good deal. Its the same hull as the 22 Islander with a open top. I also have the closed bow. The boat is shown on the Starcraft list as a --1975 HOLIDAY.--We have a summer home on a big lake in Idaho 7 miles wide and 55 miles long and it gets as rough as the open seas. ( almost) I have a lot of gear in it and it still handels well. Be a good choice.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

I forget what it was listed for, but seems like the price has moved down a bit, now $1500. I bet he'd take $1000 to get it sold right away and not have to deal with it anymore. In the spring it would probably fetch more.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1524100856.html

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

I forget what it was listed for, but seems like the price has moved down a bit, now $1500. I bet he'd take $1000 to get it sold right away and not have to deal with it anymore. In the spring it would probably fetch more.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1524100856.html

Yah, I noticed that he came down some. Santa brought me a little spending cash in my stocking but I still need to save a few pennies to be able to make a reasonable offer on that.

One thing that I am concerned about is that this boat has been for sale for quite a while and I am left to wonder if he actually winterized it. He might have thought that it would have been sold by now.

Happy New Year!

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Yah, I noticed that he came down some. Santa brought me a little spending cash in my stocking but I still need to save a few pennies to be able to make a reasonable offer on that.

One thing that I am concerned about is that this boat has been for sale for quite a while and I am left to wonder if he actually winterized it. He might have thought that it would have been sold by now.

Happy New Year!

Just talked to him...

He said that motor has an intake manifold issue. He was getting ready to put a different motor in it.

Motor issues are simply out of my league so I'd be paying the pro to make it right.

Hmmmm...

Thoughts?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

Then the price is too high. $750.

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

$750. sounds more in line. If the motor doesn't run, it could be some money to get it going. It's hard to determine the status of a non running motor. You need to at least be able to do a compression check. If you can't then I would assume the worst.

Edit; On second thought. For the right price it might not be too bad. You said your timetable is 2 years. What are your mechanical skills? You might be able to get some help or save a couple of duckets to get the motor work done. There might be people here that could walk you through the motor part of it.

On the other hand, it could be the project that won't get done due to funding. It is the right size for the big lakes though. Have I waffled enough?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

You can't really go completely WRONG buying a big-***** aluminum Starcraft

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

$750. sounds more in line. If the motor doesn't run, it could be some money to get it going. It's hard to determine the status of a non running motor. You need to at least be able to do a compression check. If you can't then I would assume the worst.

Edit; On second thought. For the right price it might not be too bad. You said your timetable is 2 years. What are your mechanical skills? You might be able to get some help or save a couple of duckets to get the motor work done. There might be people here that could walk you through the motor part of it.

On the other hand, it could be the project that won't get done due to funding. It is the right size for the big lakes though. Have I waffled enough?

Well...

I feel confident that I can rebuild that whole boat (surely with some help from the dudes who lurk around iBoats) but as for motor work - not so much. I am certainly not afraid to dive into that stuff but my skills are pretty much nill. I really wish I had that sort of knowledge. Changing oil/filter and bolting on starters is about the extent of my mechanical experience.

Besides that, I think I would rather have the piece of mind knowing that a pro put it back together as I am miles from shore and I am carrying a load full of family.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy here, post #1, help me pick out my new (old) boat!

You can't really go completely WRONG buying a big-***** aluminum Starcraft

Yah, that is sort of how I feel too as long as I don't over pay on the front end I think I'll be aok.